Committed To Our Community

Our Community. Our Commitment.

Memorial Hospital will always be grounded by our community roots. When its founders planted the seed 58 years ago, it was probably hard to imagine that the hospital would grow into the mighty tree it is today, with branches that extend far and wide.

Health Matters

Meeting the health care needs of the communities we serve is the cornerstone of Memorial’s not-for-profit mission. That mission also extends to serving those who cannot afford health care and to supporting programs and services for those in financial need.

Local governance, local decisions for local people. Members of Memorial’s Board of Trustees are local people who make decisions that are carefully considered to provide the best possible health care for our community.

Our Role as Not-for-profit

Unlike health care systems owned by for-profit companies that return profit to stockholders, Memorial is a not-for-profit organization with a charitable purpose. Memorial Hospital was founded in 1950 by a group of local citizens. As a not-for-profit hospital any money remaining after expenses have been paid is reinvested in health care. That money stays in the community to purchase needed medical equipment and support health education and other community health needs.

It’s better for patients

The community-owned, not-for-profit approach to health care best serves our patients and our communities – for multiple reasons. It’s good for patients. For profit hospitals focus mainly on acute care and services that have a “bottom line”. Not-for-profit hospitals have a full continuum of services, with many that do not have a positive bottom line.

Our stockholders are our communities

The local Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees bases all decisions on the needs of the community. Investor-owned, for-profit health systems have a financial incentive to avoid caring for uninsured and underinsured patients. They have a financial incentive to avoid hard-to-serve populations.

Memorial offers many programs that are costly and generally unprofitable, such as the community cancer registry, diabetes education and various programs for children and families, such as the ABC (After the Baby Comes) Clinic, YouthWorks, and Passport To Health®.

It’s our mission to sustain much needed services, regardless of how we are reimbursed.

Providing charity care and special programs to communities

In 2006, Memorial provided a record $26.5 million in programs for the underserved and on services for the broader community.

Memorial fulfills vital community needs through community benefit programs to help to make our community healthier.

Memorial’s Commitment to the Community

The following is a summary of Memorial’s commitment to the communities it serves:

Community Benefit (in millions) 2006
*Services for the poor and underserved $20.9

**Benefits for the broader community $5.6

*Services provided to persons who cannot afford health care because of inadequate resources and/or are uninsured or underinsured. It also includes the unpaid cost of treating Medicaid, Medicare, charity care and public/indigent care beneficiaries.

**Providing health screenings, community-based clinical service, community health education, and other health related services, training health professionals, and the cost of performing vital medical research, and health care support services.