St. Luke's Report to the Community 2004

12
As average life expectancy increases in our nation, the
availability of health care for seniors continues to decrease.
The costs associated with caring for aging patients is steadily
increasing, and Medicare reimbursement fails to keep pace.
St. Luke’s Internal Medicine (SLIM), a group of physicians and
allied health professionals that provides quality, cost-efficient
care for adults, is meeting this challenge.
SLIM was established in 1992 with two physicians, and a focus
on caring for patients with Medicare coverage. SLIM now offers
the services of 32 internal medicine physicians — including four
hospitalists that provide in-hospital care only — and seven
mid-level providers.
Not-for-profit hospitals have some of the lowest mortality rates
for inpatient visits1 , and programs such as SLIM are part of
the reason why. The amount we subsidize for SLIM is growing,
yet St. Luke’s solution to caring for our elderly population is
definitely paying off where it counts most: in people’s lives.
Cost to Provide
St. Luke’s Internal Medicine
to Our Community
$3,500,000
$3,000,000
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
$1,500,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
St. Luke’s Internal Medicine — Then and Now
1996 2004
Physicians 14 32
Physician Assistants 1 4
Nurse Practitioners — 3
Hospitalists — 4
Support Staff 44 100
Clinic Visits/Year 24,380 60,000+
Annual Operating Budget $3,200,000 $11,500,000
1 Woolhandler, Steffie; Himmelstein, David. “The High Costs of For-Profit Care.” Published by
the Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School Department of Medicine. Cambridge, MA.