Our commitment to the Yakima community
MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital opened its doors in 1950 in response to a community need. We believe improving health will transform Yakima, and over our history we’ve committed to meeting the changing needs of our community by reinforcing a legacy of collaboration and partnership that strengthens Yakima. It is more than treating the sick; it is about creating and supporting healthy families — physically, socially and economically.
It is in this spirit of collaboration and dedication to the needs of the Yakima Valley that Memorial puts forth this inaugural Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). Conducting CHNAs and making them available to the public meets our obligations under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Section 501 (r) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The CHNA is based on the Healthy People 2020 objectives. Released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services each decade, Healthy People provides objectives and science-based benchmarks to track and monitor progress towards a society in which all people live long, healthy lives.
If you have any comments or questions about the CHNA, implementation plan or community benefit, please contact Omar Gambito, Director of Community Health Outreach and Education by phone at 509-249-5061 or email [email protected].
Community Health Needs Assessment
This assessment document is a map, and through the following four-stage approach, we will make progress toward improved health and transforming Yakima:
- Plan: Identify priorities for services and community health improvement processes.
- Partner: Identify those who can work together to best meet community needs.
- Do: Design programs and approaches to improve access to high quality healthcare services.
- Improve: Improve the health outcomes of Yakima County.
As a result of the CHNA, health priorities were selected, and using our four-stage approach, MultiCare Yakima Memorial has developed action plans to address these priorities and to positively influence the health and well-being of the community. View our reports at the links below:
Implementation plan
The MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital implementation plan outlines both internal and community-wide objectives and strategies under each of these priority areas as well as the specific measurements and targets that will be used to evaluate our progress. Read our 2023-2025 Implementation Plan (PDF).
Our implementation plan is the multi-year action guide to improving the health status of our community and targets the prioritized areas and gaps in health needs that have been identified. During the CHNA process, themes emerge and are prioritized by community partners and hospital leadership, based on those most significant for our community. These identified priority needs frame MultiCare Yakima Valley Memorial’s community benefit initiatives.
Community-building
Community-building activities improve the health of persons in the community by addressing the determinants of health, which includes the social, economic and physical environment. These are programs and activities that address the root causes of health problems, such as poverty, homelessness and environmental hazards, by focusing specifically on physical improvements and housing, economic development, community support, environmental improvements, leadership development, coalition building, community health improvement advocacy and workforce development.
Community investment
MultiCare Yakima Memorial welcomes the opportunity to work with organizations to create healthy communities, and we have set aside specific funds to help support community organizations with community benefit programs or community-building activities. Funding considerations require an online application, so if your organization is seeking funding for community benefit or community-building activities, please submit the required information via the online community-investment form. Upon receipt of the online application, a MultiCare Yakima Memorial representative will contact you for more information or take your request to our quarterly community investment committee meeting.
Frequently asked questions
-
What is a "community benefit?"
-
As a not-for-profit, mission-driven healthcare organization, MultiCare Yakima Memorial, under our tax exemption status, provides certain community benefits that are a direct benefit to our patients and community. Community benefits are programs and activities that are built upon our belief that improving health will transform Yakima.
By promoting health and healing as a response to identified community needs, serving vulnerable populations, and building partnerships, we strengthen Yakima as a vibrant and healthy place to live, work and raise families. It is more than just treating the sick; it is about creating and supporting healthy families — physically, socially and economically. MultiCare Yakima Memorial’s community benefit includes education, charity care, subsidized health services, community health improvement activities and more.
Community benefit, which is made possible by our tax-exempt status, means that MultiCare Yakima Memorial benefits the communities we serve in a variety of ways, including charitable care and discounted healthcare services for the uninsured and underinsured, educational programs support, community programs and services, health education and disease screening and prevention initiatives, child guidance and advocacy programs, and many others. In 2012, MultiCare Yakima Memorial provided more than $73 million in Community Benefit to the community.
-
How does the hospital's mission translate to community committment?
-
MultiCare Yakima Memorial is a not-for-profit organization with a charitable purpose that will always be grounded by our community roots. When its founders planted the seed in 1950, it was probably hard to imagine that the hospital would grow into the mighty tree it is today, with branches that extend far and wide.
Meeting the healthcare needs of our community is essential to our not-for-profit mission. That mission also extends to serving those who cannot afford healthcare and to supporting programs and services for those in financial need.
Local governance, local decisions for local people. Members of our Board of Directors are local people who make decisions that are carefully considered to provide the best possible healthcare for our community.
-
What does it mean for a hospital to be not-for-profit?
-
Unlike health care systems owned by for-profit companies that return profit to stockholders, MultiCare Yakima Memorial is a not-for-profit organization with a charitable purpose. MultiCare Yakima Memorial was founded in 1950 by a group of local citizens. As a not-for-profit hospital, any money remaining after expenses have been paid is reinvested in healthcare. That money stays in the community to purchase needed medical equipment and support health education and other community health needs.
The community-owned, not-for-profit approach to healthcare best serves our patients and our communities. For-profit hospitals focus mainly on acute care and services that have a “bottom line.” Not-for-profit hospitals have a full continuum of services, with many that do not have a positive bottom line.
As a not-for-profit healthcare organization, MultiCare Yakima Memorial reinvests its operating margins back into the community we serve by improving and expanding our health care services; purchasing new technology; upgrading facilities; adding key healthcare workforce, including physician specialists; and ensuring that care is available to everyone, regardless of the ability to pay. Operating margins are not distributed to shareholders, as they are with a for-profit health care organization.
-
What does it mean to be a not-for-profit health care organization?
-
As a not-for-profit healthcare organization, MultiCare Yakima Memorial’s mission is to “improve the health of those we serve.” This mission calls for us to be accountable to many groups — including those who grant us tax exemption because of our status as a “charitable, community-oriented organization.” Absent this exemption, MultiCare Yakima Memorial would not be able to deliver the same level and amount of benefits and services that are so important to the communities we serve.
Form 990
-
What is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form 990?
-
IRS Form 990 is an annual reporting form that certain federally tax-exempt organizations must file with the IRS. It provides information on the filing organization’s mission, programs and finances.
-
What organizations are required to file Form 990?
-
Most federally tax-exempt organizations, with the exception of churches and state institutions, and all 501(c)(3) private foundations, are required to file Form 990.
-
What is the purpose of Form 990?
-
The Form 990 provides the public with important information, including financial information, about the filing organization and is often the only source of such information. It is also used by government agencies to ensure that organizations such as MultiCare Yakima Memorial are meeting their not-for-profit missions.
The community benefit figures are reported in accordance with the IRS Form 990 Schedule H requirement.
-
Where can I find more information about Form 990s?
-
More information is available on the IRS website.