Community Benefit

WakeMed's value to the community is significant and is measured in numerous ways - by the amount of charity care provided; the unreimbursed costs incurred to care for Medicare and Medicaid patients; and the value of our outreach activities, volunteer services, and program support.  Reporting these efforts and quantifying their impact is critically important. 

Today, more than ever before, we are being called upon by many to be more accountable and transparent about what we are doing for our community.  We are pleased to report it publicly so that we clearly demonstrate how WakeMed, as a not-for-profit organization, is fulfilling its mission of community service and meeting its charitable tax-exempt purpose.  

Direct Community Benefit:  FY 2009  Cost of treating Charity Care patients $70,711,938 Unreimbursed costs of treating Medicare patients $54,688,687 Unreimbursed costs of treating Medicaid patients $31,418,352 Health Professions Education $48,958,250 Cash and In-kind Contributions to Community Groups $1,249,644 Community Building Activities $4,062,070 TOTAL DIRECT COMMUNITY BENEFIT $211,088,942

WakeMed categorizes charity care as care given to patients who have no third party coverage of any kind and are at poverty levels which prohibit them from paying for their care.  Unreimbursed cost of treating Medicare and Medicaid patients is the difference between government reimbursement and the hospital's actual cost to provide that care.  Bad debt is primarily comprised of the charges for care for those patients who have some type of third party coverage but are unable to pay their co-pays and deductibles.

(Guidelines developed by the VHA and the Catholic Health Association, as well as the North Carolina Hospital Association are used in the calculation and data collection for this report.)