New UChicago Medicine report outlines $316 million in community benefit

New UChicago Medicine report outlines $316 million in community benefit

October 30, 2015

The University of Chicago Medicine contributed $316 million in fiscal 2014 to improve the health of the South Side and broader Chicago area, a 12 percent increase over the previous year. This figure, along with a summary of the medical center's many community programs and services for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014, are outlined in its just-published fourth annual Report to the Community.

With this year's Community Benefit Report, UChicago Medicine provides an overview of programs to address the priorities uncovered in its Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The CHNA, introduced in the fiscal 2012 report, identified access to care, diabetes, childhood obesity and asthma, and cancer -- particularly breast and colorectal cancer -- among the most pressing health needs in the communities served by the medical center.

The new report highlights dozens of initiatives taking direct aim at these needs, including more than 240 mental health consultations offered via UChicago Medicine's pediatric mobile unit, nearly 200 free mammograms and a Medical Home and Specialty Care and Connections program that linked a record 5,375 people to primary care providers. The report also features new efforts under way to help communities heal in the aftermath of violence.

The $316 million in community benefit includes uncompensated care, charity services, unrecoverable patient debt, medical education and research, and other support to the community.

Uncompensated care totaled $186.5 million, which included government-sponsored insurance plans that reimburse health care providers at lower rates than the actual cost of care, charity care and forgiveness of patient debt. UChicago Medicine contributed $78.82 million toward medical education not covered by tuition or grants and $48 million for medical research to advance patient care.

Themed "Connected to our Community," the report reveals UChicago Medicine's deep connections to local neighborhoods through many new and longstanding partnerships with community organizations, health care providers and advocates. With these partners, the medical center invests in innovative and proven strategies to link more patients to high-quality services and vital primary and specialty care close to home.

"This report offers just a glimpse of the important work being done every day to foster a healthier, stronger South Side," said Sharon O'Keefe, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center. "Our most impactful efforts result from strategic collaborations with community-based organizations. They have allowed us to maximize resources and gain valuable insights to address the social factors that impact a person's ability to make healthy choices. We're very proud of all that has been accomplished in just a few short years, and we look forward to continued improvement."

A summary of the 2014 Report to the Community was mailed this week to roughly 45,000 residents in the 60615, 60637 and 60653 ZIP codes, UChicago Medicine and Biological Sciences faculty and staff, and community and faith-based leaders. To view the full report and the Community Health Needs Assessment online, visit uchospitals.edu/community-benefit. To get a copy of the Community Benefit Report mailed to you, call 773-702-0025.