G e o r G e t o w n M e M o r i a l H o s p i ta lw a c c a M a w c o M M u n i t y H o s p i ta l

a r e p o r t t o o u r c o M M u n i t y

2 0 0 8 s u M M a r y

Georgetown Hospital System

Family caring for family

� G e o r G e t o w n H o s p i ta l s y s t e m

Dear friends,For nearly six

decades, Georgetown Hospital System (GHS) has been serving the healthcare needs of our communities. It’s with pride that we provide this first “Report to Our

Community” filled with stories and statis-tics about the many ways we touch lives and serve our friends and neighbors.

GHS facilities join other hospitals across our state and nation in saving lives, improv-ing the quality of life and providing compas-sionate care for all, regardless of patients’ ability to pay. Some of our efforts are tradi-tional and expected: 24-hour emergency care, outpatient testing, health screening

programs and medical and surgical care. Other GHS efforts, such as our focus on edu-cation, support and outreach services, are less traditional but no less important in contribut-ing to the high quality of life we all desire.

While it’s difficult to describe our organizational activities without numbers, it’s important to realize that behind each number is a person. A patient, nurse, doctor, technologist, support person or volunteer—these are the people behind the numbers. For the GHS family, people are our story; I hope you enjoy reading it on these pages.*

sincerely,

Bruce P. BaileyChief Executive Officer, Georgetown Hospital System

From us to youHow we care for you and your family

Bruce P. BaileyChief Executive Officer

For many years, hospitals have struggled to gather and report data about the type, amount and value of various community benefits they provide. South Carolina Hos-pital Association members have developed guidelines for reporting these community benefits, both traditional and nontraditional.

Traditional benefits are tied to a hospital’s commitment to provide needed healthcare services to all patients. These benefits reflect the service, financial assistance or charity care provided to patients who can’t pay.

Hospitals also offer nontraditional community benefits—both on the hospi-tal campus and well beyond the hospital walls—to increase access to care and improve the health status and enhance the quality of community members’ lives. •

What are ‘community benefits’?

Community benefits, as

defined by the south

carolina Hospital

association for purposes

of consistent reporting,

are programs and

services that meet

one or more of the

following criteria:

‚ support the

hospital’s

community-

based mission

‚ target the

problems of the

poor or medically

underserved

‚ impact the health

status of the

identified community

‚ reduce community

health costs

‚ are accessible to the

entire community

regardless of ability

to pay

‚ would likely be

discontinued if

decisions were

made on a purely

financial basis

‚ stimulate external

community

Georgetown Memorial Hospital

Waccamaw Community Hospital

*The sTaTisTics in This reporT represenT FY 2008 daTa, unless oTherwise indicaTed.

c o m m u n i t y r e p o r t � 0 0 8 �

Community support at Georgetown Hospital System (GHS) comes in many forms. Classes, screenings, speakers, presentations, sponsorships, partnerships,

transportation services, donations of cash and in-kind services, service hours benefit-ing community groups and participation in environmental improvement initiatives are some of the many ways GHS provides ongoing support for our community.

GHS is working behind the scenes to improve our community’s quality of life, whether it’s with blood drive sponsorships, food bank donations or referral services for those in need of community services and public assistance programming. Reduced-fee and free health screenings, flu vaccine clinics and access to free support groups help make many in our community healthier and happier.

Support not directly related to health-care, like a Support the Troops program that sends gift baskets to local military men and women serving our country, are also enthusiastically embraced by GHS. •

A special and treasured joy of the holiday season lies in the gifts we give to others. As a result of a holiday program coordinated by Georgetown Hospital System’s (GHS’s) Women’s Board, children in need throughout Horry and Georgetown counties learn what the season is all about.

Underprivileged children and their families are selected by local school guidance counsel-ors to take part in our Santa’s Work-shop program. Partici-pants are screened by GHS’s

Foundation Office to determine each family’s needs.

shopping with santaThe air is filled with magic as

families arrive for the big event held at Georgetown’s Bobby Alford Recreation Center in East Bay Park. Each child shops for gifts for his or her family members from Santa’s Work-

shop. The selected gifts are bagged and gift

wrapped. Once the children

finish shop-ping, they enjoy arts and

crafts where they can complete age-appropriate projects to decorate their homes.

During this special day, children also enjoy a visit with Santa Claus, who gives each child an individual-ized gift after a quick chat. An elf waits patiently to photograph the big smiles and frames them as special memories of a fun-filled day. The festivities conclude with cookie decorating.

Santa’s Workshop—organized by the Women’s Board with support from GHS’s Foundation, volunteers and donors—makes the season brighter for children and their families. •

GHS is here for you

GHS community benefit support*coMMunity MeMbers iMpacteD by coMMunity benefit proGraMs:

14,389coMMunity benefit total:

$1,355,795

The gift of giving

* FY 2007

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� G e o r G e t o w n H o s p i ta l s y s t e m

Twice named one of the “Most Wired” among similar hos-pitals in the United States, Georgetown Hospital System (GHS) makes ongoing investments in techno-logical advances that are critical in ensuring that local residents have access to the lat-est medical diagnostic and treatment tools. So it’s no surprise that technology is a major element of GHS’s overall community benefit.

GHS’s technology commitment contrib-utes to patient safety. For example, bedside

bar-coding devices used at Georgetown Memorial Hospital and Waccamaw Community Hospital help ensure the right patient receives the right dosage of the right medi-cation at the right time.

Whether it’s diagnos-tic technology like MRI, digital radiography or mammography, PET/CT scans or a state-of-the-art linear accelerator or stereotactic radiosurgery

used to treat cancer patients, GHS’s continuous reinvestment in emerging and upgraded technology represents an annual investment of about $6.3 million. •

Georgetown Hospital System (GHS) is dedicated to providing educational opportunities for community members. We invest in developing people, whether they’re beginning to explore career choices or looking for new challenges.

student educationGHS participates in elementary,

middle and high school student career fairs that educate students about a variety of healthcare career choices. We also give hospital tours to interested school groups.

In addition, GHS supports college students through numerous scholar-ships while our nurses, pharma- cists and other health professionals

spend hours overseeing college students finishing clinical rotations in our facilities as part of each student’s degree program.

employee educationOur commitment to education doesn’t end

with community members. Our tuition reim-bursement program helps employees further their education and develop their skills. GHS is one of the only hospital facilities in coastal South Carolina to operate a continuing medi-cal education (CME) program accredited by the South Carolina Medical Association. This program allows medical staff members to earn CME credits close to home.

If you choose a career in healthcare, you can depend on GHS for the resources you need to help you reach your goals. •

New technology at GHS

Interested in a healthcare career?

GHS participates in local job fairs and school events.

GHS’s ongoing commitment to advanced

technology is a major

contributor to patient safety

and the ongoing delivery of

quality care in our hospitals.

an investment in our community’s HealtH

c o m m u n i t y r e p o r t � 0 0 8 �

When it comes to providing signs of comfort, caring and compassion, the smallest gesture sometimes makes the biggest impression.

Georgetown Hospital System’s (GHS’s) Auxiliary, founded in 1951, has long dedicated itself to support-ing our hospitals and their patients with a variety of meaningful pro-grams. Some of the group’s initiatives, such as the annual Lights of Love holiday fundraiser, are highly publi-cized and broad in scope.

Others go on quietly and are conducted on a much more personal level, affecting patients who need them most, one by one, day after day, year after year.

caring for kidsThe Auxiliary’s rainbow bear

initiative is one such special program. The group donates colorful teddy bears to pediatric patients who are frightened, ill, upset or simply in need of a cuddly companion. Dur-ing 2007, about 900 rainbow bears helped reassure and calm anxious children who were patients at one of GHS’s facilities.

caring for cancer survivors

Another meaningful Auxiliary program is the Angel

Coins of Hope project. People with cancer who undergo radiation treat-ment at the Francis B. Ford Cancer Treatment Center are presented with a symbolic coin reminding them of their accomplishments in their battle against cancer and offering them hope for the future. The Auxiliary awarded more than 200 Angel Coins of Hope to local patients with cancer during 2007.

caring for the littlest patients

The celebration of the beginning of a new life is yet another event in which GHS’s Auxiliary participates. Each baby born at Georgetown Memorial Hospital or Waccamaw Community Hospital receives a special commemorative engraved feeding spoon from the Auxiliary. About 1,000 new baby gift spoons are distributed each year. •

Programs of caring

Mammograms save lives. Yet all too often, women who can’t afford an annual mam-mogram go undiagnosed. Georgetown Hospital System (GHS) is proud to provide access to the healthcare resources needed to help win the war against breast cancer.

As part of the fight, GHS has developed a breast health clinic program for under-served women in Georgetown County. “It’s All About Me” began in summer 2007. Women who meet eligibility criteria are able to get mammograms at clinics held each quarter in locations throughout Georgetown County. These clinics have been funded in part through a grant from

the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Low-country Affiliate, which helped to provide 46 mammograms at the very first clinic held. •

Conquering breast cancer

� G e o r G e t o w n H o s p i ta l s y s t e m

The epidemic of childhood obesity has grown consistently over the last few years, attracting the attention of the media and caregivers nationwide. To help solve the problem, Georgetown Hospital System (GHS) has implemented several programs to help children who have weight-management issues make healthy choices for themselves. The Pediatric Create Your Weight pro-gram, operated by our Food and Nutrition Services Department, is an eight-week series of classes about healthy food choices, exercise, portion control and eating out. The first program took place in fall 2007.

a family effort

Children and their families completed the initial program, which also included a hands-on cooking demonstration at

GHS’s HealthPoint—Center for Health and Fitness. The participants registered a weight loss, and the program was featured on a local news broadcast. Parental involve-ment was a key factor in the program’s suc-cess. Parents learned the importance of the covered concepts, leading to reinforcement of lifestyle changes at home.

In addition to this initiative, GHS registered dietitians participated in the Georgetown County YMCA’s summer program, educating participants about

nutrition choices. Nutrition-related sessions were taught throughout the county over the summer. The campers learned about the Food Guide Pyramid, portion control and healthy food choices. •

Did you know that Georgetown Hospital System (GHS) is a significant and steady contributor to our local economies?

GHS—one of the largest employers in Georgetown and surrounding counties— boosts the overall local economic outlook. Large numbers of GHS employees return their payroll dollars to the local economy in the form of housing, transportation, retail and other spending. GHS’s local purchas-ing also invests additional dollars into our local economies.

Despite the myth that not-for-profit organizations like GHS don’t pay taxes, our property, sales and other tax payments also contribute to our local financial well-being. •

Combating childhood obesity

GHS local contributions

GHS community economic impactannual payroll:

$67,900,000

property taxes:

$3,284

sales taxes:

$2,378,384

Hospital taxes*:

$5,720,670

total coMMunity econoMic iMpact:

$76,002,338*souTh carolina hospiTal Tax imposed To help Fund medicaid program

c o m m u n i t y r e p o r t � 0 0 8 �

Sometimes a minor process change makes a major difference in achieving a goal. One such change made by Georgetown Hospi-tal System (GHS) may be responsible for reducing our community’s influenza risk.

Community flu vaccine clinics have been conducted for many years by

most hospitals and have been fairly effective. But the stan-dard flu clinic procedure of standing on line proved difficult for the elderly and mobility-impaired patients.

To meet the needs of this growing segment of our com-

munity, GHS started a drive-through flu vaccine clinic in 2007. Patients drive up, sign release forms and get their vac-cine without leaving their car.

“If it weren’t for this drive-through clinic, my parents may not have gotten their flu shots this year,” says a concerned daughter.

GHS administered more than 2,000 flu vaccines to community members in 2008, many of them through this new system. •

Uncompensated care*

GHS Board of Trustees ‚ alan s. altman

‚ elizabeth f. Dawson

‚ s. craig

Downing, M.D.

‚ richard J. ferdon Jr.

‚ francis b. “Jeepy”

ford Jr.

‚ Judith K. ingle

‚ walter f. Johnson iii

‚ robert l. Jones

‚ webster n.

Jones iii, M.D.

‚ wallace J. McKnight

‚ charles a. Moore

‚ J. edward norris iii

‚ Julian a. reynolds Jr.

‚ H. Mcroy skipper

‚ sharon G. smith

Georgetown Hospital System family members include facilities located throughout Georgetown and Horry counties: ‚ Georgetown Memorial Hospital‚ Waccamaw Community Hospital‚ Francis B. Ford Cancer Treatment

Center‚ HealthPoint—Center for Health and

Fitness‚ The Imaging Center at Waccamaw

Medical Park‚ NextStep Adult Rehabilitation

Services at:

‚ NextStep Pediatric Rehabilitation Services at:• Georgetown

‚ NextStep Pain Management Services at:• Georgetown

‚ NextStep Wound Healing Center‚ Waccamaw Rehabilitation Center

provided by GeorGetown Hospital system:

Fighting the flu— one shot at a time

Who is Georgetown Hospital System?

ToTal: $43,792,000

Hands-on patient care is at the core of GHS’s community impact.

• Georgetown

• pawleys island

• murrells inlet

• azalea lakes

• andrews

*All numbers represent uncompensated care at cost.

■ Government payors (Medicare, etc.)

$24,682,000

■ bad debt benefit

$10,268,000

■ charity care benefit

$8,842,000

• azalea lakes

• murrells inlet

Please Recycle This Publication

copyright © 2009 Georgetown Hospital system

When a group of local cancer survivors first met in 2007, forming a group designed to promote fellowship and positive emotional, spiritual and physical well-being was their goal. What they achieved has been so much more.

Today, some Georgetown and Horry County cancer survivors gather twice a week for sport and fun while paddling an unusually decorated boat along inland waterways. The group is part of a team dedicated to Dragon Boating, an ancient Chinese sport involving a crew of 20 paddlers, a steersman and a cox-swain in a 4-foot-wide by 40-foot-long boat.

inspiration and hope“Dragon Boat At The Beach” is the local

team formed through collaboration with Georgetown Hospital System (GHS), from

whom they receive advice, organizational assistance and coaching. While paddling to a rhythmic drum beat, team members gain physical and emotional strength as they celebrate each victory and “awaken the dragon within” with encouragement, inspiration and hope. Team members participate in regular conditioning classes held at GHS’s HealthPoint—Center for Health and Fitness. The project is funded through events organized by the group of male and female cancer survivors and their supportive family members and friends.

“The world can seem a very dark place after a cancer diagnosis. Seeing a group of survivors participate and compete with such energy gives me much-needed hope for the future,” says team member Gail H. •

Boating for better health

cancer survivors team up for fun

Hands-on patient care is at the heart of Georgetown Hospital System’s (GHS’s) community impact. We provide no greater service than attending to the immediate healthcare needs of those who are in pain, suffering or facing a critical medical situation.

The patients we care for each day and each year are individuals. From the father suffering from a chronic illness

to the first-time mom celebrating the wonder of birth, we take pride and pleasure in caring for each patient. You’re our friends and neighbors, and it’s our firm commitment to care for you in the same way we’d care for a

valued family member.It’s been our pleasure to prepare this first “Report to Our Com-

munity.” We hope it’s provided some insight into the many ways GHS is at work as your community partner. •

A continuing commitment

606 Black River RoadP.O. Box 421718Georgetown, SC 29442www.georgetownhospitalsystem.org

Non-Profit OrganizationUS POSTAGE

PAID Lebanon Junction, KY

Permit No. 115

Friends and neighbors cared for ‚ 12,290 inpatient

admissions

‚ 55,937 emergency department visits

‚ 151,496 outpatient visits

‚ 1,037 births

‚ 4,062 outpatient surgeries

Georgetown Hospital System vital statistics‚ 1,600 employees

‚ 205 physicians

‚ 230 volunteers

‚ 15 board of trustees members

‚ 24 foundation board members

‚ 91 women’s board members