Cheshire Medical Center

Cheshire Medical Center Releases Community Benefits Report

(Keene, NH, March 16, 2009) — Cheshire Medical Center has released its 2008 community benefits report, an annual inventory of charitable activities required by state law for all nonprofit health trusts.

A community benefits report identifies the health needs of the community and describes efforts over the past year as well as plans for the coming year to meet those needs. All community benefits activities are quantified to measure their economic value.

Cheshire Medical Center reports it invested to $6 million in community service during its fiscal year 2008 (9/30/07-10/01/08). The largest expense absorbed by the hospital was in providing financial assistance to patients unable to pay for care. The hospital provided close to $2 million in charity care. When combined with technical and physician fees offered by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene, the amount of charity care offered by the two together climbs to $5.2 million.

Cheshire Medical Center discounts uninsured individuals’ bills by 30-35%, depending on the service. Individuals may also apply for additional financial assistance, which can further discount care by 25% or at higher increments until care is provided at no cost to the patient. In these cases, the costs for services are absorbed as expenses by the hospital and clinic
The second largest investment came in the form of community health improvement programs. Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene dedicated more than $1.4 million to the operation of community health improvement programs last year.

These free and reduced cost programs address areas identified as top priorities through formal needs analyses. The Monadnock Region Community Benefits Needs Assessment 2008 identified the top health concerns of community as: access to health care, primary care, and dental care.

Cheshire Medical Center sponsors an outreach program called 100% Schools, which works with school nurses to help children from low and moderate income households obtain health insurance. It also offers Medication Assistance, a program that obtains donated prescription medication from pharmaceutical companies and then offers them at no cost medications to low income individuals.

To meet the pressing dental health needs of the community, Cheshire Medical Center employs two dental hygienists and a dental assistant to operate Cheshire Smiles, a dental program that puts hygienists into the schools and community to provide free screenings and sealants. To serve the dental needs of low-income adults, the hospital also supports two adult programs it helped launch: Dental Works, a public/private program for underserved residents of Cheshire County and The Traveling Adult Dental Service, a volunteer rotating free dental clinic.

The hospital’s 2008 Community Benefits Report also detailed the costs associated with providing six athletic trainers to four area high schools. “Our school sports medicine program puts athletic trainers and doctors on the playing field to offer medical treatment for injuries,” said Schlegelmilch. “A lot of kids get hurt in team sports. We are working with schools and coaches to keep children safer.”

In reporting on its plans for 2009, Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene plans to triple its spending to combat childhood obesity, bolster its support of the healthiest community initiative (called Vision 2020), and work with a regional group to develop guidelines and materials to help patients “navigate the health care maze.”.

> Read the 2008 Community Benefits Report (PDF)

> Read the Monadnock Region Community Benefit Needs Assessment 2008 (PDF)

> Click here to view the 2008 Community Benefits Summary.