Baptist Health Louisville is very active in its community, contributing more than $21 million in community benefits in 2010 alone, including charity care, service projects, cash and in-kind donations and employee salaries to participate in community projects.

Part of the hospital’s mission statement is to improve the health of the community it services. To achieve that goal on a large scale, the hospital partnered with Milestone Fitness to open the Baptist Health Louisville /Milestone Wellness Center which has more than 6,000 members.

Baptist Health Louisville also touches community members at a very personal level. Hospital staff participated in nearly 150 health fairs in 2010, reaching more than 130,000 people with such services as free blood pressure checks, pulse oximetry, glucose testing and other health screenings.

Forty wellness programs drew about 1,000 persons to learn how to better care for themselves and their families. Maternity classes – plus classes for such conditions as diabetes – were offered free to some 8,000 people in 2010.

And, for the hurting, Baptist Health Louisville offered nearly a dozen support groups and directly aided about 500 people.

Hospital employees are involved in community outreach efforts as clothing drives for the homeless and providing seniors in nursing homes with Christmas gifts. Youngsters in the Child Development Center and Baptist Health Louisville staff members have participated in Operation Shoebox to bring Christmas cheer to children in far away countries.

Employees are very active in health-related organizations and fundraising efforts for such activities as the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, American Heart Association Heart Walk, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and many others.

For these efforts, Baptist Health Louisville captured a “We CARE” award from Republic Bank, winning in the healthcare division. The awards recognize companies that encourage their employees to become involved in volunteer community activities.