Community Benefit
Mary Washington Healthcare has served its communities since 1889 by providing
health promotion and prevention services to help people stay healthy and
medical care for them when they are sick. Mary Washington Healthcare’s
commitment and leadership in investing in the health of the communities
it serves are focused around an overall Community Benefit Strategy.
Community Benefits are programs or activities that provide treatment and/or
promote health and healing as a response to identified needs in the communities
served by Mary Washington Healthcare. They increase access to healthcare
and improve community health. They are not provided for marketing purposes.
A Community Benefit must respond to an identified community need and meet
at least one of the following criteria:
- Improve access to healthcare services,
- Enhance health of the community,
- Advance medical or health knowledge, or
- Relieve or reduce the burden of government or other nonprofit community efforts.
Community Benefit is an integral part of Mary Washington Healthcare’s
mission and is the basis for its tax-exempt status. Through community
programs, services, and partnerships, Mary Washington Healthcare is effectively
addressing the health needs of its communities, including the most vulnerable among us.
Mary Washington Hospital opened as an eight-room hospital 120 years ago.
Since then, Mary Washington Healthcare has grown with the region to become
a 551-bed, two-hospital tertiary health system. Mary Washington Healthcare
provides an unmatched scope of advanced clinical services not replicated
in the region, including open-heart surgery, neurosurgery, complex thoracic
surgery, Stereotactic Radiosurgery, state-of-the-art imaging, a da Vinci
surgical robot, and an electrophysiology lab. Mary Washington Hospital
is designated as a Level II Trauma Center along with a Level III designated
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. With two hospitals, three Emergency Departments,
and many outpatient facilities, Mary Washington Healthcare provides access
to the full continuum of care which provides a great level of benefit
to our community.
Examples of Mary Washington Healthcare’s commitment to Community
Benefit include health screenings for early diagnosis and referral, preventive
health education, patient and family counseling, direct and indirect support
to safety-net providers, and a commitment to foster volunteerism opportunities
for Mary Washington Healthcare’s Associates and employed and affiliated
physicians with nonprofit community groups.
Since 1993, the Community Benefit Funds of the Mary Washington Hospital
and Stafford Hospital Foundations have allocated more than $11 million
to over 400 programs that address the areas of access, prevention and
screenings, and education and lifestyle.
The following information will provide more detail to Mary Washington Healthcare’s
commitment to Community Benefit.
Community Health Needs Assessment (2019-2022)
2019-2022 CHNA Implementation Strategy
Scroll down for previous years' assessments.
Patient Financial Assistance Programs recognizes Mary Washington Healthcare’s
role in providing access to medically necessary and emergency healthcare
services for all persons regardless of their ability to pay. Mary Washington
Healthcare commits to ensure the equitable delivery of treatment regardless
of insurance status in a professional and compassionate manner that respects
each individual’s dignity and privacy. Therefore, Mary Washington
Healthcare provides free or discounted care for medically necessary, emergency
healthcare services to persons who demonstrate financial need and meet
other eligibility criteria. In 2011, Mary Washington Healthcare provided
$36.5 million dollars in financial assistance and unreimbursed Medicaid.
Healthy Communities Partnership
Mary Washington Healthcare and the Rappahannock Area Health District launched
the Healthy Communities Partnership in May 2011. The Healthy Communities
Partnership was charged with completing a Community Health Needs Assessment
to identify high priority healthcare needs within the regional Mary Washington
Healthcare service area. The Healthy Communities Partnership established
three committees: Advisory, Steering, and Communications. The Healthy
Communities Partnership’s Advisory Committee is comprised of 40
community volunteers representing regional hospitals, health departments
and insurers, private businesses, community-based organizations, and healthcare
and mental health services providers. The Healthy Communities Partnership’s
Advisory Committee’s chief responsibilities are to:
- Provide input on all aspects of the Partnership, and
- Provide input to the Steering Committee on priority needs, resources, and
healthcare goals for the community.
Learn More
Community Health Information Resource Tool (CHIR)
Mary Washington Healthcare will continue to host the web-based information
system providing access to high-quality data related to improving the
health of the communities it serves. CHIR played a significant role in
the Healthy Communities Partnership with health indicator tracking and
best practice sharing. CHIR will play a pivotal role in the continuous
assessment of need and the implementation of Community Benefit Programs.
Learn More