Anchor Institution Mission empowers local communities in equitable, lawful ways

UC Davis Health's Anchor Institution Mission (AIM) has a bold purpose - to leverage the health system's economic, human, and intellectual resources to create healthier, more resilient communities in the Sacramento region.

Since its launch more than 5 1/2 years ago, the initiative has delivered concrete benefits to UC Davis Health's surrounding neighborhoods while also reaffirming the health system's commitment to being a trustworthy community partner.

Research shows that a diverse and local workforce cultivates innovation, improves patient outcomes and can also make a health system like UC Davis Health an employer of choice. With this in mind - and a focus on under-resourced communities - AIM pursues the following strategies:

• Hire and develop local employee talent
• Purchase more goods and services from local vendors
• Invest in projects in vulnerable communities
• Engage employees in community volunteer activities

'Kind and patient'

Kaitlin Yap, a nurse recently hired at UC Davis Health, participated in one of the 425 "Career Chats" conducted by Human Resource's Strategic Talent Services unit over the past two years. These sessions involve one-on-one guidance, résumé support and interview assistance, all of which are aimed at demystifying the recruitment process for prospective UC Davis Health employees.

Yap recalled her meeting with Dreya DeShazier Yin, an analyst in the unit. "I remember my interview coming up within the week or two and Dreya accommodated the timeline and took the time to do a mock interview with me. She was kind and patient, and she gave helpful feedback. While I've gone through several interviews already in my career, I will never pass up the opportunity to practice interviewing."

Yap was applying for work on a Medical Surgical Intensive Care Unit, and the practice interview with Yin boosted her confidence. Known also as MSICU Gold, the unit is an eight-bed medical surgical intensive care unit that provides care for critically ill surgical patients.

"I'm so grateful we did this because I found how to best express why I wanted to be a part of the MSICU Gold team - and I am happy to say I'm a nurse on Gold today."

The Career Chat, Yap added, was one of the reasons she was "really excited to join the organization."

Other examples of recent AIM-oriented highlights include:

• 154 employee recruitment events since the start of fiscal year 2023-24, with participants spanning distances as far as Vallejo in the west and Auburn in the east.

• In fiscal year 2024-25, achieving a 20.7% local hiring rate for the health system, an increase from 10% when AIM began rolling out its programs in 2021.

• A career information event Oct. 28 hosted by UC Davis Health's Strategic Outreach Services team, which partnered with the Radiology Department and the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency that drew more than 200 participants. The plan is to continue such joint department-outreach events moving forward.

• A new outreach website that showcases UC Davis Health initiatives, including pathway programs, as part of AIM's focus on local employee recruitments.

Equitable, lawful alignments

For employees like Yap, AIM's outreach and hiring programs emphasize inclusive recruitment, local workforce pipelines, training, and opportunity, rather than quotas or set-asides for particular demographic groups.

Consequently, UC Davis Health's Anchor Institution Mission operates in full compliance with California's Proposition 209, which prohibits discrimination against or giving preferential treatment to any individual or group in public employment, public education, or public contracting on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, national origin, or other protected identities. The AIM initiative also abides by federal anti-discrimination laws.

Within these lawful alignments, AIM focuses its community empowerment efforts on geographic ZIP-codes (under-resourced neighborhoods), rather than basing hiring or contracting preferences on race, ethnicity or national origin. The program's framework was built with compliance and transparency as core values:

• AIM's local hiring, procurement, and investment strategies are informed by socioeconomic barrier, health disparities, and workforce need.

• The intent of AIM is explicitly place-based and data-driven. AIM focuses on ZIP codes with higher indicators of economic distress and health inequity, as identified in the health system's Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA).

• The 2025 CHNA identified 56 ZIP codes across Sacramento County for analysis, and of those, 20 ZIP codes met the criteria to be labeled "Communities of Concern." These 20 ZIP codes represent about 750,000 residents, or about 46% of UC Davis Health's total Sacramento County service area population.

• A majority of the prioritized health needs in the CHNA are socioeconomic: access to basic needs - housing, food, jobs; health equity, neighborhood safety, and system navigation; access to quality services. These findings underscore a central fact that guides AIM - health and wealth are intertwined.

• AIM workforce programs are open to all. The AIM local hiring initiatives target outreach to all residents in AIM ZIP-codes. This initiative aims to increase employment opportunities in surrounding neighborhoods with high levels of poverty and low income. The AIM team tracks the percentage of new hires from targeted ZIP-codes.

• Local purchasing focuses on small, local businesses as guided by the UC Small Business First Program. The AIM team also tracks small and local business spending.

Research shows that factors outside of health care settings - such as access to job opportunities, stable housing, healthy food and clean air - have huge impacts on health. As much as 80% of health outcomes are influenced by the factors known as the social determinants of health. Economic stability - access to jobs, income, housing, and business opportunity - is one of the strongest predictors of physical and mental health.

With intention and by design

In this context, every policy, program, activity, and partnership through the Anchor Institution Mission is crafted with purpose - and in accordance with federal anti-discrimination laws and Proposition 209. This way, UC Davis Health can achieve its vision of a thriving beloved community rooted in health, equity, and belonging.

Reflecting this, the word "design" in the new name of the office of Health Equity by Design for Inclusive Excellence (HEDI) - which leads the AIM initiative - demonstrates UC Davis Health's commitment toward fairness and dignity for all. That commitment is similarly expressed in the health system's "Believe in Better" campaign and Principles of Community.

Hendry Ton is the associate vice chancellor of HEDI.

"  'By design' also means we do not leave equity to chance - we engage our employee, student, and local communities to measure outcomes, reflect and course-correct, and embed inclusive practices into how we implement our goals and our work," Ton told employees this past summer in explaining his office's name change. A HEDI blog post further elaborated on the rationale and context.

In the big picture, the AIM initiative underscores why UC Davis Health is a cornerstone in Northern California and a trusted ally to many - patients, employees and community members.

"I truly hope that UC Davis Health can uphold this community outreach and engagement. UC Davis Health has a large catchment area, up to 33 counties, so we care for a lot of people …" Yap said. "With this in mind, I think that UC Davis Health has both the responsibility and the opportunity to positively affect the social determinants of health of the local community."

More information:

• Anchor Institution Mission: Delivering community momentum in first 5 years
• UC Davis Health ramps up work with small, diverse local businesses by 23%

Stay informed of the latest Anchor Institution Mission-related news, stories, activities, and local community events happening in the Sacramento region by subscribing to the quarterly Anchor Institution Mission newsletter.