PACHS News Room
Palo Alto County Health System Provides Community Benefit
$4,215,458 In Uncompensated Care and Services Given Annually
Emmetsburg – Palo Alto County Health System (PACHS) provides $4,215,458 community benefits to Palo Alto County, according to an assessment of those programs and services completed late last year.
Throughout the year, in daily operations, PACHS contributes back
to the community in three ways:
·
PACHS provide care for those who cannot afford to pay.
In the year ending June 2004 PACHS provided $40,002 in financial assistance and $299,441 in bad debt. In 2006, PACHS estimates that financial assistance will increase to approximately $200,000 due to a change in the policy for qualifying people who might be eligible for the program.
· PACHS absorbs the differences between the costs of services and the payments from governmental insurance programs.
Both Medicare and Medicaid fail to fully cover the cost of care provided by PACHS which in 2004 lost $3,650,149 to Medicare and $164,405 to Medicaid.
· PACHS provides a variety of miscellaneous benefits to the community by offering health education and supporting other health-related services.
Community services totalling $61,461 included support and educational
programs such as the Alzheimer’s Support Group, Diabetes Support, Bereavement
Support, Prenatal Classes, Athletic Trainer Clinics, Farm Safety Day Camps
and Senior Fun and Wellness Day. PACHS also subsidize programs such as wellness
screenings, transportation to medical services in the county and child immunization
clinics.
Tom Lee, Administrator of Palo Alto County Health System commented, “As
a not-for-profit county facility, we are very aware that the resources
we have are a trust given to us by the communities we serve. Our
mission is to provide
quality healthcare services for the people of Palo Alto County with
the wise use of current resources, but also with a vision for the
future.
It’s a matter of balance - balancing our mission to serve all, regardless of their ability to pay, with the need to be solvent and have the means to improve and expand services for the good of all.”
Lee continues, “In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, these contributions by PACHS totaled $4,215,452. It is important to note that all three categories are obligations that would have to be assumed by the government and further supported by taxpayers if a not-for-profit hospital did not perform this role.
At the end of every fiscal year when PACHS receives any “operating revenues over expenses,” it is returned to the community through investments in future services, technology, and capital projects. In 2004-05, those revenues after expenses were $227,854. It is with these funds that we plan for updated and new technology, new services, and other improvements.”
The results for Palo Alto County Health System are included in a statewide report by the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) that shows Iowa hospitals provided more than $393 million in community benefits during 2004. That figure includes more than $217 million in uncompensated care and $59 million in free or discounted programs and services that hospitals offered to help the communities they serve.
The IHA hospital community benefits report, “Opening
Doors: How Hospital Community Benefits Count in Iowa,” is available
on-line at www.ihaonline.org or
by calling 515.288.1955.