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IHA Hospital Community Benefits Survey and ReportClick Here for the Current IHA Hospital Community Benefits Report
The IHA Community Benefits Survey is a voluntary effort undertaken by IHA to collect information about the benefits that IHA member hospitals return to their communities. Community benefits are programs and services that address identified community health needs, regardless of source or availability of payment, and provide measurable improvement in health care access, health status and the use of health care resources. Community benefits are those services that go beyond direct, mission-driven patient care activities.
Annually, IHA hospital community benefits coordinators complete the Internet-based survey. The 2009 survey is open for Iowa hospital survey submission all year around. These results are used to generate reports highlighting how Iowa’s nonprofit community hospitals are going above and beyond the delivery of essential health care services to ensure healthier children, safer environments, earlier detection of disease and enhanced access to basic health care services. Community health improvement services, such as health education, support groups, family support services and immunizations are quantified in the report. Additionally, the report quantifies charity care and bad debt data. The report also highlights programs and services through articles submitted by individual hospitals.
These reports serve as a cornerstone to IHA and member hospital use in advocacy efforts and a media blitz that communicates the social and economic importance of Iowa hospitals and health systems. IHA provides copies of the community benefits report to legislators and statewide media, and encourages members to share hospital-specific data and details of their community benefit services and programs with local media, business leaders and community groups.
Note to Critical Access Hospitals
The Iowa Hospital Association requested a legal opinion from an area law firm regarding the question of whether there is possible conflict of Iowa Critical Access hospitals (CAH) reporting on the IHA Community Benefits Survey and Iowa CAH reporting of costs on their Medicare cost report for determining their Medicare cost based reimbursement. The legal opinion has been issued and states that there is no conflict and that Iowa CAHs are able and encouraged to fully account for their community benefits services on the IHA Community Benefits Survey.
For resources and questions regarding the IHA Community Benefits Survey, contact Kara Dickey at IHA. |
