A new publication has been released that identifies best practices for investing in affordable housing, drawing from healthcare industry leaders at the forefront of tackling access to affordable housing as a way to impact health.
The Center for Active Design (CfAD) recently announced the release of “Healthcare: A Cure for Housing,” which features six case studies that demonstrate how affordable housing can be leveraged to achieve a double bottom line—successfully improving the health of patients, while generating the profitability needed to expand operations and impact.
Among Medicaid recipients, affordable housing has been shown to contribute to a 12 percent reduction in overall healthcare expenditures, an 18 percent decrease in emergency department visits, and a 20 percent increase in primary care use.
The publication’s stories “illuminate multiple pathways for affordable housing investments in response to unique local contexts,” according to officials. Organizations in this publication include Bon Secours Mercy Health, Central City Concern, CommonSpirit Health, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and ProMedica.
The work Central City Concern, a local social services agency in Portland, Ore., has been doing in this area was recently part of a Health Affairs article that looked at how several Oregon healthcare providers have partners to provide direct housing to homeless and at-risk patients through their creation of a housing collaborative called Housing Is Health.
With discussions in the past couple of years turning increasingly to the social determinants of health, patient care organizations are continuing to deploy their financial resources, land and expertise to advance affordable housing as a way to create more equitable, sustainable and healthy communities.
“The affordable housing crisis is complex, and in order to solve, we must expand investment from diverse stakeholders,” said Stacey Barbas, senior program officer with the Kresge Foundation’s Health Program, which helped support this publication’s release. “Given the connection between health and housing, the healthcare sector has a vested interest in increasing access to quality, affordable housing within the communities they serve.”
