Scripps Invests $53.5 Million into Community Programs in Encinitas Area

Scripps Health, through Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, invested $53.5 million into community benefit services in coastal North County during fiscal year 2016.

The nonprofit health system recently released its 2017 Community Benefit Report detailing its community benefit activities for fiscal year 2016 (October 2015 through September 2016). Across San Diego County, Scripps invested $369 million into community benefit programs. A copy of the report is available online at www.scripps.org/communitybenefit.

Scripps cares for some of the most vulnerable people in San Diego County, often at low to no cost. While the largest portion of its community benefit efforts in coastal North County went toward uncompensated care, Scripps also invested in training for new physicians, health screenings, health education, support groups, blood drives and other important community needs through Scripps Encinitas.

“We continue to build on our rich history of community service,” said Chris Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health. “The programs and services listed in our annual Community Benefit report show our ongoing commitment to making a vital and measurable difference in the communities that we serve.”

Meeting community needs in North County

Scripps divides community benefit services into three categories: uncompensated health care, community health improvement services and professional education and health research.

Uncompensated care accounted for the largest share of Scripps’ community benefit efforts throughout San Diego County, more than $335 million in fiscal 2016.

At Scripps Encinitas, uncompensated care totaled $52.8 million, including:

• $50 million in under-reimbursed care (underpayment from Medi-Cal, Medicare and other government programs).

• $2.8 million in charity care (for people without insurance who did not qualify for government assistance).

Scripps Encinitas also invested close to $630,000 in professional education and health research, including support for nursing programs at California State University San Marcos and Palomar College. It devoted more than $70,000 to the in-lieu-of funds program, a community building service that helps low-income patients with post-discharge needs, including board, medications and transportation. It also invested more than $15,600 in community health services such as screenings, health education, support groups and health fairs.

Scripps Health employees and affiliated physicians collectively volunteered 638 hours in support of Scripps-sponsored benefit programs, the equivalent of $30,528 in volunteer labor. Volunteer hours are mentioned in the report but are not included in community benefit total.

Meeting community needs throughout San Diego County

Scripps collaborates with other health systems, community groups and government agencies, as well as business and grassroots organizations to serve the greatest patient population needs and prioritize investments in the health and well-being of the community.

The 2017 Community Benefit report is the system’s annual response to Senate Bill 697, a 1994 state law that requires private, nonprofit hospitals to document the full range of community benefits they provide on a yearly basis. Scripps takes this legislative requirement a step further by incorporating community benefit activities from throughout the system, including Scripps’ five acute-care hospital campuses, home health care services, hospice care, wellness centers and clinics.

 Learn more about Scripps Health, a nonprofit integrated health system in San Diego, Calif.