According to a UNM Health Sciences Center press release, HSC is leading a coalition of local healthcare and educational institutions to create “Main Street” jobs in Albuquerque by buying and hiring locally in a strategy to keep more money in the local economy.
The coalition, called Healthy Neighborhoods Albuquerque, is made up of six “anchor institutions”: UNM HSC, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Central New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque Public Schools, First Choice Community Healthcare and the City of Albuquerque.
“The educational and healthcare ‘anchor institutions’ represented here today are committed to working together to improve the economic and social conditions in the communities that need help the most,” HSC’s Executive Vice Chancellor Richard Larson said in the press release. “Anchor institutions are the ones that are in it for the long haul. They view their mission as extending over many decades, and they share a long-term obligation to ensure the health and well-being of our citizens. This initiative is a big step in that direction.”
According to the prss release, the initiative was crafted with the help of Democracy Collaborative, in addition to the Albuquerque Community Foundation, and will commit the partners to “hire local, buy local and provide support for local business growth.”
For example, the partners could leverage their combined buying power to buy produce for their food services from local farmers, providing a boost to local agriculture, according to the press release, while job training programs could help prepare people from disadvantaged communities for jobs in universities and hospitals.
UNM Chancellor for Health Sciences Paul Roth said in the press release that the new initiative will aim to address the social determinants of health factors, including education, poverty, violence, diet and personal behaviors, that influence the likelihood of developing some diseases.
Matthew Reisen is the news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @MReisen88.
