What is Community Benefit?

FirstHealth's Community Benefit program is the organization's way of giving back to the communities it serves and living up to its core purpose, “to care for people.”

A formalized ten-point plan guides Community Benefit activities and ensures that efforts focus on the diverse needs of our communities. By using Community Benefit as one of the measures of organizational success, FirstHealth holds itself and its employees accountable for making the region a better place to live.

 
 

                                  A Brief History
1929 Moore County Hospital opened its doors to serve the people of Moore County, regardless of their ability to pay.
1930's The Hospital Auxiliary was founded to initiate fundraising for equipment, facility expansion and renovation.
1950's The Hill-Burton program allowed hospitals to borrow for construction and expansion with the agreement to provide a minimum of 200 percent of that borrowed in uncompensated care.
1960's Accepted reimbursement through public assistance programs, such as Medicaid, Medicare and vocational rehabilitation, at rates less than charges, sometimes less than the cost of service.
1980's The Telecare Program, a daily community call-in service, was initiated to provide a mechanism for checking on elderly people who live alone. FirstHealth Response, was established as an emergency communications system for isolated seniors. • Heart to Heart, the first patient support group, was established. More than 25 support groups now exist. • Offered influenza vaccines at no cost for employees and volunteers. • Participated with the medical community to provide high school athletic physicals without cost to the student. • The Hill-Burton program, a charity care program with a sliding scale, was established to cover additional families in need.
1992 Began publication of LifeHealth, later renamed FirstHealth of the Carolinas Magazine, which was created to provide patients and community members health education and service information. • A program was established to provide new mothers with an infant safety seat through a partnership with Kmart in Southern Pines.
1994 The Department of Community Health Services was created to identify health needs and available resources, develop programs and services, and track community benefit. • MooreHealth, a volunteer community and agency organization, was formed through the administrative support of FirstHealth.
1996 A comprehensive community benefit program was established as FirstHealth completed its formal Hill-Burton obligation. • Mobile Health Services is created to conduct health screenings at remote locations. • School health partnerships with Moore and Montgomery County schools are formed.
1997 Initiated a free van shuttle service in Montgomery and Hoke counties for non-emergency medical appointments and a volunteer transport network in Moore County to support cancer patients and their treatment regimens. • Montgomery Community Resource Team was established to address unmet needs in Montgomery County. • Developed cultural sensitivity and Spanish-language training for health care providers to improve access to care for a growing Hispanic population.
1998 Reduced barriers for enrollment in Health Choice, North Carolina’s Health Insurance Program for those families unable to afford coverage, through provision of scholarships to cover enrollment fees. • FirstHealth Dental Care Centers initiated services for Medicaid and medically indigent children in Moore and Montgomery counties. • The Kellogg Foundation recognized the capacity of FirstHealth to meet the health care needs of those in the region, in particular, the underserved, through the Community Voices Initiative. • Created the STAR Team—Sandhills Team for Assistance and Response—an employee-initiated, volunteer-based team of mental health professionals and emergency response personnel to provide traumatic event stress management. • Established Community Benefit as one of the five organizational performance indicators. A PTO match policy is in place to encourage employee volunteerism.
2000 Initiated FirstConnection, a pilot program providing health care services to uninsured children and adults who are not eligible for public assistance. • Collaborated with Moore County Partners for Children and Families to implement the Child Care Health Consultant program, which provides health education and consultation to child care homes and centers in Moore County. • Compiled a regional directory of resources for the underserved and distributed it to human service agencies and non-profits throughout the FirstHealth region. • Developed and implemented a program through which FirstHealth’s used computer equipment is donated to local schools and non-profits. • Increased involvement with the Richmond Healthy Carolinians Task Force and participated in the initiation of the Healthy Hoke Task Force.
2001 Partnered with the American Legacy Foundation to implement tobacco-use prevention and cessation services at schools, provider offices and occupational sites. • Expanded school health program in Montgomery County to include a school-based health center at West Middle School offering comprehensive services to students and staff. • Presented the Community Benefit Program to the North Carolina Medical Care Commission as the commission was developing Community Benefit standards for not-for-profit hospitals seeking financial assistance. • Initiated local SAFE KIDS coalitions in Hoke, Montgomery, Moore and Richmond counties as part of the statewide effort to reduce childhood injuries. • Received recognition through the North Carolina Governor’s Award for Volunteerism for FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital’s partnership with Ashley Chapel School to provide tutors and mentors for the children.
2002 Established FirstPlan, a shared responsibility initiative with FirstCarolinaCare, the physicians in the Mid-Carolina Physicians Organization, employers and employees to assist in the enrollment of those working in small businesses into health insurance. • Secured HHS/Health Resources and Services Administration funding for MooreHealth to establish MooreCAP, a program to help people access community resources. Also became one of four recipients in North Carolina for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funding to enhance the enrollment of children in Health Choice through a program called “Cover Moore Kids.” • Initiated a training program for health care professionals for enhancing the care of individuals who have experienced domestic violence. • Identified health status and outcome measures to set a baseline and measure the progress of the “First in Health” component of the FirstHealth 2020 Vision. • Secured funding from The Duke Endowment and Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to renovate and construct a new emergency department at FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital.
2003 Secured funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to establish the Active For Life program for a four-year initiative focused on increasing physical activity in adults 50 and older. • The Montgomery Smiles! Project is established to address low dental sealant rates among children in Montgomery County. • Secured funding from the North Carolina Health & Wellness Trust Fund Commission to implement a youth-based tobacco-use prevention initiative in Hoke & Richmond counties. • Collaborated with the Foundation of FirstHealth to establish the Children’s CARE Fund, which provides financial resources to children who need but cannot afford health care and other life-sustaining basics.
2004 Through efforts of the Community Health Board and the Tobacco-Free Task Force, FirstHealth of the Carolinas became a tobacco-free campus on July 4, 2004. As a result of the tobacco-free initiative and the work of school-based youth tobacco education programs such as TATU, Moore, Richmond & Montgomery County Schools all adopted 100% Tobacco-Free School Policies in 2004. • Secured funding from the NC Health & Wellness Trust Fund Commission to establish a comprehensive child health program in Richmond County. • Received additional funding through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to address and make policy changes in the following areas: dental health, mental health, men’s health, health care coverage and community health workers. • Secured funding from the NC Health & Wellness Trust Fund Commission to expand and enhance existing medication assistance services to low-income and elderly residents in Moore and Montgomery counties. • Initiated the FitTogether program through funding from the NC Health & Wellness Trust Fund Commission to address childhood obesity in Richmond, Hoke, Moore and Montgomery counties.
2005 Secured funding from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to support the school-based health centers at East and West Middle Schools in Montgomery County. • Secured funding from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust to purchase telemetry equipment for Richmond Memorial Hospital. • Expanded the Southern Pines Dental Care Center with funding provided by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. • Six “Smart Start Saturdays,” dental clinics providing dental services for children up to 5 years of age who have Medicaid or Health Choice coverage or who qualify by income in northern Moore County, were held with funding from the North Carolina Smart Start and the Moore County Partners for Children and Families.
2006 Received additional funding from the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund to expand youth tobacco-prevention efforts to Moore and Montgomery counties. • FirstHealth Home Care expands its telemetry services as a result of funding awarded from The Duke Endowment. • FirstHealth Cares, FirstHealth’s pharmaceutical assistance program, was expanded with funding provided by The Duke Endowment and the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. • FirstGarden, an intergenerational community garden project focused on seniors and children working together to increase physical activity and improve nutrition through gardening, was initiated through funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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