Lawrence Memorial Hospital staff welcomed Health Care Access to the neighborhood last fall by volunteering to spruce up the grounds outside the clinic's new location at 330 Maine. Health Care Access provides care for low-income, uninsured Douglas County residents. In 2009, LMH provided .4 million in services to Health Care Access patients. Those services included tests and surgeries.

Lawrence Memorial Hospital reported last month that it provided $7.1 million in free community services in 2009.

This is the first Community Benefit Report done by the hospital. It has joined other hospitals across Kansas in documenting community benefits.

The services include:

• $3.9 million — in unpaid Medicaid costs. LMH provided $10.2 million in care for 18,700 Medicaid patients, but was only reimbursed for $6.3 million.
• $3 million — in charity care. The care ranges from hospital stays to surgery to lab work. It helped 7,300 people who truly couldn’t afford medical services.
• $140,000 — in community health improvement services. This includes smoking cessation programs, screenings at health fairs and support groups.
• $51,000 — in in-kind contributions, such as paying staff to provide the H1N1 flu vaccine at community clinics.

Specific example:

In 2008, LMH launched the Build Your Village support group for women suffering from a postpartum mood disorder, which includes depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. It had 61 visits from moms the first year, and in 2009, it saw 87 visits.

“It was a very needed service. Women were experiencing these problems and there was no help for them in our community, so that’s a great service to offer.”