New report outlines hospital community health efforts in FY 2020
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) last week released the Healthy Futures, Healthy Communities report that demonstrates a nearly $4.2 billion investment in community-based partnerships and programming in fiscal year (FY) 2020. Overall, hospitals invested more than $869 million in community and voluntary-based activities, from education and prevention services to community outreach, research, and workforce development.
Data in the report shows investments made throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating Michigan’s hospitals and health systems continued offering a wide range of services and resources to their communities inside and outside of the traditional healthcare setting that improved the overall health, wellness, and quality of life of residents.
“Even through some of the most challenging times in healthcare, hospitals and health systems haven’t wavered in their commitment to helping improve the overall health and wellness of the communities they serve,” said MHA CEO Brian Peters. “This report gives a clear and simple message: The impact of our healthcare workforce reaches far beyond the walls of patient rooms.”
In addition to community benefit services and programs, the report also highlights the contributions of hospitals when it comes to uncompensated care. In FY 2020, the unpaid costs of patient care at Michigan hospitals totaled more than $3.4 billion, which includes both financial assistance and bad debt at cost, as well as Medicaid and Medicare payment shortfalls, other means-tested government programs, and subsidized health services.
“The programs and services that hospitals and health systems provide have a long-term and positive impact on community health,” said T. Anthony Denton, J.D., MHSA, senior vice president and chief operating officer of University of Michigan Hospitals, Health Centers, and Medical Group and 2022-2023 Chair of the MHA Board of Trustees. “Patients and communities became more intertwined than ever as healthcare teams worked to provide care, compassion, financial and in-kind resources, and knowledge throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to do so. Our role as anchor institutions is and has always been vital, providing an important uplift to those in need by way of various contributions which demonstrate our value as a major community asset. Through our many efforts, we are privileged to build bridges and connect communities to inform, elevate and empower individuals and families to mitigate social determinants and advance health, inspire hope and foster meaningful presence.”
Included in the report are examples of programs implemented by hospitals throughout Michigan that expand access to care and improve the health of vulnerable populations within their communities.
“McLaren, as a large health system, serves large urban settings and smaller rural communities, and the critical charge of being a community-integrated provider is having a sound, community-based system of care in place,” said Dr. Justin Klamerus, McLaren Health Care chief medical officer. “Increasingly, health care is moving toward care that existed outside of the hospital, both in treatment and preventive practices. It’s part of our responsibility to attune ourselves to the needs of our communities, especially in critical access areas, and doubly so during a time when many may still be hesitant to seek care in a hospital setting. Our facilities in Bay, Caro, and the Thumb Region are true in the commitment to their communities and are really working to meet their needs.”
The full report and stories from hospitals across the state that exhibiting community benefit can be accessed online at www.mha.org.
About the MHA
Based in greater Lansing, the MHA advocates in Michigan and Washington, DC, on behalf of healthcare providers and the communities and patients they serve. The MHA is a nationally recognized leader on initiatives that protect and promote quality, cost-effective and accessible healthcare. To learn more, visit www.mha.org or follow the MHA on Facebook and Twitter.
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