Promises Kept: Five Years of Investing in the Health of the Community

Photo: Manchester Memorial Hospital

This month marks five years of Prospect Medical Holdings’ investment in the Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville General Hospital communities through ownership of Eastern Connecticut Health Network.

While our tax status is “for-profit,” benefiting town, state and federal government, our purpose is “for community.” Our mission is, and always has been, to provide safe, accessible and high-quality healthcare with great compassion. Like any organization, whether not-for-profit or for-profit, we must realize an operating margin to continuously reinvest in new equipment, facilities, providers and employees. The extent of that reinvestment is derived from our financial performance. All health systems work to deliver efficient care options that result in an operating margin for reinvestment and growth, and ECHN is no exception.

The Benefit of For-profit Ownership

Before Prospect Medical acquired ECHN, its hospitals often struggled to keep pace with the financial demands. Today, they are far better positioned to continue investing in and improving the health of the community.

• ECHN is a substantial economic engine for the region.
• Prospect continues to invest millions of dollars per year in renovations, facility upgrades and equipment at both hospitals.
• Focused on becoming the region’s largest provider of behavioral health services, ECHN is developing a post graduate medical education program in psychiatry, training the mental health professionals of the future.
• Additional residency training programs in family medicine and osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal medicine continue to educate new doctors, many of whom remain to practice here.
• As a for-profit, ECHN pays in excess of $12 million in annual taxes to Manchester, Vernon and the state/federal government, plus an additional $300,000 in property taxes to several towns.
• As the largest employer in the 19-town service area, ECHN pays more than $125 million in wages and benefits to dedicated employees. Note that 72 percent of staff live in the communities.
• Last year alone, ECHN provided over $858,000 in charity care and absorbed $11.9 million in uncompensated care—the difference between what Medicaid pays and ECHN’s cost to provide the care.
• The impact of community benefit investment is in excess of $5 million annually. This represents the cost of health education programs, outreach, volunteerism, support groups and other services.
• Previously a recipient of philanthropic gifts and investment, now ECHN gives back more than $100,000 each year to the community as a sponsor of community events and programs like The Manchester Road Race, Channel 3 Kids Camp, Hockanum Valley Community Council and numerous others.
• ECHN’s community investment is stewarded by a local advisory board that guides decision making in strategic business planning, medical staff appointments, community partnership development and quality of care assurance oversight.

To learn more about ECHN’s investment in the community, download flier or visit ECHN’s website.