St. Claire Regional Kicks Off Annual Fundraising Campaign
MOREHEAD, Ky. – St. Claire Regional Medical Center has kicked off perhaps its most important Annual Community Fundraising Campaign since it opened its doors nearly 47 years ago.
“We certainly don’t want to sound like alarmists. But current trends point to difficult times for community hospitals, particularly those that are not-for-profit and stand-alone like St. Claire Regional, for the foreseeable future,” said Roger Russell, SCR Vice President of Development. “Never has fundraising for the greater need of our mission been more crucial than it is today.”
A significant issue facing not-for-profit hospitals is the growing number of uninsured and underinsured patients that they treat. “This past year, SCR provided $10.6 million in charity and uncompensated care at cost. In all, SCR provided nearly $24.7 million in net community contributions during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009”, Russell said.
Other factors taking a financial toll on not-for-profit hospitals include the impact of the national economic downturn on hospital investments, increased costs for state-of-the-art equipment and supplies and greater competition to recruit and retain physicians and other care providers, Russell said.
Russell cited an American Hospital Association report showing that hospitals have historically been an important and steady source of employment in their communities in both good and bad economic times, ranking second as a source of private-sector jobs in the U.S. in 2007.
“When hospitals pay wages or taxes and when they purchase goods and services, that spending has a multiplier effect because it supports other jobs in their communities, and that money is spent over and again within the areas served by those hospitals,” Russell said. “St. Claire Regional has such an effect here in northeast Kentucky.”
Russell said he was concerned that the ongoing construction of the $30 million Center for Health, Education and Research (CHER) has given some area residents the misconception that SCR no longer needs community financial support. “This new building is a collaboration of Morehead State University, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and SCR, and it will house a variety of programs, including a new SCR Family
Medicine Clinic that is nearly triple the size of our existing clinic in Morehead,” Russell said. “We are so appreciative of the Kentucky General Assembly funding that is paying for CHER construction, but we must still cover the costs of equipping and operating SCR’s portion of the building.”
Despite any hurdles, Russell said he’s confident that this year’s appeal will be a success. The theme for this year’s fundraising campaign is “The Heart in Healing”.
“We’re now 47 years as a community pillar, and we know there are many more decades ahead, because the community has always supported this pillar as much as SCR has supported the community,” Russell said. “We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this long-standing synergistic relationship will continue.”
“I encourage you to think about the void that would exist in this region if St. Claire Regional were not here,” said Susan Victor, St. Claire Foundation Annual Support Committee chairwoman. “I’m amazed that a hospital in a city the size of Morehead offers 31 medical specialties and has a half-million patient encounters a year.” Victor
commended St. Claire Regional’s staff for setting a positive example in giving to the Foundation’s Staff Appeal. The number of SCR staff participating in last year’s staff campaign was up 58 percent over 2008, and the amount pledged by those staff members increased 69 percent over the previous year. “Given the economic conditions and outlook, those numbers are astounding,” Victor said.
To make a gift to St. Claire Regional, call (606) 783-6512 or go to www.st-claire.org/foundation.php.