07/28/2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 28, 2020

Contact: Christina Crooks Bryan Cell: 302-245-1638,  christina@deha.org

   
(DOVER, DE – July 28, 2020) The Delaware Healthcare Association today released its 2020 Community Benefits Report, a biennial report of the public health and economic benefits Delaware hospitals and health systems provide to the State. The report finds that Delaware hospitals and health systems provided nearly $715 million in community benefit spending to our communities in Fiscal Year 2018.
 
The report also provides a sampling of community benefit programs funded by each health system and highlights the economic impact of Delaware’s hospitals and health systems on the State.
 
“Delaware’s Hospitals have a tremendous impact on the health and economy of the State. In a state without any public charity care hospitals, our members are the safety net healthcare providers. High quality healthcare services are delivered to everyone who walks through our front doors, regardless of ability to pay. Delaware hospitals invest millions of dollars in initiatives and services that aim to advance not only the health of our population, but also to address unmet needs in the community,” said Wayne A. Smith, President and CEO of the Delaware Healthcare Association. “Hospitals also are key economic drivers for Delaware, offering tens of thousands of well-paying jobs that translate into additional economic benefits.”
 
Community Benefit Spending
The report finds that in 2018, Delaware hospitals contributed nearly $715 million statewide in community benefit spending. This includes:

• $543 million in unpaid costs of patient care, such as charity care ($52.8 million), bad debt ($53 million) and unpaid cost from Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare ($437.3 million); and,
• $171.8 million in community benefit services and programs that aim to advance health or address unmet needs in our communities.

 
Community Benefit Services & Programs
The report highlights examples of community benefit programs and initiatives that Delaware hospitals and health systems have developed to improve health in our communities. These initiatives include:

• Launching new Graduate Medical Education programs to bring more primary care providers to Delaware (Bayhealth)
• Bringing high-tech expert teleconsulting to Sussex County (Beebe Healthcare)
• Investing in the community to address social determinants of health (ChristianaCare)
• Addressing food insecurity through the Healing Harvest program (Nanticoke)
• Advancing activities that benefit children and families through the Community Funding Program (Nemours)
• Advocating and educating for healthier tobacco-free communities (Saint Francis)
• Reaching out to veterans in times of crisis with the Suicide Prevention Program (Wilmington VA Medical Center)

 
Economic Impact
Delaware hospitals spend over $3.2 billion on goods and services from other businesses. These goods and services from other businesses create additional economic value for the community. With these “ripple effects” included, each hospital job supports about two additional jobs and every dollar spent by a hospital supports almost $2.00 of additional business activity. The effect of hospital expenditures on total state economic output is over $6 billion.

• Hospital Jobs: 23,068 
• Average Salary: $70,550
• State and Local Taxes Paid: $61,535,848
• Hospitals support 45,726 jobs in Delaware (10.23% of jobs in the State) and generate $6,041,665,769 in economic activity

 
About the Report
The hospitals and health systems that provided data for this report include: Bayhealth (Kent and Sussex Campus), Beebe Healthcare, ChristianaCare (Wilmington and Newark hospitals), Nanticoke Memorial Hospital, Nemours/A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children, and Saint Francis Healthcare. The Delaware Healthcare Association biennially collects data to quantify total community benefit contributions from all Delaware hospitals. 
 
Please find the full report on the DHA website, here: https://www.deha.org/Reports/Community-Benefits/Documents/Community-Benefit-Report-2020-(FY2018)
 
About the Delaware Healthcare Association 
The Delaware Healthcare Association (DHA) was formed in 1967 to assist Delaware hospitals in working on issues concerning health care and the hospital industry. DHA is a statewide trade and membership services organization that serves as a leader in the promotion of effective change in health services through collaboration and consensus building on health care issues at the State and Federal levels. DHA’s vision is to be the leading and respected voice for hospitals and health care delivery systems in Delaware working together to deliver compassionate, accessible, high quality, financially sustainable health care to the patients and communities they serve. DHA’s mission is to provide policy and advocacy leadership in creating an excellent environment for enabling every Delawarean to be as healthy as they can be.