THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, March 25, 2010

To Your Health

Caring for Our Community

For more than a century, LRGHealthcare has been committed to caring for our community. In order to meet your healthcare needs, and the needs of your loved ones, friends and neighbors, sometimes we need to provide services that are not profitable. We provide these services because doing so is the right thing to do.

Last year, LRGHealthcare provided to our community nearly $34 million in programs and services for which we were not reimbursed. Here are some examples of the benefits we provide:

Community Health Services – $835,391

LRGHealthcare provides a variety of services designed to help our community access healthcare services, as well as health education to help community members live healthier lives. Trough our HealthLink Program, we provide access to primary and specialty services for those in our community without insurance. We provide support to Veterans through the VetLink program, and help patients access the medications they need through our Medication Connec- tion program. LRGHealthcare also funds ambulance services for the City of Laconia.

Health Professions Education – $358,398

LRGHealthcare participates in a number of programs to provide opportunities for students interested or engaged in healthcare careers, whether providing direct training or opportunities to explore healthcare careers. We provide clinical settings for undergraduate training in fields including nursing, medical imaging, pharmacy, physical therapy, emergency medical services, social work, and phlebotomy. We also provide scholarships and funding for educational programs in a number of health professions through our TuitionLink Program; we partner with Lakes Region Community College’s Nursing program; and in 2009, we welcomed eight third-year osteopathic medical students from the University of New England.

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Presented by LRGHealthcare

Subsidized Health Services - $4,900,590

LRGHealthcare subsidizes a number of primary care practices to ensure ongoing access to our region, and also provides our community with a much broader spectrum of specialty care than one would typically find in a rural healthcare system. We aggressively recruit to continue to bring quality providers to our region. We have invested in chronic disease manage- ment programs, breast health education, and our Mammography Bridge program to improve the health outcomes and quality of life for our community.

Community Building Activities - $157,258

LRGHealthcare works in partnership with a number of local organizations to strengthen and develop our community. LRGHealthcare is a key member of community safety and support systems enhancement efforts. We participate in Emergency Preparedness efforts, and actively work with our partners in the community to address public health initiatives. Recognizing our global responsibilities, we have also undertaken a number of initiatives to lessen our environ- mental footprint. We support community leadership development, and coalition building among partner agencies across our community.

Charity Care - $6,013,305

Tis is the amount (based on costs) of free or discounted care we provided last year to people in our community. We take our mission to make quality healthcare available, affordable, and accessible to all in our community very seriously, and we are proud of the impact we have had in this area.

Government-Sponsored Healthcare – Medicaid – $6,710,186

Te Medicaid program has long been under-funded by the State and Federal Governments. Last year, LRGHealthcare had $6,710,186 in unreimbursed costs for Medicaid patients.

Government-Sponsored Healthcare—Medicare; and Other Uncollectable Debt—$14,803,116

Te State of New Hampshire’s Community Benefit reporting form does not include certain categories that are recognized as community benefits for other purposes. In addition to the benefits listed above, LRGHealthcare also had $11,076,646 in unreimbursed costs for care of Medicare patients; $2,819,050 in uncollectable debt; and provided an additional $907,420 in Patient Advantage discounts.

A copy of the 2009 LRGHealthcare Community Benefits Report, along with more information on our activities in each of these areas, will be available on our website at www.lrgh.org in mid-Spring. Please visit for more information. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40