NEWARK, N.J.—At the Rock Ya Sock warehouse here, three large machines churn out yellow, gray, blue and white hospital socks for patients at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, a 665-bed hospital that treats a population struggling with high poverty and unemployment.

The hospital switched to a local sock vendor in late 2016 as part of a recent push by RWJBarnabas Health, one of the largest hospital systems in New Jersey and owner of Newark Beth Israel, to tackle economic issues that contribute to health problems, according to Michellene Davis, RWJBarnabas executive vice president and chief corporate affairs officer.

“Until we begin to address social determinants, those things outside of a clinical setting that literally are proven to have the greatest impact on a person’s life expectancy and health outcomes, then nothing else happens,” she said.

To that end, Newark Beth Israel has hired 169 city residents for full- and part-time jobs during the past year and will hire locally for 250 more full-time positions over the next two years. The hospital plans to spend $610,000 this year with local women and minority-owned businesses. It also has invested $5 million in a Newark venture-capital project to develop local tech entrepreneurs and provided a $150,000 grant to a commercial-redevelopment program.

Newark isn’t the only city where health-care systems are taking this approach. In Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University & Health System has pledged to spend $6 million over three years with suppliers based in the city to help strengthen the local community.