As a nonprofit health care organization, Missouri Baptist and the other hospitals that make up BJC, are committed to the communities and populations we serve through better health and better health care. In fulfillment of this trust, we invest our resources and earnings in:
- Continuing to provide charity care and financial assistance to patients unable to pay for necessary health services
- Providing a wide range of health literacy services, screenings and information to underserved populations and helping to link those populations to appropriate health care providers
- Partnering with employers, local governments, schools and other nonprofit organizations to deliver health services, screenings and information in nontraditional settings
- Providing necessary regional services such as emergency preparedness, trauma and health care safety net services
- Educating the next generation of health care providers
- Developing and supporting innovative programs in health promotion, health protection and disease prevention that lead to better health and better health care
Institutional Commitment
In recognition of the need for greater clarity surrounding community benefit work of nonprofit organizations, BJC established a committee of the Board of Directors to ensure that BJC meets the community benefit standard and is at the forefront of community benefit reporting. The committee ensures that BJC:
- Complies with all requirements of federal and state government bodies with respect to community benefit reporting
- Meets our community benefit obligation as a tax-exempt, charitable organization
- Targets resources appropriately to address community health needs
- Maximizes the impact of financial resources dedicated to community outreach
- Communicates BJC’s contributions to various audiences
- Adheres to accepted guidelines for data collection and reporting
Community Benefit Reporting Guidelines
To address legislative and other concerns about hospitals’ tax-exempt status, the Internal Revenue Service created a new mechanism, Schedule H on IRS Form 990, to help quantify community benefit. Schedule H includes the following elements:
| BJC Community Benefit (2010 data) |
|
| Charity care at cost |
$77.9 million |
| Unreimbursed Medicaid at cost |
$91.7 million |
| Cash and in-kind contributions to community groups |
$4.0 million |
| Community health improvement initiatives |
$18.7 million |
| Health professional education |
$120.5 million |
| Cost of research |
$26.7 million |
| Subsidized health services |
$71.6 million |
| Other community building activities (emergency response planning) |
$1.3 million |
In addition to what is reported under IRS rules, BJC absorbed the cost of care for other patients who were unable to pay for the medical services they received.
| Charity-eligible care at cost |
$82.7 million |
| Total |
$495.1 million |
Visit the BJC Community Benefit Report website for more information.