How Hospitals Help the Community

How Hospitals Help the Community
If you watch the news, read the paper or cruise the social media threads, you are well aware that the
concept of US healthcare is a ping pong ball being knocked back and forth across the net between those
who feel the our doctors are honestly trying to keep us healthy, and those who feel the whole industry
is designed to keep us sick. It’s not a new concept, but with the advances in communication over the
years, the debate is reaching more and more people.
Where does that leave the actual brick-and-mortar hospitals and medical centers who are stuck in the
middle of this debate? A recent article from The American Hospital Association had this to say about
how, despite the growing debate, hospitals are still a force for good in their communities:
The billions that hospitals spend on an array of activities, such as wellness programs,
transportation and housing assistance among other community-oriented projects, are not
accounted for in basic financial reports. The bottom line: Hospitals continue to provide
tremendous benefits to the communities they serve.
Hospitals also use their resources to reinvest in new models of care that go well beyond the
traditional hospital walls, finding new ways to help improve the health of their communities—
from providing access to medical care for patients in rural areas to supporting cutting-edge
medical research and innovations. Hospitals are also working tirelessly to address and combat
the social determinants of health, such as poverty and violence, that harm individuals’ ability to
achieve well-being.
Despite these daunting financial challenges that many hospitals face, our commitment to our
mission remains unshakable: to provide a wide array of benefits tailored to the particular needs
of the communities we proudly serve.
No matter which side of the healthcare debate you stand on, your local hospitals and medical centers
are still there, still struggling to stay open, staffed with a team of doctors, specialists and surgeons, who
stand ready to help heal any ailment you or the community has.
If you aren’t aware of your local hospital, simply Google “medical center near me” and a list of hospitals,
clinics and surgical centers will be made available to you.