Reading Hospital

“Tower health elects the members of the governing body”

“The management of the corporation shall be vested in the board of directors elected by the member who is tower health.”

“All decisions are subject to approval by the board of directors as management of the corporation elected by the member.”

“The form 990 is prepared by hospital staff, reviewed by an external tax advisor and posted on a board portal for board members to view prior to filing with the irs. Members are alerted to information and notices. A paper copy of form 990 is available upon request for any board member unable to view the portal.”

“It shall be the policy of the hospital to require each board member, officer and key employee to submit in writing to the chief executive officer a list of business or other organizations of which the member, member's spouse, a descendant, or a spouse of a descendant is an officer, director, member employee or owner (35% or greater share) with which the company might reasonably enter into a relationship or a transaction in which the board member, officer and key employee would have conflicting interests. Each year a copy of the written statement will be sent to the board member, officer and key employee for updating and resubmission and by which the board member, officer and key employee shall confirm his or her awareness of this policy. All members of tower health management (including directors and vice presidents) must complete and submit a conflict of interest disclosure statement annually. Such statements are reviewed by the chief compliance officer. Procedures for addressing a conflit of interest: a. After the board or committee has determined that a member is indeed conflicted, the conflicted person may be counted in determining whether there is a quorum to act, but may not vote upon the matter. The conflicted member, or a conflicted officer who is not a member, may nevertheless make a presentation to the board or committee on the matter but, after the presentation, the conflicted person shall leave the meeting during the discussion of and vote on the matter. B. The board or committee chair may appoint one or more disinterested persons to investigate possible resolutions of the matter that are devoid of the conflict of interest. C. The board or committee shall exercise due diligence to determine whether reading hospital can address the matter more advantageously by means that avoid the conflict of interest. D. If the matter cannot be addressed more advantageously by means that avoid the conflict of interest, or if other approaches to resolution are impractical under the circumstances, the board or committee shall determine whether the proposed transaction or contract is in reading hospital's best interests, whether it is fair and reasonable, and whether to enter into it. E. If the board determines that there has been a violation of this policy, the board shall take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action, which may include removal (if the interested person is a board or committee member) or termination (if the interested person is an employee). Intentionally or repeatedly failing to adhere to this policy is grounds for removal from the board and its committees.”

“The tower health board of directors has duly appointed an executive compensation committee (the "committee"), which is responsible for the review and approval of all compensation and benefits provided to the hospital's executive management, officers and key employees. The committee has adopted a written executive compensation philosophy statement and an executive compensation committee charter governing the work and review process of the committee. The committee follows the procedures described in the philosophy statement and the charter when it reviews and approves the compensation and employee benefits provided to the hospital's senior management, including the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer. The committee's review analyzes every element of compensation, including current and deferred compensation, and benefits, including qualified and non-qualified benefits. The committee conducts its review and approval process at least annually, and approves compensation and benefits only to the extent that the committee has concluded that the compensation and benefits constitute no more than reasonable compensation for each executive. The committee consists entirely of disinterested members of the board, and the committee works with an independent compensation consultant to prepare and review in advance comprehensive data showing the compensation provided by similarly situated organizations for functionally similar positions. The committee also prepares a timely and thorough written record of its deliberations and conclusions. As a result, the committee's review process is designed to satisfy the procedural criteria necessary to qualify for the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness under the federal income tax law intermediate sanctions rules.”

“Same response as line 15a which includes key employees.”

“The organization does not make its governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements available to the public.”

“Website: www.towerhealth.org/locations/reading-hospital the mission of reading hospital is to provide compassionate, accessible, high-quality, cost-effective healthcare to the community; to promote health; to education healthcare professionals; and to participate in appropriate clinical research. In addition to its primary role as a provider of direct care, reading hospital addresses issues outside that real that impact health and wellness. In fact, a key part of our mission means the reinvestment of resources into these efforts, which are collectively known as community benefit. We are proud to report that in our last fiscal year (fy2023), we committed nearly 159.5m to this cause. Reading hospital's community wellness department supports the hospital's community engagement and community benefit endeavors. The department's mission is three pronged and seeks to lead, partner, and invest in strategic health initiatives that target the underserved, address health disparities and social determinants of health, and promote health equity. The community wellness department also manages the community health needs assessment and implementation plan processes. Reading hospital's most recent community health needs assessment was completed in 2022 and identified and prioritized four areas of focus: access to equitable care, behavioral health, health education and prevention, and health equity. The 2022 chna implementation plan was finalized, adopted, and made publicly available by the november 15, 2022, deadline. The categories and strategies outlined below reflect the 2022 chna and implementation plan efforts: access to equitable care - increase access to equitable care by community members, particularly those considered disparate and vulnerable populations. The first prioritized need, access to equitable care, includes strategies that seek to incorporate better care coordination, integration, and alignment of hospital systems and services, as well as ongoing efforts to address social determinants of health. The first strategy in this priority area is the street medicine program which seeks to provide health care to some of the most vulnerable members of the berks county community - the unsheltered homeless, shelter residents, and housing insecure individuals. Physicians, nurses, and other clinical and non-clinical staff volunteer their time to visit homeless camps, soup kitchens, and shelters to deliver free primary and acute healthcare services to this often underserved and neglected population in an environment that is familiar, safe, and non-judgmental. The program partners with 6 community-based sites including hope rescue mission, lighthouse women's and children center, city light ministry, mary's shelter, reading ymca, and new journey community outreach. The street medicine program strives to deliver equitable and patient-centered primary and acute healthcare services, increase accessibility and continuity of care by connecting patients to healthcare services through telehealth, provide patient case management services and inpatient consultations, and education patients on available community services and resources. A telehealth kiosk installed at hope rescue mission, a local homeless shelter and community-based partner, allows a healthcare provider to meet virtually with patients who have an immediate need or require follow-up from a prior visit. The kiosk also offers external medical devices including a blood pressure monitor, thermometer, stethoscope, and otoscope. The healthcare services offered through the street medicine program include primary (internal and family medicine) and preventative care, addiction medicine (mat), psychiatric care, obstetrics and gynecology (including prenatal and postpartum care, contraception and family planning, gynecological exams, menstrual health and menopause management, and cancer screenings), pediatrics (including general examinations, physical exams for school entry, driver's license exami”

“Volunteers include board members without compensation and volunteers providing volunteer services at the hospital. In fiscal year 2024, reading hospital had 127 volunteers give 10,961 hours of service at the hospital. There are three types of volunteers that serve the reading hospital. The first type are in-service volunteers who come into the hospital. They go to patient care units to restock, refill patient water, provide visitor comfort to the patients and help the staff with various activities. This allows our staff to provide a higher level care to our patients. They also act as a patient greeter and a patient/visitor guide throughout the hospital. The second type of volunteer is the community volunteer. We have volunteers who hand make patient comfort items. The third type of volunteer are the friends of reading hospital who volunteer their time and talent to fund raise for special projects to enhance the patient experience and the health of our community. For patients, family members, and friends walking through our doors, is not an average day. Volunteers help make these days better at reading hospital.”

“Other community benefit activities reading hospital's public-facing be well berks website provides up to date information about community wellness department initiatives, events, and educational materials for community members. The content is accessible on a number of devices including desktops, laptops, mobile devices, tablets, etc. Reading hospital employs a trauma outreach education coordinator who provides trauma and injury prevention education to the community at no cost. Education topics include fall prevention, bike and motorcycle safety, car seat safety, distracted driving/texting while driving, dog bites, and hunting safety. The coordinator conducts stop the bleed trainings and assists with planning of matter of balance classes in the community, as well as leading coordination of an annual fall prevention day event each september. Reading hospital also promotes the trauma survivors network, a website providing resources, tools, and a support network for trauma patients and their families to help navigate the road to recovery. Reading hospital's library services department provides a space and resources for hospital staff and the general public to conduct research. Reading hospital partners with elevate to provide uninsured and underinsured patients enrollment assistance for medicaid and prescription assistance for the hospital's cancer infusion center patients. Medsafe, an unused or expired medication disposal system, improves our community's environment and increases safety by removing controlled and non-controlled pharmaceuticals. The program reduces the risk of abuse, accidental ingestion, and environmental contamination. In fy2024, approximately 1,000 pounds of medications were collected. Reading hospital's emergency department, in partnership with the council on chemical abuse (coca) and berks treatment access and services center, inc. (tasc), conducts a warm handoff program which provides treatment interventions to individuals with substance use disorders. The collaboration provides certified recovery specialists who staff the emergency department 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The specialists can arrange for immediate admission for all levels of drug and alcohol treatment (withdrawal management/detox, residential/rehab, medically assisted treatment/mat, partial hospitalization programs, intensive outpatient treatment, and outpatient treatment), provide community-based recovery support services, offer narcan kits to individuals using opioids, and operate a 24-hour drug and alcohol hotline. Reading hospital offers a number of fitness classes to community members for minimal cost. The sessions include aquatic fitness, pwr parkinson's wellness recovery, rise up & shine, tai chi. In fy2024, these classes produced a net community benefit of nearly 11,000. These programs encourage healthy habits and improve the overall wellness of program participants. The mcglinn cancer institute offers genetic screening and counseling to physician-referred and self-referred community members. The service increases awareness and prevention efforts among those who are at risk of cancer. Reading hospital provides social work support, case management, consultation, and individual, family, and group intervention services to wyomissing school district students in grades k-12 at no cost to the school district or the students and families served. During fy2024, a licensed clinical social worker who facilitates the services carried a caseload of 60 students, conducted 13 sap assessments, completed 24 sap meetings, and participated in the school's aevidum, a student mental health club, which held 15 meetings and conducted 12 school-wide mental health awareness campaigns/activities. Reading hospital partners with miller-keystone blood center to host blood drives for employees. During fy2024, 5 events were held. 154 units of blood were collected which has the opportunity to help upwards of 462 people. Reading hospital staff regularly participat”

“Inpatient care - 206,176 patient days reading hospital provides 725 beds for provision of comprehensive inpatient, outpatient, and emergent care. Inpatient care is provided in 2 critical care units, 2 intermediate care units, 3 acute rehabilitation units, and 13 medical surgical units with sub-specialties that include oncology, neurology, cardiology, heart failure, orthopedics, trauma, bariatric surgery, and medical complexity. In addition, reading hospital provides comprehensive maternal child health services that include obstetrics, neonatal intensive care, inpatient pediatric medical surgical care, and pediatric emergency services. Inpatient services are supported by hospital-based hemodialysis, apheresis, and vascular access services. Reading hospital inpatient care offers the following high-level services to support communities within both its primary and secondary markets: 1. Regional cancer and cardiac centers 2. Completed survey to advance to a comprehensive stroke program 3. Virtual nursing (patient observation and virtual admissions) 4. Advanced certification for our hip/knee joint replacement program 5. Certification in bariatric care 6. Certified advanced pediatric asthma program 7. Patient discharge lounge 8. Level 1 trauma center (only level 1 center within the county) 9. Regional level iii neonatal intensive care unit 10. Charity care program in addition, reading hospital inpatient care is aligned with system programs to improve post discharge care outcomes, care across the continuum from inpatient to ambulatory setting, and decreased readmission, including: 1. Comprehensive population health services 2. Tower health street medicine program - a program to provide health services and preventative care to homeless population within the community 3. Tele-health support of heart failure patient population to help prevent readmissions through the remote monitoring of bp and weight reading hospital was magnet designated for nursing and patient care excellence in 2016 and our first re-designation in 2021. Currently in the process for completing the documents for our second re-designation in 2025; this national level designation by the american nurses credentialing center is renewed every four years. This designation indicates that reading hospital inpatient units, emergency department, perioperative services, and ambulatory care departments exceed national benchmarks for nursing quality indicators, patient satisfaction with nursing care, and nurse satisfaction. In 2024, t1 imu achieved the silver -level aacn beacon award for excellence. The beacon award signifies exceptional care in a unit that puts patients first. The beacon award program comprises three distinct modules: patient outcomes, work environment and nursing workforce. For workforce the nursing department closely monitors turnover, rn turnover has stabilized over the last 6 months at 12% on a national average of 22.8%. Since 2021 we have seen a 50% reduction in rn turnover. We also saw a 6% increase in our rn engagement survey participation in calendar year 2024, from our previous survey in 2022. Emergency care - 109,162 emergency room visits reading hospital emergency department provides emergency, urgent and primary care services to our community "24/7/365," regardless of ability to pay. Volume to rh emergency department ranks it among the top three in the state of pennsylvania year after year. As the area's only accredited level 1 trauma center, rh also provides immediate access through its emergency department to all specialty services, from trauma surgeons to plastic surgeons, and all areas of specialty care. The hospital also has a pediatric and psychiatric emergency department. In addition to its trauma certification, rh is the only hospital in the region to have made a commitment to accredited care in stroke and chest pain. The hospital also is a center of excellence with 24/7 certified recovery specialists on site to provide warm hand-offs to patien”

“Operating room - 18,865 total surgeries reading hospital operates in a market served by nearly 20 specialty, investor-owned facilities, which carve out the best paying insurance plans, the highest margin procedures, and the least complicated patients to serve. By continuing to provide a full-service surgical service, reading hospital offers the most advanced surgical options, from robotic assisted, minimally invasive surgery to a full spectrum of outpatient surgical options. Reading hospital ensures the community has access to surgical specialties that may be experiencing shortages elsewhere in the country. Reading hospital supports its surgeons in their fellowship training and recruits and retains surgeons in areas like plastic surgery - available only during limited hours or not at all, in other hospitals in its market.”

“Mcglinn cancer institute 30,246 procedures the mcglinn cancer institute, located within the reading hospital, is primarily an out-patient facility which houses the sections of radiation oncology, hematology/oncology, and gynecological oncology. The annual total of patients who were diagnosed and/or treated in fy24 were 2,004. Upon diagnosis, a nurse navigator contacts each patient to offer information and support. Most patients are seen in one of our multi-disciplinary clinics based on the type of malignancy diagnosed. This includes thoracic, malignant hematology, breast, genito-urinary, gynecological, neurology, and gastro-intestinal clinics - most held on a weekly basis. Every clinic has its specific team of providers - surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, nurse navigators, genetic counselors, and physical therapists - who confer and collaborate to design a unique treatment plan for each individual patient. Every case is reviewed for possible inclusion in one of the many clinical trials offered on site. Once a plan of action has been recommended by the team, the patient is seen in consult by the providers who will be responsible for his/her course of treatment. Mcglinn cancer institute is accredited by the commission on cancer as a comprehensive community cancer program. The medical oncology practice is certified by the american society of clinical oncology through its quality oncology practice initiative (qopi) and the radiation oncology department is certified by the american college of radiology. In addition, the breast program at reading hospital is accredited by the national accreditation program for breast centers. The cancer center offers a three-year hematology/oncology fellowship program and students from various programs (ex: jefferson university, gwynedd mercy university, arcadia university) are assigned clinical rotations at mcglinn for genetic counseling, radiation therapy technology, and physician assistant training.”

“Expenses incurred in providing various other medically necessary healthcare services include but are not limited to: revenue expense radiology 229,811,010 42,697,165 rehabilitation/physical therapy 50,543,506 31,489,363 trauma center 3,861,303 3,111,270 pharmacy 48,176,043 40,867,070 ancilliary 130,150,815 83,872,656 reading hospital provides services to all individuals in a non- discriminatory manner regardless of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, or ability to pay.”

“Other program fees 48,549,226 0 0 other fees 0 26,606,110 0 other fees 5,518,249 0 0 other fees 3,001,612 0 0 other fees 4,351,624 0 0 physician fees 42,584,370 6,634,712 0 total 104,005,081 33,240,822 0”

“Intercompany asset transfer -225,454,554 assets released from restriction -5,013,909 pension liability 25,204,761 impairment -6,981,846 other changes -860 total -212,246,408”