The 2022 Annual Report on Community Benefit details how Virginia hospitals and health systems provided $3.1 billion in community support to the Commonwealth in 2020.
The Community Benefit report from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association highlights the substantial community contributions, public health and safety investments, and economic impact Virginia’s local hospitals and health systems make. These contributions include the provision of essential health services, free and discounted care to patients without insurance or the means to pay for care, and many other programs that support medical education and clinical research, health care access, critical and often under-funded health services, and promote quality of life.
The report also spotlights Virginia hospitals’ continuing work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the critical role hospitals play in providing behavioral health care to Virginians in needs of such clinical services. While the figures presented in the Community Benefit report reflect many investments and contributions made by Virginia hospitals, they are only a partial picture of the community value hospitals provide.
The report does not account for the hundreds of millions of dollars Virginia hospitals invest each year to fund the Commonwealth’s share of Medicaid expansion costs.
“Being of service to communities is central to the mission of hospitals across Virginia,” said Steve Arner, Carilion Clinic executive vice president and COO and chair of the VHHA Board of Directors. “The Annual Report on Community Benefit showcases some of the important work of Virginia hospitals and health systems and the many benefits they provide across the Commonwealth. Those benefits have perhaps never been more evident than now during the current record-setting surge of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.”
“Hospitals and health systems are essential to the well-being of Virginians and the vitality of the Commonwealth,” VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton said. “Whether the need is life-sustaining care, initiatives to promote community health, responding to public health emergencies such as the current pandemic, or contributing to the economy, the positive impacts Virginia hospitals and health systems make are undeniable”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Commonwealth in 2020, Virginia hospitals and health systems have been on the frontlines of the response effort, having treated and discharged more than 83,600 patients admitted for inpatient care after contracting the virus. Throughout the pandemic, Virginia hospitals have effectively pursued strategies to boost testing and address supply shortages, supported efforts to increase ventilator capacity, served as a national leader in the use of new therapeutic treatments, adapted staffing models to address workforce issues, administered more than 2 million vaccine doses, and made targeted investments to increase treatment capacity for patients in need of intensive inpatient care. They have done all this and more while absorbing more than $1.8 billion in revenue losses associated with the pandemic.
In addition to the $3.1 billion in community benefit, Virginia hospitals provide more than 115,000 direct jobs with more than $10 billion in payroll and benefits, and hospitals generate roughly $45 billion in annual positive economic impact for the Commonwealth.
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AFP
