CLEVELAND – University Hospitals (UH) announces that spending on community benefit programs totaled $210 million in 2008. This significant contribution represents 12 percent of the health system’s net revenue related to patient care in 2008 and is $42 million more than in 2007. 

“Community benefit” includes programs designed to address identified community needs, such as charity care, improving access to health services, enhancing public health, advancing medical knowledge through clinical research and teaching the next generation of doctors. UH’s total community benefit spending includes: charity care ($39 million), community health improvement services ($8 million), Medicaid shortfall ($62 million), community programs and support ($9 million), research ($58 million), and education and training ($44 million).

“Providing community benefit is a long-held core value at University Hospitals that is embedded into every aspect of our mission - To Heal. To Teach. To Discover,” says Thomas F. Zenty III, CEO of UH. “Our community benefit programs consist of a wide variety of activities that benefit the health of our communities and touch the lives of countless individuals and families throughout Northeast Ohio.”

An integral component of UH’s robust community benefit services is health education programs designed to improve the well-being of Northeast Ohio residents. One such program is the UH Ireland Cancer Center’s Body & Soul, which promotes cancer prevention through better nutrition in the African American Community. UH adopted this nationwide program in 2007 and has since brought it to more than 65 churches in the Greater Cleveland area. Parishioners and pastors are trained to create a “wellness ministry” to educate their fellow congregants about healthy lifestyles.

Another vital community resource that UH provides for children and families is UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital’s Office of Child Advocacy. The goal of the Office, run by Lolita McDavid, MD, is to break the cycle of violence and work with officials to ensure children are safe at home and identify a safer place when necessary. Dr. McDavid and her group are involved in community education and also train teachers, medical students, nurses, social workers and clergy on how to recognize child abuse.

In support of UH’s longstanding tradition of treating patients regardless of their ability to pay, the hospital system provides discounts on hospital bills to uninsured patients who receive qualifying services. Through UH’s Charity Assistance Program, patients whose income is up to four times the federal poverty level, can qualify to participate in this extensive financial assessment program, which provides financial counseling, sliding scale discounts and interest-free payment plans up to 60 months.

UH’s extensive education programs and medical research efforts, fundamental parts of our mission, benefit the community as well. Physicians and others trained here, along with the knowledge generated through our research projects, are dispersed, literally, throughout the world. System-wide, unfunded research costs for UH totaled $58 million while UH spent $44 million on unfunded education and training costs for physicians and research scientists. Each year, more than 800 residents and fellows receive advanced training at UH Case Medical Center in more than 50 accredited programs.

Finally, UH’s $1.2 billion Vision 2010 strategic plan represents a significant contribution to the region’s economic vitality. At the completion of the first full year of operation for each of the Vision 2010 projects, UH anticipates that more than 1,200 new hospital-based jobs will be created with more than $95 million in salaries, wages and benefits. 

A key component of Vision 2010 has been to keep construction jobs and spending local and to use minority- and female-owned businesses. To that end, 90% of UH’s spending so far on our building projects has been from within this region.  Last year, this spending translated into nearly $200 million going to Northeast Ohio companies. In addition, more than 30% of our vendors have been minority or women-owned, and spending with these businesses has amounted to $66 million already this year.

For more info go to: www.uhhospitals.org/communitybenefit