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Show Caring Magazine CO IHC celebrates 25 years of community-based health care How physicians ace advancing medical knowledge at IHC WE'RE PROUD TO REPRESENT YOU IHC is governed by more than 500 local volunteer trustees And how can we help you? in lii i The human side of leading-edge medicine BUILDING FOR A NEW CENTURY OF CARE Doctors and other caregivers are designing new facilities around the needs of patients 1 SERVING OUR A MESSAGE FROM IHC'S Twenty-five years ago, an event unprecedented in American health care occurred here in the Intermountain region. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having concluded con-cluded that the operation of hospitals was no longer critical to its religious mission, donated donat-ed its 15-hospital system to the community. The church asked a group of public-spirited citizens, representing a wide range of faiths and civic interests, to operate the hospitals in the best interests of area residents. In April 1975, Intermountain Health Care (IHC) was created as a secular, charitable, nonprofit organization governed by volunteer trustees. No such donation had occurred before, and none since. Although the church might have sold its hospitals for more than $100 million, it wanted these institutions insti-tutions to remain rooted in the community. The church made this donation without any conditions. con-ditions. Its only wish was that IHC strive to be a model health care organization an example of the highest levels of excellence excel-lence and community service. WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT? While many health care organizations organi-zations aie concerned primarily with the management of facilities, facili-ties, IHC focuses on helping people improve their health. IHC is one of a small group of American organizations able to do this, because we are integrated inte-grated (with doctors, hospitals. Richard . Galbraith Chairman " r William H. Nelson President and CEO and health plans working together) and because we have created excellent excel-lent information systems which allow physicians physi-cians to improve the processes through which care is delivered. Today at IHC, physicians are studying these processes and using the information to improve treatment outcomes. By applying "best practices" consistently, physicians at IHC are providing care that is truly state-of-the-art OUR MISSION: EXCELLENCE AND COMMUNITY SERVICE IHC is a charitable, nonprofit organization that provides care to anyone with a medical need, regardless of ability to pay. In 1999, in more than 50,000 cases, IHC directly provided pro-vided more than $30 million in free medical care to people unable to pay. Since 1975, our total benefit to the community has COMEWUNITY CHAIRMAN AND CEO exceeded $1.5 billion. Pushing the frontiers of medical science is also part of IHCs mission of excellence a mission we've lived by since our organization was founded 25 years ago. Some 500 residents resi-dents of our Intermountain-area communities serve as volunteer trustees on IHCs boards. These representatives including many physicians physi-cians hold IHC accountable for its mission and appropriately participate in meeting community com-munity needs. One such need is caring for those among us who are economically disadvantaged and under-served medically. IHC financially supports sup-ports community clinics serving the homeless and people with low incomes. We support and help staff clinics based in elementary schools a new concept con-cept that is proving very successful suc-cessful in serving neighborhoods that have previously lacked convenient con-venient access to care. Our foundations provide grants and help mobilize volunteers for more than a hundred community communi-ty health programs each year. IHC also participates in Healthy Community coalitions and other partnerships involving local agencies, businesses, and health organizations, all focused on improving community health. WORLD-CLASS HEALTH CARE Though IHC was founded 25 years ago, our roots in the Intermountain region gc back to the days of the pioneers. We're here for the long term. Over the years, our employees, physician partners, and volunteer trustees have worked hard to ensure the world's best health care is available here in the Intermountain West. If we can do better at meeting your needs, please contact one of the volunteer trustees who represent your community (lists on pages 6-8) or contact us directly at the address below. By hearing from you, we can serve you better. Serving you is the focus of all we do. 81 Our Address: Intermountain Health Care 36 South State Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 Telephone: (801) 442-2836 Internet: http:www.ihc.com Email: diabgihc.com "Charity care and community benefits are calculated according to standards established by the Utah State Tax Commission and do not include bad debts. 121 ' F7T |