Community Investment

Health happens in the places Missourians live, work, learn and play.

However, the factors that contribute to health are not equally represented in every community — adequate housing, and access to healthy food, transportation and health care services, for example. These social determinants of health have a significant influence on wellness.

Missouri’s hospitals are community-based institutions that aspire to provide health, as well as care. All hospitals provide community benefits and investments in health improvement as determined by the needs of the communities they serve.

Each year, the Missouri Hospital Association surveys the state’s hospitals to aggregate some of their financial contributions that make up their total community benefit. In 2022, hospitals provided more than $1.3 billion in uncompensated care, and $3.29 billion in total community benefit. These data are available to the public — including hospital-specific investments — on MHA’s consumer-focused website, FocusOnHospitals.com.

READ THE 2024 COMMUNITY INVESTMENT REPORT

Hospitals Improving Health and Well-Being

Citizens Memorial Hospital

Using a system called Mobile Integrated Health, Citizens Memorial Hospital stretches services beyond the hospital campus to support care in the community through improved access to primary care and services from community paramedics in patients’ homes. In addition to reducing the need for rehospitalization, community paramedicine allows care management and identification of social determinants, creating better coordination of care and community resources to improve health and wellness, long-term. Watch the video.

Children’s Mercy Kansas City

Children’s Mercy Hospital partners with Operation Breakthrough to provide pediatric care at the nonprofit’s campus at 31st and Troost in this historically underserved area of Kansas City. By co-locating health services at this important destination for child and youth development, participants can access preventive care and health care services within the community. At the same time, Children’s Mercy Hospital staff can identify both clinical and community challenges to health while connecting parents with community services offered on-site, through the hospital, at Operation Breakthrough and by other community partners. Watch the video.

SSM Health St. Louis

SSM Health is working with the St. Louis Integrated Health Network to bridge the gap between hospital care, primary care and community support resources that allow patients to manage chronic conditions and overall health. With staffing in hospital emergency departments in the region, the SSM Health and the IHN teams can identify patients who could benefit from better care coordination. At the same time, the partnership evaluates what other factors are driving poor health and engages other community partners to help address challenges that relate to the social determinants of health. Watch the video.