-Blue Ridge HealthCare - Community Benefit

At Blue Ridge HealthCare, we consider it a privilege to give back to our community.

Our economic impact on the community is felt in many ways. As Burke County’s largest single employer, we provide jobs that directly and indirectly support thousands of people who work in the healthcare sector, as well as their families. As a significant purchaser of goods and services, we also contribute to the vitality and staying-power of many local businesses that are the heart of our economy.

But Blue Ridge HealthCare also impacts Burke and surrounding counties through our “community benefit.” This term describes the broad variety of discretionary, benevolent activities we carry out that impact not only healthcare but education, economic development and public welfare.

Our primary community benefit is access to care for those in need, regardless of their ability to pay. In these tough economic times, this contribution has never been more important. But, as our 2009 Community Benefit Calendar shows, healthcare for the uninsured and underinsured is only the beginning. From thousands of free health screenings to special health education events and sustaining needed, but money-losing services, we are committed to serving this community and to being your first choice for care.

Our total “Community Benefit” in 2007 was its highest ever: more than $31 million --18% of all our expenses. Put another way, every day of the year, we gave back to our community about $86,000 in vital services for which we received no payment.. We are able to absorb and offset this contribution through a small core of services that do generate income.

Our community benefit reflects what we believe at Blue Ridge HealthCare:

• We are for leadership by management and physicians to deliver best in class healthcare for our community.
• We are for quality, service-driven healthcare for all people, regardless of their financial circumstances .
• We are for protecting and defending BRHC’s role as this community’s healthcare safety net, so that all our citizens, including the most vulnerable, will never be without a local hospital to turn to when illness, disease or injury strikes.
• We are for expanding healthcare coverage to meet the needs of individuals, our healthcare system and physicians.

On behalf of every member of our care team, we appreciate your trust and support.

Financial figures below reflect actual costs, not charges, unless otherwise noted, for the latest complete year of community benefit information available.

An $86,000 a Day Community Benefit – Our mission goes beyond traditional care to providing a “Community Benefit.” These are discretionary, benevolent services we provide that that generate little or no income to our hospitals and other facilities but benefit the community by meeting a need or improving our quality of life in Burke, Caldwell and McDowell Counties. In 2007 Blue Ridge HealthCare’s Community Benefit totaled a record $31.2 million. That amounts to about $86,000 a day in charity care for patients unable to pay, covering bad debt for medical bills that go unpaid and payment shortfalls from Medicaid and Medicare. Beyond providing these services that do not even cover actual costs, however, our community benefit includes free health screenings, health events, sustaining critical but money-losing medical services, supporting healthcare-related causes and educating future healthcare workers.

Providing Charity Care– Charity care is a substantial community benefit provided by Blue Ridge HealthCare. People who have no means to pay for their care and do not qualify for state or federal assistance depend on Blue Ridge HealthCare as their healthcare “safety net.” As part of our not-for-profit mission, we serve all patients, regardless of their ability to pay, including the most vulnerable among us. The actual cost to BRHC of caring for charity patients was $4.5 million in 2007. BRHC received no outside funding to help offset this cost. Criteria to qualify for charity care change every year, so if you believe you may qualify, please call one of our financial counselors at 580-5090 or 879-7576 or visit www.blueridgehealth.org to view our policy.

Covering Unpaid Bills – Even with the best of intentions, patients cannot always meet their responsibility to pay for the care they receive, for a number of reasons, from the loss of a job to temporary hardships. This leaves Blue Ridge HealthCare to cover the unpaid balance or even the entire bill, an expense for the system referred to as “bad debt.” In 2007, bad debt cost BRHC nearly $11 million with no outside source of funding to help compensate for the expense. A growing problem, bad debt accounted for more than 4% of our total expenses in 2007 and constituted a significant community benefit.

Discounting Charges for the Uninsured – BRHC discounts charges for qualified patients who have no health insurance, are underinsured or do not qualify for public programs. In addition, our financial counselors work one-on-one with these patients to assist them with an individualized plan to manage their medical bills, including low interest financing options when needed. In 2007, these discounts for patients amounted more than $2.5 million, actual costs that were covered by Blue Ridge HealthCare as a community benefit. If you need assistance managing your healthcare costs and believe you may qualify for this assistance, please call one of our financial counselors at 580-5090 or 879-7576. Discounts are also available for patients who choose to pay for their healthcare services in advance.

Medicaid: BRHC as the Healthcare Safety Net: -- The vast majority of people in our community who are enrolled in Medicaid depend on Grace and Valdese Hospitals for their care. With federal and state funding covering only 80% of the actual cost of providing this care, BRHC was left to cover $8.2 million in Medicaid shortfalls in 2007 – a community benefit that is nothing less than a lifeline for children, expectant women, adults in families with dependent children, persons with disabilities, and individuals 65 or over who qualify for assistance. Medicaid is a partnership between the federal and state government. If you have questions about or believe you may qualify for Medicaid, please contact one of our financial counselors at 580-5090 or 879-7576.

Medicare: BRHC as the Healthcare Safety Net: – Our hospitals in Morganton and Valdese serve thousands of persons covered by Medicare. Like Medicaid, Medicare funding does not cover the actual cost of delivering hospital services to people enrolled in the program. In 2007, Blue Ridge HealthCare was left to make up the $10.6 million difference between what Medicare paid and the actual cost of services to Medicare beneficiaries. Medicare is a national health insurance program for people age 65 or older, some people under age 65 with disabilities and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant. If you have questions about Medicare, please call 1-800-MEDICARE.

Sustaining Critical Community Services – Blue Ridge HealthCare provides a number of services that meet a strong community need but do not pay for themselves. In 2007, Blue Ridge HealthCare absorbed just over $3 million in costs to keep these services operating. Without this community benefit, citizens here would face a dire choice: go without these services or leave the area to find them. The primary example is the Special Care Neonatal Nursery for premature and at risk newborns at Grace Hospital-- a service that women of child-bearing age in our community say is their number one need. This one service accounted for one-third of this particular community benefit. The nursery and the other money-losing services at BRHC, operated for the benefit of the community, are sustained only by a core group of other hospital services that are financially self-supporting.

Reaching Out to Our Community – One of our most important community benefits is community outreach. In 2007 alone, we gave 6,300 free screenings to citizens in our community for heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, bone and joint disease, diabetes and other major health threats. BRHC’s annual Lady Fair -- a day of education, information and free screenings -- is now the Unifour’s largest health event for women. BRHC also co-sponsored special community events in 2007 with other non-profit organizations whose good works raised awareness of cancer, low birth weight babies, domestic violence and awareness of HIV disease (AIDS), just to name a few causes. Taken together these activities, along with direct contributions to local non-profits and charities, represented a community benefit of nearly a quarter-million dollars in 2007.

Supporting Job Growth – Part of Blue Ridge HealthCare’s community outreach benefit (see information from August) involves supporting students seeking careers in healthcare. During the 2006-2007 academic year, BRHC provided practical learning experiences and materials for nearly 500 students, at no additional cost to them. Representing 24 different programs from 17 different community colleges and universities, the students trained and studied at Grace and Valdese Hospitals under the guidance of some of our best healthcare professionals. In another commitment to supporting job growth and meeting future needs for healthcare workers, BRHC made a multi-year commitment in 2007 to the new Allied Health and Science Higher Education Center being developed jointly with Western Piedmont Community College and Western Carolina University, with support from leaders in government, business, education and economic development.

Employees Giving Back to the Community – In addition to the official community benefits described in the previous nine months of our calendar, Blue Ridge HealthCare and our more than 1000 care team members make invaluable contributions to the communities we serve through philanthropy and involvement in public service. In 2007 our employees contributed nearly $112,000 to our annual HOPE Campaign. Their gifts supported not only the Burke County United Way but also three special funds supporting needy patients and employees experiencing facing financial challenges. BRHC’s Chaplains Discretionary Fund enables BRHC’s two chaplains to help patients and their families with medications, clothing and other personal needs. The Employee Emergency Fund assists care team members facing sudden, unexpected needs with monetary support. Finally, our employees support the mission of the Blue Ridge HealthCare Foundation through donations to the HOPE Campaign.

Using Philanthropy to Support Our Non-Profit Mission – Often in partnership with community organizations, the Blue Ridge HealthCare Foundation works to support patient services within our healthcare system and activities that enhance the overall health of the community through gifts, special events and grants. Work by the Foundation, Cancer Center Outreach, HOPE Campaign Committee and others in 2007 supported cancer care, the School Nurse Program, the Children’s Miracle Network and the unique needs of women and children, among others. In 2007 BRHC and the Foundation provided over $200,000 to fund five nurses and the director of the Burke County Public Schools School Nurse Program. To learn about giving opportunities through the Foundation, please call 580-5356.

Serving through Volunteering – Volunteers at Blue Ridge HealthCare benefit the community in their own unique way by giving their time, energy, creativity and leadership in service to our patients, visitors and care team members. The dedicated members of the Blue Ridge HealthCare Volunteers at Grace and Valdese Hospitals donated 32,000 hours of service in 2007. In addition, proceeds from gift shop sales and special events they sponsor are designed to support BRHC’s mission of enhancing life by excelling in care. These proceeds are returned to the system every year as donations for purchasing equipment, awarding scholarships (eight in 2007) and providing other services. If you would like to be a volunteer, please call 580-5483 at Grace Hospital or 879-7510 at Valdese Hospital.

Read about our charity care and discount policies