Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center provided $110.6 million in community health benefits in the fiscal year July 1, 2007- June 30, 2008. The sum represents $69,674,240 reported by North Carolina Baptist Hospital and $40,965,466 reported by Wake Forest University Health Sciences to the North Carolina Medical Care Commission.
As the region’s sole academic medical center, Wake Forest Baptist contributes uniquely to the health of Forsyth County residents and the wider Piedmont Triad community, said CEO John McConnell, M.D. “While every not-for-profit hospital and medical center provides charity care and health outreach, an academic medical center delivers additional, profound community health impact through its research and education mission.”
The Medical Center’s community benefits investment is reported according to new categories strictly defined as community benefits by the Internal Revenue Service and the N.C. Medical Care Commission. The investment includes: medical and health professions education ($33.6 million); research costs ($21.7 million); uncompensated care costs from federally funded patient care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and other non-negotiated payment government programs ($9.4 million); charity care ($32 million); community health education, screenings, outreach, non-billed services, donations and other programs providing defined community benefit ($8.5 million); and subsidized health and community programs such as the Downtown Health Plaza ($5.4 million).
In accordance with reporting guidelines, the $110.6 million total does not include bad debt, which amounted to $34.6 million in uncompensated care provided to patients who did not seek to qualify for charity care and did not pay for billed services.
Wake Forest Baptist’s community benefits report is online at www.wfubmc.edu/communitybenefits . It provides a detailed financial overview and highlights the Medical Center’s research and educational mission, the Downtown Health Plaza, and community care and outreach initiatives. It also highlights the Medical Center’s economic impact, which is estimated at $3.7 billion.
Media Relations
Paula Faria: pfaria@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-1279
Bonnie Davis: bdavis@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-1597