Robert J. Brody
President and CEO Dear Friend:
“I’m a big believer in giving back. Volunteering at Shepherd Community Center allows me to serve a real health care need, see all the adorable children whom I love, and help out my neighborhood.” — Susan E. Hartman, M.D. St. Francis Family Physician
Dr. Susan Hartman, a family physician with the St. Francis Medical Group featured in the 2008 St. Francis Community Benefit Report, puts these words into action as part of her volunteer efforts to address the growing population of Hoosiers without health insurance — a problem that must be solved.
Data from Families USA shows that more than one in four people (29 percent) in Indiana under the age of 65 went without health insurance for all or part of the two-year period 2007–2008. For people of color, the numbers are worse — 53 percent of Hispanic/Latinos and 42.3 percent of African Americans in Indiana have no health insurance.
While solutions to this issue are debated nationally, volunteers like Dr. Hartman and Ellen Johnson, a St. Francis Parish Nurse serving at Zion Evangelical United Church of Christ (also featured herein), are on the front lines helping people in need of medical care. We couldn’t be prouder of their community work, and we hope you enjoy reading their inspiring stories and others in the current report.
As you would expect from a not-for-profit, mission-centered healthcare system, St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is maximizing its financial resources to do its part, providing more than $122 million in total net community benefit for 2008, including $24 million in charity care to low-income and underinsured patients, more than $75 million in unreimbursed Medicare and Medicaid services, and $21 million worth of education, re-search and benefits to low-income families and other community members.
St. Francis’ recent research efforts benefiting the community, here and globally, are particularly noteworthy; the most recent offers significant healing advantages and quality of life benefits to patients after cardiac surgery. St. Francis Heart Center surgeon Marc Gerdisch, M.D., successfully performed the first-ever surgeries to repair or remodel heart structures, such as valves, using a unique collagen “patch” that enables patients to naturally re-grow their own cardiovascular tissue. Known as the Extracellular Matrix (ECM)TM, this revolutionary biomaterial harnesses the body’s innate ability to repair damaged heart tissue, allowing the body to heal with its own cells, avoiding any rejection.
As St. Francis continues to fulfill its Franciscan mission of caring for all, regardless of their ability to pay, we are actively participating in the national effort to do the same for all Americans. We support the effort, yet like the other major providers in the U.S. healthcare system, are concerned that improving access to healthcare will mean providing more services with less reimbursement. Through the Indiana Hospital Association and other organizations, we are working with our congressional delegation to find a workable solution.
Thank you for your continued support of St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers and our promise of hope for all of those entrusted to our care.
Sincerely,
Robert J. Brody
President & Chief Executive Officer
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