OAHHS Hospital Voice Fall/Winter 2019

11 Fall/Winter 2019 programs that could help her gain control of other factors impacting her overall well-being. “If we can effectively identify people’s needs and match them with the appropriate resources, we can not only improve outcomes, but we can reduce the overall cost of care, too,” Friedman said. “That’s how we’re going to deliver on total health.” Kaiser Permanente’s new program is but one example of how hospitals and health systems across Oregon are bumping up their efforts to provide broader benefits to the communities they serve. On top of the charity care and unreimbursed costs that hospitals provide and incur each year, hospitals and health systems around the state offer a wide range of programs, services, and assistance that help community members with everything from nutrition and education to transportation, housing, and more. Addressing those elements alongside communities’ health care needs has become the go-to approach for achieving a complete picture of health. “The biggest thing is that health occurs outside of hospitals,” said Daniel Field, executive director of community health at Kaiser Permanente Northwest. “We have built an amazing system in Oregon of very high-quality hospitals and health systems, but no matter how much we invest in our four walls, the reality is it is the community, the home, and the school environment that determine if people are healthy, so we are shifting to social determinants. Unless we address those, we are never going to fully address health.” For many years, nonprofit hospitals and health systems have been required to report their community benefit spending and document the benefits they provide to communities. According to a 2018 Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems report, community benefit refers to health care related services that hospitals provide largely without compensation. Categories include charity care, research, cash contributions, “underpayment”— when hospitals receive payments that are less than the cost of providing care for patients on public health programs—health professionals education, and community building activities. Hospitals conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment every three years to determine what the greatest needs of the community are and where they should be directing their community benefit resources. In 2017, nonprofit hospitals in Oregon spent $2.3 billion on community benefits. Looking to add yet another layer of accountability to hospitals when it comes to community benefit, the ”If we can effectively identify people's needs and match them with the appropriate resources, we can not only improve outcomes, but we can reduce the overall cost of care, too. That's how we're going to deliver on total health.” Nicole Friedman continues 