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Make your community benefit really benefit.

Article Excerpt
The pressure is on at many hospitals and health systems as cities and towns are asking non-profit hospitals more and more: What have you done for me lately?

Proving your organization's worth and keeping your tax exempt status takes more than health screenings and classes, said Frederick C. Bagg, director of planning and research at St. Francis Health System in Beech Grove, IN. It's about partnering with your community and knowing its most pressing needs, Bagg said during "Community Health & Needs Assessment and the Role of Community Benefit" at the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development's (SHSMD) annual conference and exhibit in October.

"Community benefit implies collaboration with a community to benefit its residents--particularly the poor, minorities, and other underserved groups--by improving health status and quality of life," Bagg said.

Determine your community

To really benefit your community, your organization must be able to plan projects and events that will help its members lead happier, healthier lives.

To even attempt this, Bagg said, you have to know who your community is and what's going on within it. Is there an abnormally high rate of breast cancer among your town's residents? Does the region as a whole have an obesity problem? Are most of your community's residents senior citizens or young families? Knowing the answers to these questions is crucial, Bagg said.

To determine its benefit to the greater Indianapolis area, St. Francis worked with Chuck Warnick, product manager for Thomson Healthcare's...

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