09/07/2022

(DOVER, DE – September 7, 2022) The Delaware Healthcare Association today released its 2022 Community Benefits Report, a biennial report of the public health and economic benefits Delaware hospitals and health systems provide to our state. The report finds that Delaware hospitals and health systems provided nearly $978 million in community benefit spending to our communities in Fiscal Year 2020. This includes charity care, bad debt, losses on government sponsored health insurance and supporting an array of programs benefitting their local communities throughout the state. 
 
The report also sheds light on the impact of COVID-19 on hospital finances. Delaware hospital operating margin was negative 3.8% for fiscal year 2020 without federal COVID-19 relief. Statewide Delaware hospital operating margin was just above the break-even point at 0.34% when including federal assistance.  
 
“Regardless of the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Delaware hospitals and health systems continued to make significant investments in the health and well-being of all Delawareans,” said Wayne A. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Delaware Healthcare Association. “Delaware’s nonprofit hospitals deliver high-quality healthcare services to everyone who walks through our front doors, 24 hours a day and regardless of ability to pay. They also invest millions of dollars in programs and services that reach beyond hospital walls to advance the health of our population and address unmet needs in the community.” 
 
Community Benefit Spending
The report finds that in 2020, Delaware hospitals contributed nearly $978 million statewide in community benefit spending. This includes:

• $775.66 million in unpaid costs of patient care, such as charity care ($47.85 million), bad debt ($65.5 million), and unpaid costs from Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare ($662.29 million); and,
• $202.2 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:

• Ensuring a bright future for everyone through Project SEARCH (Bayhealth); 
• Providing access to COVID-19 vaccines via the “Bookmobile” mobile clinic (Beebe Healthcare);
• Reaching the most vulnerable with grants from the Community Investment Fund (ChristianaCare);
• Reducing risk of severe illness through vaccination with the Drive-Thru Flu Clinic (TidalHealth Nanticoke);
• Supporting each child’s whole health by working with community partners, investing in equity and inclusion, providing school-based health care, and giving back though volunteering (Nemours Children’s Health);
• Fostering partnerships for the public good with the new Healthy Village (Saint Francis Hospital); and,
• Incorporating whole health in veteran care (Wilmington VA Medical Center).

 
Economic Impact
Delaware hospitals spent over $3.9 billion on goods and services from other businesses.  These goods and services 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 $1.60 of additional business activity. The effect of hospital expenditures on total state economic output is over $6.93 billion. 

• Hospital Jobs: 22,797 
• Average Salary: $86,999
• State and Local Taxes Paid: $68,189,739
• Hospitals support 47,978 jobs in Delaware (10.74% of jobs in the State) and generate $6.9 billion in economic activity

 
About the Report
The health systems that provided data for this report include: Bayhealth, Beebe Healthcare, ChristianaCare, TidalHealth Nanticoke, Nemours Children’s Health (Delaware), and Saint Francis Hospital. 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-2022-(2020data)_9-7-22
 
About the Delaware Healthcare Association 
The Delaware Healthcare Association (DHA) was formed in 1967 and is a statewide trade and membership services organization that represents and serves hospitals, health systems, and related health care organizations in their role of providing a continuum of appropriate, cost-effective, quality care to improve the health of the people of Delaware. DHA 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.