A Culture of Caring Community Partnerships
The following is a brief and high-level look at Beaumont Health’s wide spectrum of community health and community benefit programs funded, in part, by 340B pharmaceutical savings, philanthropy and earned revenue. Since the 340B program is a federal program, the information below provides transparency, so citizens and elected officials can gain insights into the critical impact these funds make on the communities we serve. This helps fulfill our pledge to comply with the American Hospital Association’s 340B Good Stewardship Principles as well as inform the public of Beaumont Health’s approach to using the funds.
The System
Beaumont Health is a not-for-profit organization formed in September 2014 by Beaumont Health System, Botsford Health Care and Oakwood Healthcare. The organization consists of eight hospitals with 3,429 beds, 187 outpatient sites, nearly 5,000 physicians, 38,000 employees, and 3,500 volunteers. Beaumont has eight acute care sites; six of them qualify for 340B savings.
Beaumont’s mission is to provide compassionate and extraordinary care every day through the highest quality health care services to all patients regardless of where they live or their financial circumstances.
Beaumont serves an estimated 1.4 million people (based on inpatient market share), with approximately 600,000 patient visits resulting in unreimbursed or under reimbursed medical care. We measure our impact on this sizable community through analysis of the health of the people in the communities we service, their attitude toward Beaumont as a good community partner, and as a desirable place for patients to receive care. We deliver necessary services to those in need of care, but also contribute proactively to the health of the community through myriad services and programs. We rely heavily on philanthropy, corporate dollars and 340B savings to deliver these services to the men, women and children in the 110+ communities we directly serve.
Benefits of the 340B Program
Beaumont’s 340B savings are part of our community benefit contribution totaling nearly $190 million in 2017* and these dollars support the following types of health care and social service programs within communities served by Beaumont.
- Community Collaborations - Beaumont initiated and leads broad community health coalitions in Trenton, Taylor, Dearborn, Wayne/Westland and Grosse Pointe. The coalitions are comprised of elected officials, school system leaders, business and non- profit leaders, other health systems and institutions of higher education to determine the action steps for each community to improve the health of its citizens. Beaumont personnel steer and help make these dreams become a healthy reality. Other cities are following this model and forming coalitions of their own.
- School Clinics - Beaumont operates 7 child and adolescent school-based clinics within some of the most low-income communities we serve. These clinics deliver comprehensive integrated care providing physical and mental health services to keep kids out of trouble, in school through graduation, and safe.
- Health Education - Beaumont provides no-cost expert speakers and prevention programs to address diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and other topics of interest. Grocery store healthy eating and cooking tours are provided by registered dietitians.
- Diabetes Prevention and Management – Many efforts are aimed at preventing the onslaught of diabetes and managing the chronic condition once it is diagnosed. Beaumont employs an outpatient diabetes educator and an outpatient diabetes dietitian. Healthy Cooking for diabetic classes are also available to the community.
- Health Screenings - If community members do not come to us, we go to them. Specially-trained Beaumont personnel work in the community conducting health screenings to identify chronic conditions before they manifest themselves in an emergency.
- Direct Clinical Services – Beaumont operates a hypertension initiative that provides blood pressure machines for low income patients. Flu shots, other vaccines and medications for youth in need are available.
- Wellness and Healthy Lifestyle Coaching – Face-to-face and telephonic wellness advice and coaching is conducted through Beaumont clinics and community events. Programs through these professionally lead initiatives include: nutrition, exercise, and therapeutic art and dance. Beaumont also operates a smoking cessation hotline.
- “Prescriptions” for Good Food - Beaumont primary care physicians can write a Prescription for Health that provides fruits and vegetables to low-income individuals with chronic health conditions.
- Teaching the Teachers - Beaumont provides CATCH Kids Club to the schools and community, a program to increase physical activity and nutrition.
- Walking Clubs - Beaumont provides a free mobile app, walking programs and incentives to encourage walking in all eight of its hospital communities. Primary care physicians and podiatrists join the parade from time to time to underscore the health benefits of active living.
- Discharge Prescriptions – Beaumont provides free discharge prescription medications to indigent patients to ease their burden and reduce the chances of a costly re-admission.
- Drugs and Opioid Abuse – Beaumont provides community education and participates in drug “take-back” events for safe and secure disposal of unused pharmaceuticals, especially opioids that can be dangerous to society if not handled and disposed of properly.
- Generous Financial Assistance – Health insurance counselors and financial assistance is available to patients unable to pay all or a portion of their bill, including those patients who are unable to qualify for other assistance programs.
- Services that make the good, great – Enhancements made available through 340B and other funds allows Beaumont to offer robust child life programs and rich family wrap-around services at our pediatric hospital and the Center for Exceptional Families (an autism-focused cross-training program for students, health providers, and educators).
Many of these vital programs and the community members they serve would be negatively impacted if the 340B program was reduced or eliminated.
Patient Stories
Programs and services funded in part by 340B savings have a profound impact on the lives of our patients. Here are a few patient stories: (names changed to preserve privacy)
- At a summertime Heart Health Screening event, Beaumont professionals helped Mary, a client with a very high glucose reading of 385. She was unaware of her elevated blood sugar. We guided Mary to follow-up with her physician and referred her to our diabetes programs. After visiting with her physician, she was placed on diabetes medication and is meeting with a Registered Dietitian at Beaumont.
- An infant was born prematurely at just under 25 weeks. Shortly after birth, the baby required intubation. Eventually the baby boy was able to breath on his own with only the aid of nasal oxygen. The mother had significant financial issues and worried from the beginning on how she would afford caring for her newborn and travel back and forth from her home to the hospital to be with her baby. The hospital social worker assisted in finding resources to assist the mother with her transportation. The infant experienced several significant medical issues throughout his 5 month stay in the hospital, related to his prematurity. Beaumont care management and social workers worked closely with the mother to assure that necessary medication and equipment were available for her to care for the baby at home. The family’s financial constraints were known at the time of birth and Beaumont subsidized a significant portion of this child’s care.
Each of these lives – and many thousands more – benefit from 340B savings and the programs they help fund.
* Note: 2018 report, based on 2017 filed 990s.