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 Navicent gave back more than $248 million in community benefit in 2023.

Across its Georgia and Alabama service area, which also includes Atrium Health Floyd, the health system reinvested more than $385.8 million in services benefiting the community. That amounts to more than $1 million per day.

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 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.

“Community benefit is the heartbeat of nonprofit health care,” said Ken Haynes, president of Advocate Health’s Southeast Region, which includes all of Atrium Health. “In addition to the high-quality care we provide, community benefit demonstrates the greater value of our mission, overall, in protecting the health of our communities and making investments to help address key challenges such as hunger, homelessness and mental health that have long-term impacts on communities and the health of people who live there. This new record for annual community benefit – nearly $3 billion – is a testament to the positive impact Atrium Health has improving health, elevating hope and advancing healing for all.”

At Atrium Health Navicent, community benefits provided in 2023 included expansion of the neonatal intensive care unit and emergency pediatric behavioral health capacity at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital, the region’s only dedicated children’s hospital. Other benefits included:

• Free care for low-income patients, and undercompensated and unreimbursed care for patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid

• Costs related to medical education and ongoing education for health care teammates

• Subsidized health services including trauma and behavioral health services, screenings, immunizations, school-

  based health care and other community outreach programs

• Contributions of equipment and supplies

“Our annual community benefit report is a reflection of our long-term commitment to improve health in the communities weserve,” said Atrium Health Navicent President Delvecchio Finley. “With each patient encounter and by investing in teammates who live and shop near our facilities, we’re making today and the future a little brighter for central and south Georgia.”