We would like to share the following community benefit news and resources with you.
Pre-Assembly Community Benefit program slides
IRS report to Congress on tax-exempt hospitals
AHA and CHA urge IRS to consider housing as community benefit
CDC launches new website to support community health improvement work
SAMSHA resources
NQF requests feedback on Community Action Guide
Community Benefit 101 registration open
Community benefit in the news
Pre-Assembly Community Benefit program slides
This year's Pre-Assembly Community Benefit program focused on new models of community engagement to achieve population health goals. Models included a school system-hospital partnership that integrates school health and community benefit programs to deliver primary and mental health care to students and the use of the collective impact framework to integrate a hospital's population health management efforts for a defined population with community-wide interventions. Attendees also got an update on the final IRS regulations implementing 501(r) requirements for tax-exempt hospitals. View slides for the program.
IRS report to Congress on tax-exempt hospitals
Earlier this year the IRS, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), completed and provided Congress a report on the activities of tax-exempt and other hospitals. The Affordable Care Act requires the IRS and HHS to submit an annual report to certain congressional committees regarding the levels of charity care provided by tax-exempt, taxable and government hospitals; their bad debt expenses and unreimbursed costs for services associated with means-tested and other government programs; and, for tax-exempt hospitals, costs incurred for community benefit activities. The report shows that tax-exempt hospitals' community benefit activities represented 9.67% of their total expenses for Tax Year 2011.
AHA and CHA urge IRS to consider housing as community benefit
On April 1 the American Hospital Association and CHA submitted a letter to the IRS asking the IRS to recognize efforts to improve housing to enhance the health of a hospital's community as a community benefit for Part I of Form 990 Schedule H.
CDC launches new website to support community health improvement work
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently launched Community Health Improvement Navigator — a website for people who lead or participate in community health improvement work within hospitals and health systems, public health agencies and other community organizations. The website contains expert-vetted tools and resources for making the case for collaborative approaches to community health improvement, establishing and maintaining effective collaborations and finding interventions that work for the greatest impact on health and well-being for all.
SAMSHA Resources
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) has published a booklet listing its National Technical Assistance and Resource Centers.
NQF requests feedback on Community Action Guide
The National Quality Forum is seeking feedback on its revised Community Action Guide, a resource focused on community health improvement, to ensure it is useful for different groups, communities and needs. The Guide will be available for public comment starting June 10 and ending on June 25. Comments can be submitted through the Comment Tool on the NQF website (log in required).
Community Benefit 101 registration open
Register today for CHA's one-and-a-half day seminar for new community benefit professionals that covers the basics of community benefit programming. The program will be offered Oct. 6-7, 2015 in St. Louis at the Chase Park Plaza hotel. Visit the CHA website for more information and to register. CHA members who register by June 30 will receive an early registration discount of $30.
Community benefit in the news
Recent articles from Catholic Health World and Health Progress featuring community benefit news and programs from the across the ministry