Swedish today published its 2017 Community Benefit Report, detailing the organization’s almost $200 million investment in community benefit programs for the year.
This included almost $24 million in free and discounted care, a 12 percent increase from the prior year. Over the last five years, Swedish has invested more than $900 million in community benefit and is on track to increase this to more than $1 billion by the end of 2018.
“As CEO, I am incredibly proud of Swedish’s unwavering commitment to provide care to everyone who walks through our doors,” said Dr. Guy Hudson, Swedish CEO in a press release. “We believe in serving our communities with the highest quality care delivery by the best physicians, nurses and other caregivers.”
Read more of Dr. Hudson’s public message on the 2017 Community Benefit Report here.
As detailed in the report, Swedish is also proud to care for Medicaid patients, serving more than 107,000 Medicaid distinct patients in 2017. In fact, the organization committed to nearly $123 million in unfunded government-sponsored medical care (this does not include Medicare).
In addition, Swedish subsidized almost $17 million in clinical and social services, invested in more than $30 million in education and research programs, and spent over $4 million in community health, grants and donations.
Through Swedish’s Community Health Needs Assessment, the not-for-profit organization is focused on helping to address needs that are directly shaped by geography, demographics, environmental exposure, health-related issues and socioeconomic factors. A key component of finding innovative and measurable ways to reduce health care costs and improve the health of all people in the community includes partnering closely with more than 120 large and small local non-profit organizations like Lifelong, March of Dimes, American Diabetes Association, Community Lunch on Capitol Hill and the Somalia Health Board.
“We are committed to addressing growing community health concerns in a variety of areas including the mounting opioid epidemic, the increasing need for mental health services, the critical issue of reducing disparities in birth outcomes through improved maternal and child health initiatives, and the vital request of our LGBTQ community for a welcoming and inclusive environment for medical care,” continued Dr. Hudson in a press release.
As in years past, Swedish employees continued demonstrating their own personal commitment to the community by serving more than 6,500 volunteer hours collectively over the course of the year.
Locals can click here to read the full Swedish 2017 Community Benefit Report.
