Community Benefit
Mary Washington Healthcare has been helping our community since 1899. We offer services to keep people healthy and provide medical care when they are sick. Mary Washington Healthcare is committed to investing in the health of the communities we serve. This commitment is based on a Community Benefit Strategy.
Community Benefits are programs and activities that address the needs of the communities we serve. They aim to improve community health and make healthcare more accessible. These benefits 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. Mary Washington Healthcare effectively meets the health needs of its communities, including those who are most vulnerable, through various programs, services, and partnerships with the community.
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 571-bed, two-hospital tertiary health system. Mary Washington Healthcare offers advanced medical services that are not found elsewhere in the area, 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 the region's most experienced Level III designated Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. With two hospitals, three Emergency Departments, and many outpatient facilities, Mary Washington Healthcare provides a wide range of medical care 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. Moreover, Mary Washington Healthcare encourages its staff and affiliated doctors to volunteer with nonprofit community organizations.
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 2022
Community Health Improvement Plan FY23–FY25
Patient Financial Assistance Programs (PFAP)
Mary Washington Healthcare understands the importance of giving everyone access to necessary medical care, even if they can't afford it. Our Patient Financial Assistance Program help people who need healthcare but may not be able to pay for it. Mary Washington Healthcare is committed to treating everyone equally, regardless of their insurance status. We provide free or discounted care to those who demonstrate financial need and meet certain requirements, in a professional and caring way, respecting each person's privacy and dignity.
Healthy Communities Partnership
Mary Washington Healthcare and the Rappahannock Area Health District started working together in May 2011 on a project called the Healthy Communities Partnership. The goal of this partnership was to assess the healthcare needs of the communities served by Mary Washington Healthcare by completing a Community Health Needs Assessment. They formed three committees: Advisory, Steering, and Communications. The Advisory Committee is made up of 40 volunteers from different organizations like hospitals, health departments, insurance companies, businesses, community groups, and healthcare providers. Together, they work on identifying and addressing the most important healthcare needs in the region.
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.
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.