Without getting too political, it is pretty safe to say that health care in the United States isn’t the best. Especially when compared to other countries like Canada and Europe, where health care is much more accessible and affordable for all.
Luckily, 14 of the largest hospitals and health systems in America are working to change that.
Health disparities are often caused by income, so these organizations are looking to reduce that by investing more than 700 million dollars in place-based improvements. The goal? Stronger and, of course, healthier communities.
Some of the largest private-sector employers in California, Utah and Wisconsin are participating to help with this goal. They are made up of both national and regional health systems and are all among the top 20 largest employers in their states. That makes it a pretty big deal since they have the power and resources and want to use it to make good, positive changes in their areas.
Altogether these employers form the Healthcare Alliance Network (abbreviated to be HAN). In case you are wondering, HAN is a coalition that rallies health systems to implement local economic inclusion strategies.
Health systems do more than just provide health care to their communities. They also provide employment and ultimately help shape the economical nature of their communities. And not just economic issues, but they also have the institutional resources to address racial and environmental resource disparities that may have an effect on the health outcomes in their community.
Most of the investment will be put towards funding affordable housing. But in addition to that, the network will also be putting money towards building new grocery stores in areas that don’t have any, childcare center, and federally qualified health centers.
It will also be put towards both minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) as well as local businesses.
There are specific reasons for all of this, too. A community can have a generally strong economy but record low unemployment. The entire country is increasingly experiencing deeping disparities in its system — in its economic, health and well-being outcomes.
Not-so-fun fact: A person can live a whole extra decade more than someone else simply based on zip codes. If you live in a wealthy area, that’s good for you, but your neighbors might not be so lucky and they are stuck and can’t do anything about it because that is how it is set up.
A study by NYU recently showed that 56 of some of the biggest states in America have the largest life expectancy gaps. On average, one neighborhood of people can live 20 to 30 more years longer than the people who live just a few miles down the road.
The health of our communities go far beyond hospitals and doctors — it’s a lifestyle. It’s about having resources available to everyone, no matter what their income.
HAN hospitals have been working towards these goals for the last 2.5 years and employ more than 1.5 million people.
Here’s to hoping we can make these significant changes!
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