Community Benefit
By Jay Eckersley
President and CEO

This edition of St. John’s Healthy People includes the community benefit report for our fiscal year ending June 30, 2004.
But what is community benefit? One definition characterizes it as “a collaboration with the community to benefit its residents and meet identified community health needs.”

That is a rather formal explanation for St. John’s mission of providing services and activities that address health needs with the goal of improving health status by caring for all people, particularly the poor and underserved.

Not-for-profit health care organizations, like St. John’s, were formed out of those needs. When city leaders identified a need for a hospital in the late 19th century, a Springfield physician invited the Sisters of Mercy to town, and St. John’s hospital opened in 1891. The Sisters took care of anyone who needed help, regardless of their ability to pay.    
                                                          
Today, St. John’s still provides the appropriate care first, and then we help patients with the financial challenges they may face with clear and consistent billing and collection practices that make sure everyone is treated fairly. When patients tell us they are uninsured or cannot afford the cost of care, we work to minimize the financial impact.

In fiscal year 2004, St. John’s provided $7.6 million in charity care, touching the lives of nearly 20,000 patients.
Schools and other public entities around the country today face challenges in their tax support. Many people are not aware that St. John’s is one of the largest payers of real estate taxes and other taxes in our region. While it is not reflected in our community benefit report, St. John’s paid nearly $1.5 million in taxes last year.

Measuring the community benefit St. John’s provides is an ongoing exercise – reporting not only the impact on patients who come to our hospitals and clinics for care, but also the programs and services we support in the communities we serve. For example, St. John’s provided $4 million last year in support for community outreach services such as free clinics like The Kitchen Clinic, free health screenings, education, immunizations and counseling.

The report, which you can download below, shows an impressive amount of care and service, but the people benefited by those numbers are the truly important aspect of community benefit. You will meet some of them and share their stories in Healthy People magazine.

St. John's Community Benefit Report (PDF)