Hospital H

History of Hospital H

Hospital H is a for-profit, large urban hospital (400+ beds) providing acute-care, general services to the Southwest region. This community hospital was founded in the late 1800s to provide services to the growing community and is now part of the largest health system in the city.

Ownership of the hospital passed from nonprofit to a for-profit and nonprofit collaboration when a for-profit health care system acquired majority ownership in the 2000s under the stipulations the new owner continue addressing community health via the hospital foundation.

Hospital H is in an urban community surrounded by a larger rural region with around one million residents. The community is more racially diverse than the average US population with approximately 48% of residents identifying as White non-Hispanic, 34% as Hispanic or Latino, 8% as Black, and 8% as Asian. The remainder of the population is a mix of additional races and ethnicities. Educational attainment is higher than the average US population with approximately 89.5% of residents completing high school, and 52% obtaining a bachelor’s degree or higher. The city has a wide range of employment including manufacturing, financial services, defense and security, and information technology and telecommunications. An average resident is 34 years of age, and middle-class with a household income between $70,000 - $100,000. The community has a poverty rate between 11% and 14%, and the median property values are +300K.

The state where Hospital H is located does not currently have a CON law program and was one of many states to repeal their CON programs after the federal government removed the CON mandate in the late 1980s. Today, only 35 states and DC have regulation via CON laws.

Hospital H as an Anchor Institution

Hospital H is the highest-ranking hospital in its city, and is also ranked in the top ten hospitals in the state. Hospital H, in collaboration with the Hospital Foundation, is committed to advancing health equity by improving the wellness of the community’s underserved populations. Hospital H is dedicated to increasing access to health care and taking an active role in community development initiatives that address the social determinants of health. Outreach and engagement efforts include initiatives that address childhood resiliency, the health of women and girls, helping elder populations better age in place, supporting safety net clinics that address poverty, working with both rural and urban local neighborhoods to address health inequities, and increasing access to healthy food, dental care, health care, and education for underserved populations.

As Hospital H is a for-profit and nonprofit collaboration with a foundation, they are able to acquire grants to assist in addressing health disparities. Hospital H relies on three key strategies to address health inequities: leading philanthropic efforts to fund community development and reinvestment in an effort to achieve better health equity; leveraging efforts by evaluating outcomes and communicating effective initiatives to the public; and partnering with communities and organizations to improve population health.

Staff explain that motivations for carrying out anchoring efforts stem from the mission and nature of the health system, which has always been dedicated to health equity. An employee stated it is simply “the right thing to do and we are going to do it.” Hospital H is invested in place-based, community-driven engagement with the goal of improving health equity.

The primary challenges staff face stem from finding value in so many initiatives, neighborhoods, and organizations and being unable to provide resources to everyone. Staff report the biggest challenge for them is focusing on more strategic efforts that may have more measurable outcomes on health inequities.

Funding

Provide financial support for:

• Safety-Net Community Clinics
• Local Food Banks
• Community Mental Health Support
• Ronald McDonald House
• United Way
• Meals on Wheels
• American Heart Association
• March of Dimes

Community Stability

• One of the largest health systems in the state and the area.
• Serves as a primary employer for the community.
• Employees work in the medical fields, technology, STEM, food and transportation services.

Health Promotion

• Community education seminars and initiatives.
• Charity medical care for underserved communities.
• Outreach and engagement efforts that focus on the social determinants of health.

Community Building

Hospital H partners with community organizations and works directly with community members to address the social determinants of health:

• Poverty
• Lack of access to food and safe housing
• Lack of access to health care via safety-net clinics
• Domestic violence and women’s health
• Elder care and poverty in aging populations
• Childhood resiliency
• Improving health disparities in rural communities
• Increasing access to dental health
• Increasing access to education via scholarship programs