Catholic hospitals and community benefit activities. A comparative inventory of policies and programs reveals a wide range of services.

Results from a 1990 survey of 595 acute care, short-term, U.S. Catholic hospitals help identify and describe the most and least common community benefit activities and propose ways Catholic healthcare providers can become more involved in their local communities. The response rate for this mailed, self-administered questionnaire was 72 percent (n = 429). The survey data indicated that Catholic hospitals engaged in a variety of healthcare efforts in their local communities. These efforts ranged from occasional activities (e.g., delivering food baskets to the needy at Christmastime) to sponsoring long-term programs (e.g., continuing case management). To expand involvement throughout the community, hospitals can do the following relatively low-cost tasks: Have volunteers visit area residents in their homes and report their findings. Sponsor focus groups (facilitated by graduate students from area colleges and universities) that include the various community members. Assess the human needs of the communities that surround the hospital. Graduate students may conduct preliminary studies to identify the scope and variety of community healthcare needs.