HCHC provides over $7M in community benefits to Henry County

Henry County Health Center provides $7,005,992 in community benefits to Henry County, according to a recently completed assessment of programs and services.

That amount, based on 2011 figures, includes $6,025,552 in uncompensated care and $980,440 in free or discounted community benefits that HCHC specifically implemented to help Henry County residents.

Community benefits are activities designed to improve health status and increase access to health care. Along with uncompensated care (which includes both charity care and bad debt), community benefits include such services and programs as health screenings, support groups, counseling, immunizations, nutritional services and transportation programs.

The results for Henry County Health Center are included in a statewide report by the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) that shows Iowa hospitals provided community benefits in 2011 valued at more than $1.4 billion, including nearly $600 million in charity care.

All 118 of Iowa?s community hospitals participated in the survey.

HCHC?s mission to enhance the health of individuals and our communities through high quality, effective and efficient services makes it a natural fit for HCHC to offer programs to improve the health of area residents.

Some examples of programs that benefit area communities include HCHC providing athletic training and ambulance services for area high school sporting events, and the availability of Henry County Community Health programs and services that have positively impacted the health of our communities for years.

In addition, great emphasis is being placed both nationally and locally on the importance of managing chronic conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and more.

HCHC has programs in place to assist individuals in managing their chronic conditions, most recently offering the ?Better Choices, Better Health? workshop series designed to teach adults how to effectively become self-managers of their chronic health conditions.

?The programs and services accounted for in the survey were implemented in direct response to the needs of individual communities as well as entire counties and regions. Many of these programs and services simply would not exist without hospital support and leadership,? said IHA President and CEO Kirk Norris.

But the ability of Iowa hospitals to respond to such needs is being hindered by the ongoing economic downturn as well as by huge losses inflicted upon hospitals by Medicare and Medicaid, totaling more than $274 million (a 5.8 percent increase over last year?s report).

Henry County Health Center lost $5,171,434 to Medicare and $338,097 to Medicaid in 2011. More than 60 percent of all hospital revenue in Iowa comes from Medicare and Medicaid.

Total uncompensated care in 2011, including charity care and bad debt, was valued at more than $950 million, an increase of $100 million (11.8 percent) over 2010. Charity care and bad debt is also experienced at the local level.

At HCHC, charity care/bad debt was 2.6% of the hospital?s total revenue in 2012.

Iowa hospitals continue to implement strategies that increase value to their patients and communities by offering high-quality care to individuals, addressing the health needs of identified populations and implementing process improvements that bend the cost curve.

By seeking out ways to raise quality, reduce waste and increase safety, Iowa hospitals have become value leaders, as shown in multiple studies by the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care and the Commonwealth Fund.

?The largest emphasis in the future for healthcare is to enhance quality of service while reducing waste and cost. HCHC does this through process improvement techniques that are utilized throughout the hospital to improve workflow by reducing waste,? said Robb Gardner, HCHC CEO. ?When we engage in process improvement we are able to look at our jobs in a more efficient, easier and safer environment using a teamwork approach. This allows us to reduce variations, reduce activities that have no value, and improve customer satisfaction.?

?HCHC also partners with the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative to participate in the Partnership for Patients program designed to enhance the quality, safety, and affordability of healthcare for all Americans,? Gardner continued.

These efforts, along with IHA?s ongoing advocacy to create fairer payment methodologies from Medicare and Medicaid, help ensure the financial stability of hospitals, making it possible for them to provide the services and programs most needed by their communities.