Community Benefit

Community benefits are clinical or non-clinical programs or activities providing treatment and/or promoting health and healing that are responsive to identified community needs, not provided for marketing purposes. Community benefits meet at least one of the following criteria: 
    –    Generate a low or negative margin 
    –    Respond to needs of special populations, such as minorities, frail elderly, poor persons with disabilities, chronically mentally ill, and other disenfranchised persons. 
    –    Supply services or programs that would likely be discontinued (or would need to be provided by another not-for-profit or government provider) if the decision were made on a purely financial basis. 
    –    Involve education or research that improves overall community health.

Community Benefit Objectives
    1.    Address Community Need; 
    2.    Improve Access to Health Services;  
    3.    Enhance Population Health; 
    4.    Advance Knowledge; and/or 
    5.    Demonstrate Charitable Purpose

Community Benefit Toolkit
Increased community benefit reporting is on the horizon. The Kansas Hospital Association has created the Community Benefit resources below to help Kansas hospitals in our efforts to get in front of the curve on community benefit reporting. These documents can be downloaded and customized for your individual hospital. If you would like more information about our statewide community benefit efforts or have questions about the CBISA web-based reporting tool, please contact Tish Hollingsworth at (785) 233-7436.

Community Benefit Report Template 
Template Community Benefit Report – 11x17 brochure 
Sample Media Release 
Employee Newsletter Article 
Community Benefit PowerPoint for Hospital Staff 
Community Benefit PowerPoint for Community Leaders 
Community Benefit 101 PowerPoint for Hospital Coordinators 
CB Policy and Procedure 
Sample Occurrence Form
Lyons Workstation Setting for CBISA 
CBISA Quick Start Guide 
Billing, Financial Assistance and Collection Practices

Community Benefit Reporting
Defining the community benefits hospitals provide to the community has become more than just a mission of community hospitals. It also is a legal obligation. Many reporting requirements exist, including the new Internal Revenue Service 990 Schedule H. To assist hospitals in organizing this information, the Kansas Hosptial Association is providing access at no charge for the Lyon CBISA for States software. This software will assist not-for-profit hospitals in creating an annual community benefit report. In addition to the creation of individual hospital reports, KHA will be able to aggregate data and compile a state-wide report to demonstrate the role, value and benefit of community hospitals in Kansas that can be used for advocacy and public education purposes.

Community Impact Data in the 2009 Annual STAT Report
This bookmarked PDF contains data on the economic impact of hospitals and the health care sector in Kansas. It specifically looks at employment and income impacts hospital have in Kansas.