The University of Chicago Medicine provided $686.2 million in benefits and services to communities on Chicago’s South Side and in the south suburbs in fiscal 2022, according to the health system's annual Community Benefit Report. This includes $586.7 million through the University of Chicago Medical Center and $99.5 million through UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial. Total investment increased by 13.1% over fiscal 2021.
Community benefit investments include uncompensated care for Medicare and Medicaid patients, financial assistance (charity care), unrecoverable patient debt, medical education and research, and other community support. Financial assistance (charity care) provided through the University of Chicago Medical Center increased 31.7%, up to $27 million.
“Through these investments, along with extensive community health programming and partnerships, UChicago Medicine has made health equity a strategic priority and a guiding organizational value,” said Brenda Battle, RN, BSN, MBA, who leads UChicago Medicine’s Urban Health Initiative and serves as the health system’s Senior Vice President for Community Health Transformation and its Chief Equity Officer. “We are investing in the health and viability of the communities we serve — now and in the years to come.”
Community benefit programs and partnerships are guided by the Urban Health Initiative, the Medical Center’s division that works with community organizations on health-related programs, research and services. UChicago Medicine’s Community Advisory Council, led by civic and faith leaders, also provides guidance to the Medical Center on key community health concerns, including racial disparities and social determinants of health. The Community Advisory Council provided instrumental guidance around the development of the Medical Center’s Level 1 Adult Trauma Center and Violence Recovery Program, both of which will recognize their five-year anniversaries in May 2023.
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This story was first published by UChicago Medicine.
