Community benefit reporting is worthwhile. A central Iowa healthcare provider annually distributes a report to its...

To document our impact on the community's health, Mercy Health Center of Central Iowa has created a "Community Benefits Report"--a 14-page report listing all charitable projects among eight distinct subsidiaries of Mercy Health Center. The Mercy report lists all the charitable works provided to the community in the past year by Mercy Hospital Medical Center, the Mercy Clinic System, the Clark Street House of Mercy, the Bishop Drumm Care Center, and a few smaller affiliate hospitals in rural Iowa. Mercy's community benefits report serves not only as a summary, but as the blueprint for the work Mercy leaders are planning. This documentation helps in many ways, including identifying the needs of Des Moines and central Iowa and showing Mercy's role in meeting those needs.