Tri-County Area Hospitals provide $136 Million in community benefits - Statewide report quantifies economic impact of hospitals’ charitable works

Tri-county area hospitals (East Cooper Regional Medical Center, MUSC Medical Center, Roper St. Francis HealthCare, and Trident Health System) provided more than $136 million in community benefits to more than 400,000 residents in 2006. These figures are part of a statewide report released by the South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA) October 22.

“In addition to serving as major employers in the Tri-county area and providing essential health care services, our local hospitals annually provide community benefits such as health screenings, immunizations, free and reduced-cost clinics and services to patients who are unable to pay,” said Charles Van Rysselberge, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. “This report quantifies the enormous positive impact South Carolina’s hospitals have on improving health and quality of life, within and beyond hospital walls.”

The Healthy Hospitals / Healthy Lives: SCHA 2007 Hospital Community Benefits Report includes information from 65 of SCHA’s member hospitals on free or reduced fee services provided to South Carolinians. It is significant because for the first time hospitals have quantified the economic impact of community benefits they provide to communities. The report indicates statewide, 65 SCHA member hospitals provided traditional and nontraditional community benefit services to more than 4.8 million people valued at more than $1.3 billion in 2006.

Traditional community benefits are uncompensated care costs and include health care services provided to patients who are unable to pay as well as the un-reimbursed costs of government
programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. Nontraditional community benefits are programs and services offered by South Carolina’s hospitals out in the community—beyond hospital walls—to improve health status or increase access to care.

Of the statewide totals in the report, Tri-county area hospitals:

· provided $136,495,823 in total community benefits to South Carolina residents to ensure healthier children, safer environments, earlier detection of disease, and enhanced access to basic health care services
· served 401,584 South Carolina residents through traditional and nontraditional community benefits
· provided more than $68 million in uncompensated health care services

“The report demonstrates how South Carolina hospitals go above and beyond their mission to deliver essential health care services,” said Thornton Kirby, SCHA president and CEO. “They’re working to make South Carolina residents healthier and to meet our communities’ needs.”

For a copy of statewide report, Healthy Hospitals / Healthy Lives: SCHA 2007 Hospital Community Benefits Report, visit www.scha.org.