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Southeastern Med's Medical
Explorer Program Featured in
OHA's 2008 Statewide Community Benefit Report
Community Benefits Defined
Participating in, capturing, and reporting community benefits is
becoming more important than ever before now that the IRS has
created a separate tax form mandating that each non-profit hospital
in the U.S. report their community benefits expenses in order to
determine whether or not healthcare organizations will retain their
non-profit status.
Southeastern Med is ahead of the game. We've been educating our
staff, collecting data, and reporting our findings to the community
for the past several years. When OHA asked Ohio hospitals for
submissions to be published in their 2008 Annual Community Benefit
Report, we stepped up to the plate! Southeastern Med's Medical
Explorer Program, coordinated by Martha Reed (CVP), is one of the
programs featured in this report! For more information, read on and
then click on the blue link to view a pdf version of the report.
Southeastern Med is featured on page 10.
Way to go, Southeastern Med!
Ohio Hospitals’ Benefit to Communities: $1.8 Billion
Sharing a story of compassionate, quality caring, OHA today unveiled
its annual statewide community benefit report for Ohio hospitals
outlining their $1.8 billion community benefit. The report showcases
the many compelling contributions hospitals make within and outside
their walls.
The 174 community hospitals that participated in the report, Caring
Today for a Healthy Tomorrow, provided at least $1.8 billion in
community benefit in 2006, the most recent year for which data is
available. The total community benefit provided by Ohio hospitals
grew 21 percent between 2005 and 2006.
The $1.8 billion story includes Ohio hospitals’ aggregate $867.9
million in charity care, $649.8 million in Medicaid losses and
$899.3 million in community activities, which includes immunization
programs, health screenings, medical research and education costs,
disaster relief, support for community programs and more.
Also not included in the official total of $1.8 billion, but a vital
part of the total picture, are the financial contributions hospitals
make to subsidize bad debt - a $560.7 million total - and Medicare
losses - a $704.4 million shortfall. These elements are noted in the
report but not as part of the community benefit total in accordance
with Catholic Health Association guidelines, the nationally
recognized standard on community benefit reporting.
Ohio hospitals are creating a healthy tomorrow for Ohio’s fragile
economy as well. The Buckeye state’s hospitals pumped $62.8 billion
into Ohio’s economy and collectively provided jobs for 531,183
Ohioans either directly or indirectly in 2006.
Numbers only make up a piece of the total community benefit picture.
The report also includes stories of how caregivers go beyond
expectations both inside and outside the hospital’s walls. The 2008
statewide report, Caring Today for a Healthy Tomorrow, is available
online at
http://www.ohanet.org/benefit/report.pdf along with photos
and stories illustrating the many ways hospitals care for their
communities. |
