Atrium Health community benefit in Georgia tops $385 million during 2023
ROME, GA. – June 11, 2024 – Atrium Health's reinvestments into the communities it serves continues to grow. In its first year as part of Charlotte-based Advocate Health, Atrium Health Floyd gave back more than $137 million in community benefit in 2023. In addition, Atrium Health Floyd-Polk Foundation invested $420,000 in the community in 2023.
Across its Georgia and Alabama service territories, the health system reinvested more than $385 million in services benefiting the community. That amounts to more than $1 million per day Atrium Health Floyd and Macon-based Atrium Health Navicent provide in community benefit services.
Atrium Health is the care delivery brand for Advocate Health in the Southeastern United States and incorporates health care sites in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. Advocate Health, the nation's third-largest nonprofit health system, totaled more than $6 billion in total community benefit last year across its six-state service region, with Atrium Health comprising roughly half of that total.
“This community benefit report is evidence of our commitment to making a significant impact in all the communities we serve to make health care more accessible for all – including by addressing the social drivers that negatively impact people's health," said Advocate Health Chief Executive Officer Eugene A. Woods. “I am inspired on a daily basis by our team's dedication to providing nationally leading care, not just within our facilities, but well beyond our walls and into vulnerable communities in greatest need."
“Community hospitals do so much more than take care of patients who enter our front doors," said Kurt Stuenkel, president of Atrium Health Floyd. “We provide care to those who cannot afford to pay for medical care. We place nurses and athletic trainers in our schools. Our EMS teammates provide medical coverage at community events. Teammates volunteer in our community, and we invest in community programs and services that affect health outcomes in our communities."
Community benefit, as defined by the IRS, includes community investments into free and discounted care for low-income patients, undercompensated care for those on Medicare and Medicaid and costs related to medical research, among other programs and services that promote health, well-being and community building. Atrium Health Floyd reports its community benefit annually as required by Georgia law.
Locally, these contributions include:
- Subsidized health services including trauma and behavioral health services, screenings, immunizations, school-based health care and other community outreach programs
- Volunteer services provided by teammates in the community
- Contributions of equipment and supplies
- Community education including classes in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, childbirth, diabetes Early Heart Attack Care (EHAC) and Stop the Bleed® training to stop life-threatening bleeding
- Prescription assistance to low-income, uninsured patients
- Telehealth programs in 47 area schools
In addition, last year Atrium Health Floyd opened Georgia’s first from-the-ground-up, stand-alone emergency department, announced a partnership with Georgia Highlands College to increase the number of nurses in this region and joined services with Northwest Georgia Medical Center. All these efforts will produce opportunities to continue to expand Atrium Health Floyd’s community benefit work.
About Atrium Health Floyd
The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd employs more than 3,800 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at three hospitals: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 304-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; as well as Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health – a freestanding 53-bed behavioral health facility in Rome – and also primary care and urgent care network locations throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd also operates a stand-alone emergency department in Chattooga County, the first such facility to be built from the ground-up in Georgia. In 2024, Atrium Health Floyd combined with Rome-based Harbin Clinic, which employs approximately 1,400 teammates, including more than 120 specialty physicians.
About Atrium Health
Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atrium Health is part of Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, which was created from the combination with Advocate Aurora Health. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine is its academic core. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked nationally among U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals in eight pediatric specialties and for rehabilitation, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association's Quest for Quality Prize and its 2021 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award, as well as the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing $2.97 billion last year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States, created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs 155,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to providing equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.