Join Wellness Wishes as we assist our healthcare establishments during a time when they need us most.
As the current crisis spread across the nation, leaders, businesses, agencies and governments scrambled to react and carry out plans. The philanthropy sector is no exception. While some non-profits and foundations aggressively rolled out efforts to assist and provide services, including shifting grant funding to general community funding, other non-profits have been caught in the whirlwind of the crisis, barely managing to hang on and some not able to do so.
It's still too early to tell the sustained economic impact of the crisis and what it means for the philanthropy sector, but on a positive note, there are organizations that are seizing the moment to make a difference in our communities and for its people.
In this time of uncertainty, Wellness Wishes is a beacon of hope for those affected by the crisis; and we’re happy to lead efforts for our communities to regain control and thrive in the current climate. This can (and must) be done; and together we can make a positive impact.
Healthcare agencies remain as one of the highest impacted sectors, with both personnel and financial issues abounding. Many are facing financial fallout from the current crisis, and those that carried high debt prior are most susceptible, as are rural areas. For financially struggling rural areas, COVID did nothing but take the focus off their already dwindling financials and personnel issues, while urban areas and ‘hot spots’ demanded the attention. Preparations, lack of PPE’s, personnel and testing, as well as other issues thrust many stable healthcare organizations into the financial danger zone and unknown territory. Ceasing of ‘non-essential’ healthcare services and elective surgeries, as well as furloughs and other cutbacks only enhanced the problems.
Financial pressures as well as a negative (and wildly unknown outlook) will be key contributors to potential fallout. In addition to pressing issues rural areas have faced, and will continue to face, safety net hospitals are struggling with how to cope, plan and remain operational when closing is not an option. For so many of our communities, if a rural hospital closes, the devastating impact reaches far wider than the simple closure of a ‘business’. Patients aren’t the only ones affected; staff, vendors, the entire community and economic ecosystem falls apart.
‘Non-essential’ procedures and organizations are being hit harder than those overrun with pandemic preparations and upkeep. The temporary (and sometimes permanent) shuttering of doors, loss of pay, furloughs, decreased or eliminated patient volume are all issues these non-essentials are facing, along with a hard-hit economic impact that stretches way into the unforeseeable future. Patients are also suffering. Pain and chronic conditions not deemed worthy enough for ‘essential’ status not only continue but abound during the shutdowns. Studies show an increase in orthopedic injuries during these “stay-at-home” orders, although those figures, along with increased self-medication with alcohol, opiates and other substances will never accurately be reported.
The 300 hospitals nationwide that are labeled as safety net hospitals continue to face insurmountable challenges when cash on hand is so critical to dealing with a crisis such as what they’re now facing. ACO’s and other value-based care models will also see financial trouble and uncertainty well into the future.
While these issues all seem difficult taken separately, collectively, it’s a bleak outlook for the nation’s healthcare system. Wellness Wishes can’t completely fix an already taxed and burdened system, but we can shine some hope on healthcare organizations by assisting with funding through our “Economic Enrichment Project”, an extension of our current Funding Advisors Claims Recovery Program.
ABOUT FUNDING ADVISORS CLAIMS RECOVERY PROGRAMMING
Funding Advisors Claims Recovery is the service outlet for a funding strategy implemented by Wellness Wishes. FACR conducts analyses and recovers lost revenue that hospitals, practices, clinics, emergency response departments and other healthcare organizations are unaware of as being “still owed”. These are not patient collections, billing errors, accounting or receivables, rather on claims that have been closed as ‘paid in full’ or ‘paid according to contract’. FACR offers a no-risk service, only collecting fees on funds we help identify and recover. Additionally, Wellness Wishes earmarks a certain amount of those fees to be invested philanthropically back into the community.
FACR was developed because over $125 BILLION is lost each year by the healthcare industry, and our aim was to turn these industry challenges into real-life opportunities for organizations to recover lost revenue and implement an innovative revenue cycle approach in our new healthcare climate.
ABOUT WELLNESS WISHES
Wellness Wishes is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, based out of Columbus, Ohio, serving the greater good nationwide. Through our various programs and services, we address four important areas of impact:
1. Underserved Areas in Healthcare
2. Veterans
3. First Responders
4. Conservation & Education
Our process of divergent thinking holds the belief that the key to problem-solving is creativity…understanding what is and imagining what could be. Which is why Wellness Wishes has added our “Economic Enrichment Project” to target those healthcare organizations, regions and local areas that need someone to lean on during this time – someone they can immediately turn to that can assist with funding, not only for their organization, but for their communities.
We welcome these organizations and areas have been deeply affected by the crisis to lean on us for support as we use our imaginations to turn what ‘could be’ into realities, and to help our fellow Americans create and control their own reality while thriving in the current environment. There is no time to wait, and Wellness Wishes understands the urgency behind this project to assist our communities as quickly as possible.
Our unique ‘Funding Advisors Claims Recovery’ program already invests in foundations, non-profits, organizations and individuals through our recovery efforts, traditionally infusing 20% of our fees back into the communities in which we serve. Now, through June 2020, we’ll be carving out an additional 10% to go into community-specific funds, to be allocated at the discretion of our funding advisors and community partners through our “Community Response Fund”.
For more information on Wellness Wishes’ actions related to the current environment and events, to partner with, or to inquire as to the Economic Enrichment Project or Community Response Funding, contact us at any time.
Erin Morrow
President and Director of Funding Advisors