FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Danny Chun (630) 276-5558

December 14, 2010 

ILLINOIS HOSPITALS GIVE "EVEN MORE THAN MEDICINE"
WITH NEARLY $4.9 BILLION ANNUALLY IN COMMUNITY BENEFITS

Hospitals' spirit of giving knows no bounds

Naperville, Ill. - Illinois hospitals contributed annual community benefits of nearly $4.9 billion in programs and services in their 2008-09 fiscal years, according to the fourth annual report issued by the Illinois Hospital Association (IHA) - click to view report. Even More Than Medicine: How Illinois Hospitals Help Their Communities includes compelling stories of how hospitals exemplify the spirit of giving within their local communities in a multitude of ways beyond traditional medical care.

"Although hospitals give billions of dollars in community benefits each year, including nearly half a billion dollars in charity care, this report highlights that the real value of hospitals cannot be calculated merely in dollars and cents. I am so proud that our hospitals embody the true spirit of selfless giving, not just during the holiday season, but every day of the year," said IHA President Maryjane A. Wurth. "From helping returning war veterans and programs to combat childhood obesity to educating emergency first responders and addressing health care disparities, these hospitals enhance the lives of thousands of people each day." More than three dozen stories are included in the report.

As reported under the Illinois Community Benefits Act, the 109 Illinois hospitals filing annual community benefit reports with the state provided nearly $4.9 billion in community benefits in 2009, including:

• $2.39 billion absorbed by hospitals because of underpayments by government-sponsored programs such as Medicare and Medicaid;
• $1.1 billion in health care services for patients who were unable to pay;
• $492 million in free and discounted care at cost (nearly double since 2005);
• $394 million to educate new physicians, nurses and other medical professionals;
• $288 million to subsidize money-losing services (e.g., trauma, ER, neonatal ICU, burn units);
• $77 million in research on innovative, life-saving treatments and cures;
• $16 million in language assistance services; and
• $100 million in donations, volunteer work and other services.

If all of Illinois' approximately 210 hospitals were to file community benefit reports, the total value of community benefits provided in 2009 could be as much as $1 billion higher (under current state law, not all hospitals are required to file the reports).

Despite the economic downturn and Illinois' challenging political and fiscal environments, the state's hospitals contributed not only services and programs to benefit their communities but also billions of dollars in tangible economic benefits as employers and purchasers of goods and services. Illinois hospitals pump $75.1 billion into the state's economy each year, including more than $14.8 billion in salaries and benefits to employ nearly a quarter of a million people. In nearly half of the state's counties, hospitals are among the top three employers.

Even More Than Medicine: How Illinois Hospitals Help Their Communities demonstrates the enormous impact Illinois hospitals have on individual lives as well as entire communities. Click to view report.

The Illinois Hospital Association, with offices in Naperville, Springfield and Washington, D.C., is an advocate for 200 Illinois hospitals and the patients and communities they serve.

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