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Advocate Health Care Reports Strong Year of Investing in Patients, Families and Communities Throughout Chicagoland

Posted on: Thursday, 30 June 2005, 15:01 CDT

OAK BROOK, Ill., June 30 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Advocate Health Care (Advocate), a non-profit, faith-based provider of health care, today reported an exceptional year of delivering community benefits and services to Chicagoland. Advocate generated more than $245 million in charity care and unreimbursed services, health and wellness education and other community-based care in 2004. Serving economically and ethnically diverse neighborhoods throughout metropolitan Chicago, Advocate detailed its wide- ranging community commitment to quality and compassionate care in its first official filing under Illinois' Community Benefits Act. The report underscores the dedication of Advocate's doctors, nurses and other caregivers, who each year positively impact the health of hundreds of thousands of people of all ages, races and backgrounds - regardless of their ability to pay for health care.

The nearly quarter of a billion dollars reported from across the system is believed to be Advocate's most extensive annual delivery of community benefits in its history. Advocate has been fulfilling its mission to serve the health needs of individuals, families and communities in the Chicago area for more than 100 years. Since its official formation in 1995, Advocate has provided more than $1 billion in community benefits, charity care and other uncompensated services.

Related to the United Church of Christ and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Advocate operates eight acute care hospitals, two children's hospitals, several of the area's largest medical groups and a home health services company among its multiple sites of care.

"Advocate's commitment to providing access to high-quality, compassionate care does not end at the doors of our many facilities, but extends its reach deep into the communities we are so privileged to serve" said Jim Skogsbergh, president and chief executive officer of Advocate Health Care. "Whether it is offering free care to those who cannot afford it or partnering with a local church to identify those who need it, Advocate consistently delivers on its mission to meet the diverse health needs of patients, families and communities. This report highlights only the most recent example of Advocate's 100-year commitment to a healthy Chicagoland community."

Advocate's Community Benefits report was filed on June 30, 2005, and is available upon request from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office. The Act defines a range of community-related services.

Uncompensated care is one critical measure of those services. Advocate's report indicates that the non-profit organization provided nearly $50 million in patient charity care and medical services for which it was not paid during 2004, and delivered more than $135 million in unreimbursed Medicaid and Medicare services. Advocate's industry-leading charity care policy is among the most generous in the nation. While meeting the federal poverty level often defines the requirement for many government programs, Advocate offers a policy that provides free care to eligible patients whose incomes reach as much as 200 percent of the federal poverty level, while also providing substantial cost discounts for individuals and families earning up to 400 percent of that level.

"At Advocate, our bottomline is measured by the quality and compassion of our care," Skogsbergh said. "We do not let ability to pay stand in the way of our delivery of care. Even with growing numbers of uninsured and underinsured patients, the rising costs of care, and the strains of declining Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements, we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing exceptional care, without exception."

Advocate reported multiple examples that further underscored the reach of its community benefits. Throughout 2004, Advocate and its sites of care invested more than $18 million in subsidized health services, including health education programs for individuals of all ages; partnerships with community organizations to improve access to care for uninsured and underinsured individuals; outreach through health fairs, screenings and medical vans; and services targeted to a specific community, such as the deaf and hard of hearing or developmentally disabled children. Advocate also provided nearly $40 million in health and medical education programs, and more than $3 million in volunteer services and donations.

Advocate reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to positive health outcomes in the Community Benefits Report. Advocate plans to continue initiatives to improve access to health care for the uninsured and underinsured, and to enhance its community health outreach through its system of hospitals and other providers, partnerships with other organizations, and relationships in the community. "We remain committed to the communities we serve, and proud to meet the health needs of the millions of patients and families whose lives we touch each year," said Skogsbergh.

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About Advocate Health Care

Oak Brook-based Advocate Health Care, the largest health care provider in Illinois, is ranked among the nation's top health care systems. A faith-based, non-profit system, Advocate is related to both the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ. Advocate's multiple sites of care in metropolitan Chicago include eight acute care hospitals and two children's hospitals, a home health care company and several of Chicago's largest medical groups.

With 25,000 employees, Advocate is the second largest private employer in Chicago. Through a long-term academic and teaching affiliation with the University of Illinois at Chicago Health Sciences Center, Advocate trains more resident physicians than any non-university teaching hospital in Illinois. For more information about Advocate Health Care, visit http://www.advocatehealth.com .

http://www.usnewswire.com

Source: U.S. Newswire

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