Social Accountability 2010

As a not-for-profit provider of healthcare, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center leadership and staff happily shoulder the social responsibility to provide care and resources to members of the community who are in need-- regardless of their personal circumstances. The public trusts us to conserve our resources and use them wisely, while it looks to us for leadership, partnership and collaboration on a variety of projects.

To that end, we provide high quality healthcare to people regardless of their race, creed, sex, national origin, handicap, age or ability to pay. Although reimbursement for services is critical to the operation and stability of SBLHC, we recognize that not everyone is able to afford essential medical services. Since it is our mission to provide healthcare and education to all members of the community, we provide:

During the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2010, we served 7,018 inpatients and provided 427,562 outpatient services. We sponsored numerous wellness and community education programs, special programs for older residents and the medically underserved, and a wide variety of community support activities. 

This information outlines the many programs and services provided by SBLHC during fiscal year 2010, most of which are on-going. We make this information available to you so you have a better understanding of our mission, including the ways in which our resources are used within the community. We are firmly committed to providing exceptional care and creating healthy communities, and we trust you'll see that our actions match our words. 

Summary
We have categorized our community social responsibility statement to correspond with our strategic goals. The following is a snapshot of our activities for fiscal year 2010. Each program is further described throughout this booklet.

 

Improve Patient Experience and Loyalty $42,653

• AdvantAge 50

• Newspaper to all patients

• Valet Parking Services

 

Improve Clinical and Operational Quality $672,165

• Community Health Screens

• East Central Illinois Breast & Cervical Cancer Program

• Health Education

• Heart Smart for Teens

• Heart Smart for Women

• Home Health Care for Clark and Cumberland counties

• METS Phase III at EIU

• Nourishment

• Oh, Baby!

• Regional Behavioral Health Network

• Sarah Bush Lincoln Website

• Step in the Right Direction & Living with Diabetes

• Support Groups

 

Enhance Human Capital $2,431

• Health Occupations

• Strategic Partnership for a Competitive Workforce

 

Create Healthy Communities $155,755

• Community Aid

• I Sing the Body Electric

• Mobile Mammography

• Organizational Support

• Rotary High School Athletic Heart Scan

• Youth Education

 

Maintain Financial Viability $22,683,006

• Financial Assistance

• Governmental Insurance Programs

• Sports Physicals

 

Improve Patient Experience and Loyalty

AdvantAge 50 
This free membership group is open to anyone 50 years old or better. It provides health information and social outings, as well as a variety of discounts. The non-reimbursed cost to SBLHC is $11,457.

In-room Newspaper
Local newspapers are provided every day to all inpatients to help keep them informed of local and area events. The non-reimbursed cost is $4,923.

Valet Parking
Patients and visitors are encouraged to take advantage of free valet parking services at the Main Entrance. The non-reimbursed cost to SBLHC is $26,273. 

 

Improve Clinical and Operational Quality

Community Health Screens
Preventive health screens are available for free and at reduced costs both at the Health Center and at outreach locations. Tests screen for various cancers and measure cholesterol levels, pulmonary function, bone density, blood pressure and body fat. Blood sugar analysis and vision/glaucoma screenings are also provided, as are workshops focused on lifestyle modification. The net non-reimbursed cost of these services after discounted fees and grant funding was approximately $103,911.

East Central Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program
The East Central Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (ECIBCCP) provides mammograms and cervical cancer screens to women. SBLHC promotes the program and works with women in need in a nine-county area by scheduling their appointments. In FY2010, ECIBCCP provided services to 1,131 women. The non-reimbursed cost was approximately $215,115.

Health Education

Health-related educational programs are offered in many settings throughout the community on such topics as nutrition, diabetes, depression, eating disorders, sleep disorders, osteoporosis, hypertension, exercise, cardiac health, cancer, bereavement, living wills and pre- and post-natal care of mothers and infants. Health Styles, the Health Center's quarterly outreach magazine, provides health information and is distributed to 68,000 households in an eight-county area at a cost of $91,762.

Heart Smart for Teens
Adolescents in area middle schools learn about making healthy choices about food and exercise as an easy way to improve the quality of their lives. The program was partially grant funded. The non-reimbursed cost was $3,494.

Heart Smart for Women

In partnership with five local county health departments, SBLHC sponsors a 12-week program designed to identify women at risk for cardiovascular disease. The program educates adult women about heart healthy behaviors and goal setting. The program is delivered by healthcare workers in communities within the area and includes a goal setting, education about heart-healthy eating, exercise and incentives. The non-reimbursed cost was $1,200. 

Home Health Care for Clark and Cumberland counties
Lincolnland Home Care of Sarah Bush Lincoln manages a project to provide home health services to financially qualified people age 60 and older in Clark and Cumberland counties. Many of the people served by this program have no means to pay for their in-home health needs. These services were partially grant funded. The non-reimbursed cost was $6,733.

METS Phase III at EIU

Exercise and cardiovascular education are combined to help people with cardiac events rehabilitate. The non-reimbursed cost to SBLHS is $15,885.

Nourishment

SBLHC provides meals at a subsidized rate for community residents unable to prepare meals for themselves. Recipient's specific dietary needs made it difficult, if not impossible, for them to participate in other community meal programs. The non-reimbursed cost was $4,410. 

Oh, Baby!
Oh, Baby! classes enhance the prenatal care of new mothers, help them understand the many changes their bodies undergo, and prepare them for the birth and care of their newborns. Additionally, lactation support services are provided free to all women who deliver their babies at the Health Center for an unlimited period of time. A breastfeeding warmline pager gives mothers free access to internationally board-certified lactation consultants dedicated to answering breastfeeding questions and concerns. These services assist women in nursing their babies longer, thus improving the long-term health of their infants. The non-reimbursed cost to provide these services is $5,927. 

Regional Behavioral Health Network
Sarah Bush Lincoln, the Coles County Mental Health Center (now Life Links) and the Human Resources Center of Edgar and Clark counties joined forces to create the Regional Behavioral Health Network, an organization that streamlines access to mental healthcare for people in crisis. Together, the three organizations estimate they respond to about 3,000 crises inquires for behavioral health services annually. The collaborative effort is partially funded by grants. The Health Center's direct and in-kind non-reimbursed cost was $74,000.

Sarah Bush Lincoln Website

The Health Center's website, www.sarahbush.org, provides area residents with access to accurate medical information about illnesses, tests and treatments, and it offers them a place to store their own health information. The cost of maintaining the site was $107,342.

Step in the Right Direction and Living with Diabetes
This six-month lifestyle modification program is free to area residents who are at risk for diabetes. Participants exercise twice weekly in a class setting, while learning about their health and ways to improve it. It is designed to assist participants with weight loss, establish regular and appropriate exercise and diet changes. The program has served more than 50 community members with blood glucose levels of 100 to 125. The non-reimbursed cost was $41,886.

Support Groups

Support groups assist those affected by cancer, ostomy, stroke, ADD, ADHD, poor pulmonary function, loss of a child through miscarriage and stillbirth, nutrition and certain cardiac events. The non-reimbursed cost of providing education and resources was approximately $500.

 

Enhance Human Capital

Health Occupations
The Health Occupations program provides area high school students with the opportunity to learn more about healthcare. The collaborative program runs throughout the school year, provides job shadowing for students and frequent interaction with practicing professionals. Students graduate with a Certified Nurse Assistant certificate. Fifty-six students were involved in the program during FY10.

Strategic Partnerships for a Competitive Workforce
Sarah Bush Lincoln, along with Lake Land College, Eastern Illinois Education for Employment System and Greater Effingham Chamber of Commerce have worked together through a joint project of the Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor to create pathways for individuals to enter healthcare careers. The partnership reviews populations and labor statistics to identify employment opportunities in the community. It identified potential obstacles to obtain the needed education for a particular career. The non-reimbursed cost to SBLHC was $2,431. 

 

Create Healthy Communities

Community Aid
SBLHC assisted missions in various areas and local projects with healthcare needs by donating medical supplies and equipment. The cost was approximately $41,609.

I Sing the Body Electric
Through I Sing the body Electric, high school youth in a seven-county area use the arts to encourage their peers to make healthy choices. The Body Electric coalition includes SBLHC, the Regional Office of Education, Eastern Illinois University, Lake Land College, Paris Community Hospital, and WEIU-TV. Approximately 65 percent of high school students in the targeted region participate in the biennial youth risk behavior survey, and aggregate results are broadly shared to increase awareness. Students who participate in Body Electric create arts-based projects, which form the basis of the Body Electric Arts & Health Tour. In addition, the program trains university interns, who gain experience in community-based prevention education. In FY 2010, the non-reimbursed cost of Body Electric was $55,000. 

Mobile Mammography
Bringing breast cancer screening services to area towns has increased accessibility to mammography for thousands of women. A collaborative program with area health departments and banks, mobile mammography has served 16,476 women. In FY10, 1,465 mammograms were performed on the van with the help of a grant from the Wabash Valley affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. The non-reimbursed cost to SBLHS was $4,258.

Organizational Support (cash and in-kind gifts)
Being a good neighbor means supporting the efforts of local and regional organizations with similar missions. The Health System gave direct financial support, staff time, the use of Health Center facilities, and other resources in excess of $47,862 to community organizations and/or projects, including but not limited to:

Coles County Dial-a-Ride, a service that transports local residents to their physicians' offices

American Heart Association Heart Walk, to support cardiovascular research

American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, to support cancer research

Coles County 4-H auction, to support education

Hope House, homeless shelters and food pantries, an area school through our adopt-a-school program to support education, multiple sports teams in Charleston, Mattoon, Neoga, and Casey to help foster active lifestyles in our youth

YMCA Run for Bagel, to support health and tourism

Charleston Community Theatre, to support the arts

American Diabetes Association Walk, to support research

March of Dimes walk, to support research

Habitat for Humanity, to help build affordable, quality homes

Various community festivals, to support fitness and tourism

We also lend support to Coles County United Way, Rotary International, CCAR Industries, Coles Together, area chambers of commerce, and other agencies by participating in their fundraising events, boards and committees. In addition, SBLHC supports a wide variety of school activities by sponsoring programs and newsletters so students have a more fulfilling school experience.

Rotary High School Athletic Heart Scan
Area Rotary clubs formed a unique partnership with the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Foundation to help prevent premature deaths of seemingly healthy young athletes. In past years the clubs raised funds to provide free ultrasound heart scans to area high school sophomore athletes to uncover cardiomyopathy, which may produce sudden heart attacks during strenuous activities. Twice a year, Sarah Bush Lincoln provides free echocardiograms to high school sophomore athletes. So far, 3,237 high school athletes from 20 area schools have taken advantage of this life-saving and painless test. In 2009,  190 students received free echocardiograms. The non-reimbursed cost was $3,800.

Youth Education
SBLHC sponsors youth and children's programs focused on the importance of healthy lifestyles, staying safe and ways to provide safe babysitting. The non-reimbursed cost of these efforts is approximately $3,226.

 

Maintain Financial Viability

Financial Assistance
Traditional charity care covers services provided to persons who cannot afford to pay for their healthcare. The Health System provides care to patients who meet certain criteria under the financial assistance policies without charge or at amounts less than their established rates. Effective January 1, 2005, the Health System adopted a new charity care policy that significantly expanded the availability of financial assistance for patients of the System. The policy gives financial assistance in some cases at four times the federal poverty guidelines. The amount of charges foregone for services and supplies furnished was $14,526,232 for the year and the cost of those services after contributions and other direct assistance was $9,074,435. In all, 2,890 people received Financial Assistance.

Governmental Insurance Program
Unpaid cost of public programs for treating Medicare, Medicaid, and other governmental programs in excess of government payments was $13,602,591 during the year.

Sports Physicals
Orthopedic surgeons and family practice physicians partner with area schools to provide sports physicals for athletes. Students pay $20 per physical, a fee that is then donated to their schools' booster clubs by SBLHC. Some 299 sports physicals were provided at a cost of $5,980.

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