Baptist released its 2014 & 2015 community benefit report, which details its major activities last year. In fiscal years 2014 & 2015, Baptist provided $78 million in charitable care and had almost 85,000 patient discharges, nearly 350,000 emergency room visits, more than 50,000 surgical procedures and more than 10,000 babies delivered.
Baptist has worked through the Community Health Needs Assessment to help ensure its community work is having a significant impact on those who need it most. The report found that communities need the most help in the following areas: healthy lifestyle choices, maternal and women’s health, mental health and cancer.
Baptist has partnered with many community groups, including American Heart Association, The Salvation Army Kroc Center, Southern Heritage Classic and Shelby Farms to provide healthy living resources and education.
In January 2015, Baptist opened the Spence and Becky Wilson Baptist Children’s Hospital, which has seen an average of 45 patients a day. Baptist also opened one of the only Universal Parenting Places in the country to help prevent common childrearing challenges from becoming chronic physical, emotional or behavioral problems with long-term societal consequences.
Baptist opened the area’s first and only free Memory Care Center in 2014 to provide assessments, education and resources for those experiencing memory loss, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Baptist provides free mammograms on the mobile mammography van to those who qualify. Baptist oncology teams have secured two large grants to treat cancer. The Patient Centered Outcomes Research Study compares cancer care experience and outcomes for lung cancer patients treated through the Baptist Cancer Center Thoracic Multidisciplinary Center. The National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program focuses on minority and underserved populations, providing access to more clinical trials.
During the past two years, Baptist OneCare has been implemented in all 14 affiliated hospitals and almost all Baptist Medical Group clinics. More than 113,000 patients have activated MyChart accounts, giving them access to their own medical records.