Most people envision a hospital as a place where patients go to address their health needs, but facilities like Good Samaritan Hospital take that a step further.
Instead of waiting for patients to come to them, president and CEO Rob McLin said, hospital employees head out into the communities they serve to help fill those needs.
McLin shared some statistics during the Knox County Chamber of Commerce's monthly bandwagon, sponsored by the hospital and held Wednesday afternoon at Vincennes University's Robert E. Green Activities Center, 120 W. Harrison St., that helped to underscore the importance GSH places on the communities in the 10 counties it serves.
Last year, for example, the hospital provided over 34,500 free health screenings, completed 450 lab tests during the women's spring screening, and completed 535 lab tests during the men's health tune-up.
Those screenings uncovered some startling numbers: 54 percent of the 7,155 free blood pressure screens were abnormal, 42 percent of the 2,666 free total cholesterol screens were abnormal, and 39 percent of the 2,029 free blood glucose screens were abnormal.
“If we didn't do these screenings upfront, some of those things may never have been caught,” McLin said. “As much as health care has changed, the most important change has been the need to be able to go out into these outreach areas and do preventative medicine, to focus on outreach more, to get those people in early so they can work on things that prevent them from becoming chronic.”
The hospital has also provided $4.5 million in free charity care, costs the hospital writes off because the patient has met certain income guidelines or federal poverty guidelines. Those patients, McLin said, are not sent a bill.
And on top of that, McLin noted, Good Samaritan has also purchased $12 million in local goods and services provided by Knox County businesses.
“That translates into more than $700 million worth of impact on the communities we serve,” he said. “That's how important we take the role of being that community provider.”
As the hospital continues to provide community outreach, McLin said, they're also adding staff.
In 2017, 11 new physicians and nine new advanced-practice providers — positions like nurse practitioners and physician's assistants — have joined the hospital's payroll. So far this year, seven additional physicians and eight more new advanced-practice providers have come on board as well.
Good Samaritan is lucky enough to have 1,900 employees that McLin said he's “extraordinarily proud of,” but one of those employees stood out on Wednesday.