Silver Cross Community Benefit more than $39 Million in FY 2019

Silver Cross Hospital’s community benefit totaled over $39 million in fiscal year (FY) 2019 (Oct. 1, 2018-Sept. 30, 2019). Included in the hospital’s community benefit was more than $7.6 million in charity care (at cost) in which Silver Cross does not expect payment from patients. Additionally, over $8 million in uncompensated services was provided through the government’s Medicaid program. 

“At Silver Cross Hospital, we realize that social and economic well-being are often factors that impact the health of individuals and communities. That’s why we remain committed to addressing issues of health disparity wherever they exist,” said Ruth Colby, President and CEO of Silver Cross Hospital. “We want to ensure everyone in our community has access to quality health care regardless of a patient’s income or insurance status. In addition, through the Silver Cross Healthy Community Commission, we are able to connect area residents with much-needed resources that allow them to improve their health.”   

The Silver Cross Healthy Community Commission is a not-for-profit group of local leaders devoted to improving access to healthcare, workforce development and redevelopment of Silver Cross Hospital’s former eastside Joliet campus. 

Silver Cross Hospital’s FY2019 community benefit initiatives included:

• Pledge to Provide Charity Care: In 2008, the hospital pledged to provide at least $4 million a year for 10 years in charity care to serve the impoverished and uninsured in Will County. In the past eleven years, over $86 million in care was delivered to Will County patients. That number reflects the actual cost of health care provided. It does not include shortfalls in payments from the state’s Medicaid program for the poor or the Medicare program for seniors and disabled citizens. These programs only cover a fraction of Silver Cross Hospital’s cost for treating patients. 

• Financial Assistance: Silver Cross provides financial assistance to patients who maintain a household income up to 400% above the Federal Poverty Level. In addition, the hospital provides a 50% discount off of charges to all uninsured patients. Applications for assistance are available online at www.silvercross.org or by contacting the Patients Accounts Department at (815) 300-7087. English- and Spanish-speaking financial counselors are available. 

• Subsidized Services and Screenings: In addition to charity care and government-sponsored indigent care, Silver Cross provided more than $2.8 million in other community benefits last year, which included free and subsidized health services, programs and screenings, and donations to more than 300,000 people in Will County.  

• Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Resource Hospital: Silver Cross is also helping to save lives serving as the resource hospital for the area’s EMS system.  Silver Cross gave $618,000 to provide paramedic training, continuing education, and monitoring of ambulance services in Will and Grundy counties.  

• Scholarships and Grants: Through the Silver Cross Healthy Community Commission, the hospital also awarded over $200,000 in healthcare-related scholarships, workforce development grants and quality-of-life initiatives. Over 50,000 individuals associated with local organizations such as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sororities, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Community Service Council, Girl Scouts of America, Greater YMCA of Joliet, Harvey Brooks Foundation, Hispanic/Latino Coalition of Will County, NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), National Hook-up For Black Women, Spanish Community Center, University of St. Francis, Warren Sharp Community Center, and Will-Grundy Medical Center were beneficiaries of Silver Cross’ investment in the community. 

To learn more about other ways Silver Cross is providing benefit to the Community, visit www.silvercross.org for a copy of the 2019 Community Benefit Report.