Riverside gave over $68 million to community in 2024

Last year, Riverside Healthcare provided $68.7 million in community benefits. This number comes from subsidized health services, financial assistance, donations and more.

In the health care system’s 2024 Community Benefit Report and Assessment Update, there is a breakdown of how the non-profit company, which is Kankakee County’s largest employer with just under 3,000 employees, has impacted the Kankakee County community.

During a discussion on Riverside’s Well Within Reach podcast, Riverside Healthcare President and CEO Phil Kambic said that the report was originally mandated by the Affordable Care Act and “it really is a very good process.”

“We’ve been doing it for quite some time now,” Kambic said. “It really takes a look at a lot of different factors and indicators across the whole spectrum of social service and health care. Then, we try to consolidate that into strategic priorities that we’ll work on for the next three years.”

The numbers representing the $68.7 million are:

· $48,213,914 in subsidized health services

· $12,618,680 in uncompensated care

· $3,429,363 in government-sponsored indigent health care

· $1,771,585 in charity care (including $380,298 in emergency department charity care)

· $1,927,000 in financial assistance

· $240,772 in volunteer services

· $140,250 in education

· $175,290 in donations

· $136,835 in language assistance services

· $1,507 in other

Riverside Ambulance Services served 6,769 individuals (excluding community events) and incurred an unreimbursed cost of $6,393,601.

Health care training and education served 257 people and had an unreimbursed cost of $140,250.

Riverside Community Health Centers served 12,848 people between the Hopkins Park, Momence and Kankakee clinics and had an unreimbursed cost of $2,053,019. And the year saw 24 new providers join Riverside, with an unreimbursed cost of $634,006.

Financial assistance

Accounting for 2.8% of the total community benefit, financial assistance saw 5,879 applications submitted in 2024. A total of 5,272 applications were approved and 607 were denied. Reasons for denial include incomplete applications, patients declining to complete applications, income exceeding limits, patient ineligibility for Medicaid or simply no response from the patient.

By the numbers

In 2024, Riverside totaled 342,207 patient encounters. Of that total, 7,204 were outpatient surgery cases, 280,082 were outpatient visits, 1,956 were inpatient surgery cases, 9,485 were inpatient admission visits and 42,704 were emergency room visits. Additionally, there were 776 newborn deliveries.

A total of 70.1% of Riverside’s services are provided to the elderly and the poor, who are some of the area’s most vulnerable citizens. The poverty rate in Kankakee County (between 2019-2023) was at 8.7% while the poverty rate during that same period for the city of Kankakee was 21%.

“This report reflects our ongoing commitment to breaking down barriers to care,” Kambic said. “Yes, the numbers tell part of the story – but behind each one is a person, a family and a dedicated team working to ensure care is within reach for all.”

Health needs assessment

A portion of the report includes community health needs assessment priorities, which identify what health needs are the most crucial in the area.

The report found three main priorities of chronic disease: behavioral health and social determinants of health.

The top sub-priorities identified in these three included: cancer, stroke, respiratory illness and Alzheimer’s Disease for chronic disease; substance use, behavioral health and trauma awareness and prevention for behavioral health; and food, housing, transportation, interpersonal safety and health care affordability in social determinants of health.

The report details Riverside’s implementation plan for addressing these three priorities between now and 2027.

For information and a full report, visit riversidehealthcare.org.