Community Benefits
Charitable and Uncompensated Care
Mercy - North Iowa has always been committed to serving all who are in need with dignity and respect, regardless of their ability to pay. Our charitable contributions given in the way of free education, low or no-cost care, and shortcomings in Medicaid totaled $15 million last fiscal year.
Rural Outreach
There are many friends and neighbors who found themselves in a financial crisis this past year. Whether it was a job loss, facing an illness, or a recovering from a tragedy, Mercy's Rural Outreach was available to those who qualified for short-term help in paying for provider appointments and medications.
3,900 people received assistance in Fiscal Year 2007
Free Dental Clinic
Adult dental care was identified as a major unmet need in the community through requests to community-based social agencies, including Mercy Family Health Line, Mercy Emergency Services and physician clinics. Mercy partnered with Kris Kelly, DDS, and his wife, Kim Kelly, RN, to provide the free dental clinic, which opened in 2005.
- 1,714 patient visits during 193 clinic days since October 2005
Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) in Cerro Gordo County
Navigating insurance coverage is a daunting task for many elderly people. That is why Mercy helps sponsor SHIPP, a free health insurance counseling program provided by the State of Iowa. SHIIP counselors assist older adults who have questions or problems related to Medicare, Medicare supplemental insurance, Part D drug program, long-term care insurance and related issues. Volunteer counselors are seniors themselves who can relate to the concerns of the people they help or are relatives or caregivers of older adults.
- Seven volunteers were trained as SHIIP counselors in Fiscal Year 2006
- More than 900 individuals were counseled on Medicare Part D
- More than 1,800 hours were spent in SHIIP counseling
- $10,000 was donated in-kind by Mercy - North Iowa
Mercy Family Health Line
When dealing with an unfamiliar ailment, the residents of North Iowa can find comfort in Mercy Family Health Line, a free health information and physician referral service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 641.422.7777 or 1.800.468.0050.
- 56,229 calls were processed from June 2006 to June 2007
Community Case Management
For more than a decade, Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa's Case Management (CM) department has provided service to chronically ill North Iowans. Appropriate use and management of medication is part of this service. Caseworkers found finances to be a factor affecting successful use of medications. If patients could not afford their medications they would not purchase them or take them as often as directed. To remedy this situation, the nursing staff connected these individuals to pharmaceutical company patient assistance programs (PAP) that provide free or reduced cost medications to individuals that met company guidelines.
- Mercy trains an average of 5 volunteers per year to provide this patient assistance
- 509 individuals obtained 6,316 medications for a cost savings of $2,137,437 from January 2003 to June 2006
