St. Peter's Hospital ~ About Community Benefit

About Community Benefit

Supporting the Community

St. Peter’s Hospital regularly prepares a Community Benefit Plan to align with its strategic initiatives. The plan is developed by the Public Relations and Marketing Department with the guidance of St. Peter’s Community Relations Committee; an advisory group comprised of Board members and community leaders that aligns and evaluates the effectiveness of the Hospital’s Community Benefit Plan and elicits the community’s input. Approval of the plan is also sought from the Hospital’s Board of Directors.

The process used to identify and prioritize community health needs included collection of data, including the Lewis & Clark County Health Profile, Helena Healthy Communities Health Report, and School District Health Risk Assessment. Community focus group input and survey information was used to prioritize issues to address in the Community Benefit Plan.

Identified Community Health Needs

According to the County Health Department’s Profile, issues prevalent in the community include: children living in poverty, no health insurance/lack of access to medical care, suicide, severe motor vehicle crashes, groundwater aquifer contamination, access to dental health care, and a lack of mental health services.

Internally, a comprehensive review of related current quality programs and projects was conducted including key stakeholders. Issues identified included: reducing Cesarean-section rates, increasing mammography for patients in high risk groups, promoting colon cancer screening, and reducing medication errors.

St. Peter’s goals are to:

Promote St. Peter’s role in providing community benefit/value.
Develop a strategic message to communicate community benefit/value.
Improve community health through support of the Nicotine Dependency Center and a relationship with the schools.

Project Categories

Community Education and Outreach

St. Peter’s Hospital has allocated staffing and a budget to continue sponsorship of community education classes including Obstetrical Education (prepared childbirth, teen childbirth, refresher childbirth, Boot Camp for New Dads), Arthritis Pool Class, CPR, First Aid/CPR, Diabetes Education, Intuitive Eating, Positive Choices, Safe Sitter, Freedom from Smoking, Mental Health Classes, as well as a Speaker’s Bureau.

St. Peter’s contributes staff and materials to community health fairs and wellness activities, including:

Better Living Lecture Series
What Ails Males
For Women Only
Diabetes Dialogue
School District Shape Your Future Fitness Day
Heart Health Event
Race for Cure Sponsorship
Cover the Uninsured Week
Senior Health and Fitness Fair
Governor’s Cup Health Fair

The Hospital is committed to become involved in additional community events by participating in major events and coordinating wellness screenings in the service area. It also plans to coordinate participation at new events in conjunction with preventive health campaigns, e.g., women’s health event during October-Breast Cancer Awareness month.

As the community’s Hospital, St. Peter’s continues to contribute staff, supplies, and travel to its Well Now! Health Awareness Program and flu shots for the school district, state government, post offices, banks, small businesses, and other organizations.

Ongoing Programs:

Seniors Education (blood pressure screenings, wellness news, medical claims)
Support Groups
Diabetes Education (insulin pump management)
Ambulance (stand by events)
Pharmacy Assistance
Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Employee Assistance Fund

Charity Care

St. Peter’s Hospital is committed to providing quality healthcare for all citizens of the community, regardless of ability of pay. Ability to pay is based on Federal Poverty Income Guidelines, which takes into account family size, new assets, and overall financial position.

The health care facility is required by law to make its services available to all people in the community. St. Peter’s does not discriminate against a patient because of race, creed, color, national origin, or because a patient is covered by a program such as Medicaid or Medicare. It does not deny emergency services to a person who needs them but cannot pay for them.

As a charitable non-profit institution, St. Peter’s Hospital also provided charity care, that is, service for which it received reduced or no reimbursement. The unreimbursed dollar value of this care amounts to more than $2 million annually. Care is provided to individuals who have exhausted third-party resources, do not qualify for Medicaid, or who have insufficient incomes.

Subsidized Health Services

Continued financial support of Emergency/Trauma Care, Ambulance, Psychiatric Care, Neonatal/Obstetrical/Newborn Care, Collaborative Efforts in Prevention, Hospice/Home Care, and other subsidized services.

Provide support for the Lewis and Clark County Health Department’s Nicotine Dependency Center, which serves the uninsured. Provide additional support with in-kind public relations/marketing services and referrals.

Support the Cooperative Health Center through financial and in-kind donations, reduced lab, imaging fees. Assist the clinic with physician recruitment and retention.

Cash and In-kind Donations

Provide approximately $50,000 in donations to community health, cultural, educational, and economic development needs.

Community Building Activities

Recruit additional physicians to the community. Retain current physicians.

Provide leadership role for Hospital of Promise partnership with the Helena School District, Lewis & Clark County Health Department, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana, and Helena Independent Record.

Serve as the lead agency for the Safe Kids/Safe Communities Coalition for Lewis and Clark, Jefferson, and Broadwater counties.

Support students and teachers by contributing computers to area schools and serving as the C.R. Anderson and Smith school business partner.

St. Peter’s staff donated time, materials, and leadership to more than 30 community groups, including various schools, the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce, Gateway Economic Development, and the United Way.

Medical Education

Provide minimum of 30 Continuing Medical Education credit courses for area practicing and retired physicians through the University of Washington Medical School. Continue to attract average attendance of more than 60 percent of the Hospital’s 110 admitting physicians.

Provide ongoing training opportunities for physicians, nurses, technicians, and other staff through onsite education plus the use of the Health Satellite Television Network.

Make available comprehensive health information resources to consumers and patients through libraries and this web site.

For more information about St. Peter’s Hospital Community Benefit programs, please contact Peggy Stebbins in Public Relations and Marketing, (406) 444-2135 or pstebbins@stpetes.org.