Samaritan Health Services invests $178 million in community health

Last year, Samaritan Health Services invested more than $178 million in financial and in-kind support of community health activities in Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties as part of its community benefit commitment.

“We are a nonprofit and mission‑driven organization providing care to patients in our hospitals and clinics, but we know it takes more than that to have healthy communities,” said Doug Boysen, president and CEO. “That’s why we support community-based efforts to help keep people healthy.”

Samaritan focuses its community benefit support on three priority areas:

• Increasing access to medical, dental and mental health/behavioral health services.

• Increasing access to healthy and nutritious food, child care and safety.

• Increasing housing, employment and supportive services.

“We are honored to be able to contribute to the health and wellness of our region by offering quality care in our facilities and also by supporting the efforts of our dedicated nonprofit partners who offer programs that meet one or more of our priority areas,” Boysen said.

Samaritan shares information about its community benefit efforts in the annual Community Health Impact Report. The latest report is available now and it details the investments made in Samaritan’s community health activities – from charity care, community building, health research and more. In addition, three agencies that receive program funding from Samaritan are highlighted:

• Guatemalan and Latinx community cooking classes and farmers market tours, offered by Food Share of Lincoln County and Oregon State University Extension Service in Lincoln County.

• Project Healthy Smile, offered by the Boys & Girls Club of Albany and Practical Dental Assisting of Oregon.

• Stand By Me - Oregon, offered by Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments and Casa Latinos Unidos.

Learn more and read the report at samhealth.org/Impact. To request a printed copy, send an email to mkerlin@samhealth.org.