Freeman Health System

“Review of the form 990: the form 990 is prepared by an independent accounting firm based on the audited financial statements and information provided by the accounting department of the organization. Prior to filing, the draft of the form 990 is reviewed by members of top management. Once a final draft is ready, a power point presentation is made to the board members at the board of directors meeting to explain the 990 and its uses. The board reviews the document for key information included. Paper copies are made available to the board members at their request.”

“Conflict of interest policy: the conflict of interest policy is reviewed by the board of directors each year in april. The board members are asked to sign a new conflict of interest policy and list any possible conflicts. This information is reviewed and maintained in the administrative offices. If a board member encounters a transaction that would cause a possible conflict of interest, a form detailing the transaction is completed and submitted to the board for review and approval. If a conflict is found, the interested person will not participate in the discussion or vote on a transaction involving his or her conflict. The conflict of interest policy was updated in fiscal year 2011 to require an attestation form from all employed physicians and level four supervisors/managers and up. Corporate officers and key employees are also required to annually disclose conflicts of interest.”

“Freeman health system compensation review: executive compensation philosophy & strategy i. Key principles freeman health system ("fhs") desires to ensure that its executive compensation program is competitive, fair, and equitable; compliant with regulatory guidelines; and representative of market best practices. Key principles that guide fhs's executive compensation decision-making process include: -executive compensation programs will support fhs's mission, values, strategic direction, and tax-exempt status. -fhs competes in a national market for its executives and thus will consider pay practices that are representative of the industry. -the relative pay levels of fhs executives will over time reflect both individual and organizational performance. -fhs intends to establish the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness under irs intermediate sanctions regulations. Thus, executive compensation programs and decisions will be approved, in advance of its implementation by the executive compensation committee (hereafter the "committee") of the board of directors: *the committee is comprised of members of the board of directors, who are independent of fhs's management, have no personal interest in the compensation arrangements, are not related to, or under the control of any individual whose compensation arrangement is being reviewed and have no material business relationship with fhs. *the committee will rely upon appropriate, independent comparability data to support its decision making process. *the committee will adequately document its deliberations, decisions, and actions on a timely basis. Ii. Primary program components fhs's executive total compensation program consists of the following components: -base salary -annual at risk compensation -standard all employee benefits -supplemental benefits and perquisites -severance annually, the committee will direct the review of the components of the executive compensation program and approve program modifications as appropriate. The committee may also authorize unique program components which support the achievements of fhs's mission. Iii. Market comparators fhs will consider a national peer group of healthcare organizations comparable to fhs in size (i.e., net revenues) and complexity to determine the market values for each of its executive positions. This peer group will primarily be comprised of not-for-profit healthcare organizations (but for-profit organizations may be considered selectively) for functionally comparable positions as reported in surveys conducted by independent firms. -cash compensation the following organizations/markets are the primary comparators for compensation purposes: *system level executives: health systems of comparable size to fhs, based on net revenue. These will be based on national healthcare labor markets. *hospital level executives: hospitals of comparable size to the fhs entity, based on net revenue. These will be based on national healthcare labor markets. *other executives: organizations of comparable size in relevant market segments such as medical group practices, home health, and the like. These will be based on national healthcare labor market. -executive benefits fhs will develop and administer executive benefit (i.e., standard benefits, supplemental executive benefits, and perquisites) plans that are based on national healthcare industry market norms. Iv. Market position targets fhs has established a target market position for each of the components of its executive total compensation program. -base salaries: fhs will manage its executives' base salaries around the 50th percentile of base salaries paid in the market. Salaries will vary from the 50th percentile based an executive's experience and performance. For example: *executives who are new to the organization and/or have limited or no prior executive-level experience should have salaries that are 80 to 90 percent of the 50th percentile. *experienced executives (with approximately 5”

“Freeman health system compensation review (continued): executive compensation committee charter this executive compensation committee charter was adopted by the board of directors (the "board") of freeman health system (hereafter "fhs") on april 25, 2008. This charter applies to fhs and all of its business entities, including freeman neosho hospital, ozark center and the freeman foundation (hereafter the "system"). This charter is a component of the flexible framework within which the board, assisted by its committees, directs the affairs of fhs. While the charter should be interpreted in the context of all applicable laws and regulations, as well as in the context of fhs's articles of incorporation and bylaws, it is not intended to establish by its own force any legally binding obligations. I. Purpose the executive compensation committee (hereafter the "committee") is authorized to act on the board's behalf in (i) determining appropriate compensation for system executives and other disqualified persons as defined in the irs intermediate sanctions regulations; (ii) evaluating system executivesother disqualified persons' cash compensation plans, policies, and programs; (iii) reviewing benefit plans for system executives and other disqualified persons; and (iv) verifying that compensation information is appropriately and fully disclosed. -a disqualified person: is any person who is or was in a position to exercise substantial influence over the affairs of the applicable tax-exempt organization. It is not necessary that the person actually exercise substantial influence, only that the person be in a position to do so. -for purposes of this charter, "executives" are defined as system executives and other disqualified persons validated by the committee. In discharging its role, the committee is empowered to investigate any matter brought to its attention with access to all books, records, facilities, and personnel of the system. It has the authority to retain outside advisors (e.g., legal counsel, compensation consultants, or other experts) and will receive adequate funding from the system to engage such advisors. It shall have the sole authority to retain, compensate, terminate, and oversee its advisors, who shall be accountable ultimately to the committee. To support the committee, a timetable and resource book will be developed containing the necessary data, information, and documents the committee will need to carry out its duties. The resource book will be distributed to the committee in advance of its meetings and fhs will maintain these books at its corporate office. The committee also will receive training in compensation plan design and administration, including legal and regulatory issues (as needed). Ii. Committee membership the committee is a standing committee of the board. In accordance with the corporate bylaws, it shall consist of at least three, but not more than five, members of the board. Each committee member has been determined by the board to be "independent" in accordance with irs intermediate sanctions regulations. At the start of the year, each member will review the organization's conflict of interest policy to ensure he or she has no conflict of interest and is "independent". If a real, potential, or perceived conflict of interest is identified, the committee member will review the issue with the committee chair and legal counsel to determine the appropriate action. In addition, no director may serve on the committee unless he or she is a "non-employee" member of a system board. The fhs board will appoint a committee chair to convene all sessions, set agendas for meetings, and determine the information needs of the committee. Before debating and voting on any compensation arrangement, each member shall determine whether he or she has a conflict of interest regarding the compensation arrangement. Any member with a conflict of interest regarding a particular compensation arrangement or transaction shall rec”

“Document availability: freeman health system does not make these documents available to the public.”

“Board member compensation: no directors receive compensation for their services as board members. Board members larry mcintire, joshua ball and john cox are employees of the organization and compensated as physicians. Additionally, paula baker receives compensation for her duties as president/ceo of both freeman health system and freeman neosho hospital.”

“Organization's mission: freeman health system, not-for-profit and locally governed by a volunteer board of directors, provides full-service healthcare to southwest missouri, southeast kansas, northeast oklahoma, and northwest arkansas. A three-hospital health system, freeman provides comprehensive services including cancer care, heart care, orthopaedics, neurosurgery, women's services, and behavioral healthcare. Freeman accepts medicaid and medicare patients and offers financial assistance and payment plans, providing a safety net to the local population with household incomes below $25,000. Freeman asks all employees and volunteers to embrace the mission of improving the health of the communities served through contemporary, innovative, quality healthcare solutions. The freeman medical team, which includes more than 320 physicians representing 90 specialties, uses the latest techniques, best practices, and technologies to provide lifesaving medical care, providing constituents with the healthcare they need right in their own back yard. Joplin-area patients do not have to travel to big cities to receive heart interventions, cardiothoracic surgeries, neurosurgeries, pain therapies, intensive care, trauma care, and advanced diagnostic services. The close-to-home availability of advanced healthcare services eases stress on patients and the burden on families. Graduate medical education freeman currently offers residency programs in internal medicine, emergency medicine, otolaryngology, and psychiatry (through ozark center). Additionally, freeman has developed a family medicine residency program, which launched in july 2022. Freeman's pharmacy residency program continues to make great strides. Residents make a 12-month commitment and receive the equivalent of nearly 5 years of real-world experience, with a focus on learning accountability for the best drug-therapy outcomes. In addition to residency programs, freeman is a clinical core site for third- and fourth-year medical students from kcu, providing clinical rotations to more than 100 medical students each year, as well as many visiting students from across the country. Physicians often decide to set up their practices in the city where they completed their clinical rotations or residency; hence, freeman graduate medical education programs help attract physicians to the area that freeman serves, which is considered to be medically underserved (doesn't have enough primary care doctors). The physician-training program in place at freeman dates back more than 40 years. As a teaching hospital, freeman plays a key role in the education and training of physicians in missouri, and kcu has acknowledged freeman as its academic center in joplin. Coordinated care partnership this four-year project is focused on engaging patients without pcps who visited the freeman ed 6+ times per year. A lcsw and community health navigator provide therapy and social/behavioral resources and supports for patients with complex medical conditions. All freeman center for geriatric medicine patients are assessed for risk (ed visits, hospitalizations, multiple chronic illness, polypharmacy, etc.) and additional psychosocial resources are provided. Also, the clinic has a goal to provide a medicare annual well visit to every patient every year. New reimbursement streams to support the expanded clinic staff will include chronic care management, transitional care management, behavioral therapy, and advanced care planning. Cdc childhood obesity research demonstration this five-year research project launched spring 2019, and partners freeman pediatric clinics with washington university and children's mercy kc. For the first time, low-income children with obesity will be offered an evidence-based treatment: family based therapy for obesity. Children are identified by a pediatrician, consult with a dietician, and receive 26 hours of parent-child therapy over six months delivered by an lcsw. Online training for provide”

“Organization's mission (continued): freeman auxiliary freeman auxiliary raises funds and provides volunteer services to benefit patients, staff, visitors, and the community. In fy23, freeman auxiliary provided support for: - turnaround ranch outings/party: $3,000 - chaplains prayer cards: $988 - autism field trip/reunion party: $500 - refreshments for patients in chemo: $3,500 - chaplains fund: $10,000 - nursing school support: $16,000 - children's miracle network hospitals: $10,000 - cardiac recovery bears: $2,727 - wigs and scarves for patients with cancer: $2,000 - autism walk sponsorship: $3,000 - galentine sponsorship: $8,723 - turnaround ranch pool water converter: $3,000 - ronald mcdonald house charities of the four states: $10,000 - march o' the kidney sponsorship: $10,000 - snacks for neosho patients receiving infusions: $50 - midwest association for healthcare: $250 - nursing gala/education sponsorship: 10,000 - general donation to leffen center for autism: $3,000 - travel expenses for pittsburg cancer center: $5,000 - freeman learning center supplies: $500 total auxiliary contributions: $102,248 one joplin and community and health center of southeast kansas freeman also financially supports organizations such as one joplin and community health center of southeast kansas. One joplin represents more than 76 organizations within the local community who have committed to work together for long-term positive change. The one joplin health team works to help citizens reach healthy weights, improve mental health and decrease substance abuse. The human services team works to reduce domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, with a focus on access to care. The community health center of se kansas provides medical care and training to a large swath of se kansas. Freeman made a large donation to chc-sek to help establish the john parolo education center, a much-needed educational environment that works to educate local healthcare workers with a goal of keeping them in the area to practice as doctors, physician's assistants, nurse practitioners and dental hygienists. The intent is to have as many as 10 third- and fourth-year medical students and up to four residents at the education center. Joplin memorial run freeman health system is the title sponsor of the joplin memorial run, a racing event that draws competitors from across the nation. Since 2012, the joplin memorial run has donated more than $350,000 to the united way of southeast kansas and southwest missouri, rebuild joplin, bright futures, joplin humane society, and bill & virginia leffen center for autism to help improve the health of the community. Joplin christmas parade since 2014, freeman health system has managed the joplin christmas parade. Freeman donates countless labor-hours to organize and orchestrate the parade, a commitment that includes publicizing the event, coordinating parade entries, ensuring the parade flows smoothly, awarding prizes, and more. Freeman was chosen to manage the parade for two reasons-its proven ability to successfully communicate with both the city and the citizens of joplin and its ability to mobilize a group of volunteers who could handle a parade of that magnitude. Freeman family 5k & fun run and ozark center walk for autism awareness the freeman family 5k and the ozark center walk for autism awareness raised more than $29,178 in 2023, with proceeds supporting program development and scholarships at leffen center for autism. Telemedicine while freeman has been actively engaged in school-based clinics and telemedicine in newton and mcdonald counties for several years, it launched a telemedicine partnership with the joplin schools in fy23. The program deployed telemedicine units with medical-grade equipment in all of the school system's 17 schools. School nurses use the medical-grade tools in their offices to enable physicians to look into the child's eyes, ears, and throat and examine the child's skin and make other important observ”

“Program services: locally owned, not-for-profit, and nationally recognized, freeman health system includes freeman hospital west, freeman hospital east, freeman neosho hospital, and ozark center-the area's largest provider of behavioral health services-as well as two urgent care clinics, dozens of physician clinics throughout the area, and a variety of specialty services. Freeman health system's mission is to improve the health of the communities it serves through contemporary, innovative, quality healthcare solutions. Freeman is a level i stemi center (severe heart attack), level ii stroke center, and a level ii trauma center, meaning freeman has proven its ability to provide rapid, expert care to help save patients from disability and death. Additionally, freeman has a level iii nicu for the care of critically ill infants and babies born prematurely. Situated in the heart of a largely rural area, freeman health system is the hub of medical activity for an area that extends through missouri, kansas, oklahoma, and arkansas. Freeman provides top-level care to the communities it serves, and continually strives to improve, enhance, and add services to meet the needs of its constituents. To better serve the needs of people in rural communities, freeman has established primary care and specialty clinics in several communities across the region. In spring 2022, freeman began working on a new medical office building on the freeman west campus, expected to open in early 2024. It will will provide additional space for specialty physicians and more convenience for patients. Freeman also is expanding specialty services in pittsburg, kansas, with renovations to a downtown building that now houses specialist offices, serving patients with needs in pain medicine, pulmonology, nephrology, and endocrinology. The centers for medicare & medicaid services has designated freeman health system a rural referral center (rrc). To be classified as an rrc, a hospital must be physically located in a rural area and either have at least 275 beds or meet certain discharge criteria. These hospitals also commonly establish outreach clinics to provide primary and specialty care services. Freeman has outreach clinics in southwest missouri, southeast kansas, and northeast oklahoma. Staffing shortages continued to be a problem in fy23, affecting not only nursing and clinical staffing, but positions across the board from food service to clerical to housekeeping. To meet the need, freeman has implemented solutions such as sign-on bonuses, a $15 per hour minimum wage, and increased benefits. We created the scrub tech training program to address a critical shortage of scrub techs, and we are in the process of enlarging and re-imaging our training facility at 1221 mcintosh circle, thanks to a $1.78 million grant from the missouri department of economic development. Construction is underway to make room for more students and a variety of "high-need" training programs such as cmas, emts, and eeg techs. These positions have some of the highest vacancy and turnover rates in missouri. In 2023, freeman earned dozens of individual awards for medical excellence and patient safety from carechex, an independent quality rating system that helps consumers evaluate healthcare providers. Freeman's bariatric surgery, gall bladder removal and spinal fusion programs ranked among the top 100 in the nation for patient safety and medical excellence. In may 2022, freeman was chosen as a healthy people 2030 champion for its support of a vision of health across a lifespan. This recognition from the u.s. Department of health and human services office of disease prevention and health promotion recognizes freeman as part of a growing network of organizations partnering to improve the health and well-being of people at the local, state, and tribal levels. In october 2020, turquoise health recognized freeman health system for how well it follows federal requirements to publish its negotiated ra”

“Outpatient services: freeman cancer institute provides physical and emotional care for patients and families through comprehensive services and technological advances. Freeman cancer institute accepts medicaid and medicare patients. Freeman cancer institute helps patients deal with the issues surrounding treatment and recovery. Freeman staff work with drug companies and other organizations to procure free cancer medications for patients with limited financial resources. To help detect breast cancer while it is treatable, the freeman helping friends mammogram fund, administered through freeman development office, provides mammograms for women who can't afford them. Since 2018, helping friends mammogram fund has helped 263 women by providing mammograms and post-mastectomy camisoles. The fund also covers diagnostic screenings and breast ultrasounds as well, as funds allow. Since the program's inception in 2000, helping friends has provided more than 2,000 mammograms to women in need. Freeman cornell-beshore cancer institute's radiation oncology program is dedicated to bringing the most advanced and complete cancer therapies to joplin and surrounding communities. Freeman now offers optune, a treatment for patients with glioblastoma, an especially aggressive form of brain and spinal cord cancer. With optune patients wear a portable, non-invasive skull cap that emits tumor-treating fields (ttfs), which are alternating electric fields directed through the tumor area. This treatment has the potential to extend a patient's life, has very few side effects, and is well-tolerated. Patients facing many types of cancer benefit from advanced treatment options provided through radiation oncology. Freeman has invested in a state-of-the-art, top-of-class linear accelerator. It uses precisely shaped and directed radiation beams to kill cancer cells, while preserving adjoining, healthy tissue. This pin-point technology provides improved outcomes, lower doses of radiation, and shorter treatment times. Freeman health system is the first in the area to offer high-dose rate (hdr) brachytherapy, a form of radiation therapy. Hdr brachytherapy enables doctors to deliver higher doses of radiation to specific areas of the body by placing radioactive sources inside the tumor cavity. Freeman cornell-beshore cancer institute is one of only four cancer centers in missouri to be recognized by the quality oncology practice initiative (qopi) certification program. The qopi certification program recognizes outpatient oncology practices that meet the highest standards for quality cancer care. Outpatient - emergency services the emergency department/trauma center at freeman hospital west treats tens of thousands of patients each year. Emergency rooms routinely deal with homeless patients, mentally ill patients, and patients under the influence of drugs. Freeman places mental health counselors in the emergency room around-the-clock to help patients with mental health needs. As a result of this intervention, many previous frequent visitors to the emergency room have been redirected to appropriate psychiatric or substance use programs. Freeman offers compassionate and comprehensive care to victims of sexual assault in the emergency room through the sexual assault nurse examiner (sane) program. The program provides a coordinated hospital response and continuum of care for victims of sexual violence and ensures a medical evaluation, standardized forensic examination with evidence collection, and effective interface with law enforcement and advocacy services. On a related note, the freeman emergency room displays posters in conspicuous places to help human trafficking victims, in accordance with missouri house bill 1246. Emergency department nurses have received education about human trafficking, including learning how to spot the warning signs and approach a suspected victim. This is important because nurses are some of the few professionals who might interact with huma”

“Outpatient services (continued): outpatient - specialized endocrinology services outpatient - wound care & hyperbaric medicine physical wounds do not always heal quickly and routinely-healing is a complicated process. If a wound hasn't healed after four weeks of standard medical care, specialized wound care services may be needed. Freeman wound care & hyperbaric medicine can effectively treat many types of wounds, including diabetic wounds, varicose vein ulcers, arterial leg ulcers, and more. Services include evaluation and wound assessment, individualized treatment plan, and patient education. Freeman diabetes & endocrinology institute offers comprehensive specialty services to treat diagnose and treat endocrine disorders, as well as preventive care for osteoporosis. Many health problems increase an individual's risk for osteoporosis, including lupus, leukemia and lymphoma, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and chronic kidney disease. With early detection and individualized treatment plans, many osteoporosis patients can enjoy and maintain active, healthy lifestyles. Outpatient - diabetes education obesity and diabetes are growing problems with serious health implications. According to the american diabetes association, 11.4% of missouri adults have diabetes. Freeman diabetes educators help patients learn to manage and live with the disease. They provide diabetes self-management education and support services to provide information and teach skills to people with diabetes and related conditions. Diabetes education is tailored to individual needs, goals, and life experiences and is guided by evidence-based standards. Outpatient - rehabilitation services freeman rehabilitation services delivers personalized care aimed at making a patient's recovery quick and effective. With a goal of providing individualized therapeutic intervention to restore function and reduce pain, freeman's experienced clinicians provide comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation therapy. Rehabilitation services plays a major role on freeman's sports medicine team, which provides athletic injury assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation. Freeman athletic trainers provide game coverage for area schools and perform on-site injury assessment and treatment during athletic events. Freeman rehabilitation & sports center is a conveniently located standalone clinic providing aquatic therapy, lymphedema therapy, pediatric therapy, pelvic floor therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, and training classes for runners, golfers, and other athletes. Outpatient - freeman screen team prevention is key to heart health. The first "symptom" of cardiovascular disease can be a heart attack-that's why freeman health system started freeman screen team more than 20 years ago. Freeman screen team reaches out into communities with free or low-cost health screenings to catch problems early-before they cause serious complications. Additionally, freeman screen team offers specialized early detection screenings that screen for abdominal aortic aneurysm, peripheral arterial disease, and a person's stroke/carotid artery risk. Early detection of heart problems gives individuals a chance to seek treatment and make lifestyle changes, decreasing the likelihood of a cardiac event. By taking prevention into the community, freeman screen team helps people who otherwise might not seek medical services. On many occasions, freeman screen team has referred patients directly from a screening to freeman heart & vascular institute for lifesaving follow-up care. Freeman screen team also offers friends & family cpr classes. Outpatient - walk-in clinics and same-day appointments freeman provides care through a variety of walk-in clinics that treat a wide range of medical conditions. Urgent care clinics in joplin and webb city provide a convenient, cost-effective alternative for minor medical care. Staffed with highly trained personnel, including board-certified physicians, regis”

“Inpatient services: freeman joplin inpatient services totaled 16,530 cases, of which, 4,956 or 30%, were medicaid cases. Additionally, 544 inpatient cases, or 3% of the total, fell into the self-pay (no insurance) category. Inpatient - critical care patients rely on the intensive care unit (icu) for lifesaving treatment. Freeman's specialized team of critical care physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists provides exceptional care in the state-of-the-art, 33-bed icu, and 7-bed cardiovascular intensive care unit. Additionally, freeman hospital west provides a transitional care unit (tcu) for patients who are still too ill for the general medical floor but have progressed to the point where they no longer need the level of care provided in the icu. Freeman joplin critical care services totaled 3,492 cases, of which, 542, or 15.5%, were medicaid cases. Additionally, 4% of the critical care cases fell into the self-pay (no insurance) category. Inpatient - freeman pediatric unit the freeman pediatric unit provides care to children from birth to age 18 and works with families to make their children's hospitalization less traumatic by encouraging parental involvement. Freeman joplin inpatient pediatric services totaled 284 cases, of which, 169, or 59.5%, were medicaid cases. Additionally, 1.0 % of the pediatric inpatient cases fell into the self-pay (no insurance) category. Inpatient - maternity services designed to give new mothers and their families the comforts of home within the security of a hospital, freeman maternity center delivered 1,780 babies in fy23. The unit includes board-certified obstetricians available 24 hours a day and perinatology care for women with high-risk pregnancies. In fy23, freeman maternity center served 930 medicaid patients, or 52% of its caseload. Self-pay patients (those with no insurance) represented 0.6% of the mothers delivering babies at freeman. As these statistics indicate, freeman provides a safety net for expectant mothers who live in poverty and receive government assistance and those who scrape by without assistance but have no health insurance. Medicaid reimbursement does not cover the cost of providing the level of treatment required. Freeman health system helps families prepare for new arrivals with free prenatal education. The informative classes are taught by registered nurses and other professionals with years of experience helping expectant families prepare for a positive birth experience. Freeman maternity center also offers free breastfeeding classes taught by a certified lactation consultant to help new moms get started with proper positioning, recognizing hunger signals, and much more. Freeman offers a donor breast milk program for pre-term babies, partnering with st. Luke's heart of america mother's milk bank to support the smallest and sickest babies in the hospital. Freeman is one of the best maternity care hospitals in the nation according to "newsweek magazinethe leapfrog group. The list represented 217 entries in 36 states. Newsweek's best maternity care hospitals are considered an elite group of hospitals demonstrating the highest performance standards. Inpatient - nicu freeman neonatal intensive care unit (nicu) provides immediate critical care for premature and critically ill infants. Survival rates for infants less than 3 pounds have increased significantly as a result of the outstanding medical care provided by the freeman nicu team of doctors, neonatal nurse practitioners, specialized developmental therapists, and nurses. Before freeman nicu opened in 1993, premature or critically ill infants were sent outside the region, pulling parents away from their support system at home or separating them from their precious child because the distance was too far to travel each day. At the time, freeman leaders anticipated 90 babies would be treated in the nicu each year. By the end of the first year, 300 babies had been admitted. By the end of fy23, more than 10,644 infants”

“Freeman heart & vascular institute: awards moving onto accolades, freeman health system has once again received the prestigious "get with the guidelines-stroke gold plus award" from the american heart and american stroke associations. We are dedicated to continually improving the quality of stroke care, and the aha/asa guidelines help us do just that. This award exemplifies our multi-disciplinary care team and helps us deliver the highest level of stroke care. Freeman also received awards from the american heart and stroke associations for following research-based guidelines for the treatment of heart disease. Freeman's care teams received two "mission: lifeline" awards-one gold plus ward" for stemi care and one gold award for non-stemi care. Gold plus status means requirements were demonstrated over two consecutive years. Time is critical during a cardiac or stroke emergency, and freeman caregivers demonstrate their skill and compassion with sophisticated procedures, time and time again. Thanks to doctors, nurses, techs, first responders, and many others collaborating to provide the best care for stroke patients, freeman received the "get with the guidelines-stroke gold plus" quality achievement award. This award recognizes freeman for both quality of care and adherence to evidence-based guidelines. For patients having a stroke, time lost is brain lost-and this award signifies freeman's commitment to providing rapid, expert care. Freeman health system opened freeman heart & vascular institute in 1999 and has been a leader in heart care ever since. Serving a geographic area that includes corners of four states, freeman heart & vascular institute brings lifesaving diagnostics and treatments to people where they live, enabling them to receive essential, high-quality heart care without the expense and inconvenience of traveling to larger metropolitan areas. Freeman's doctors (and all staff) treat patients as friends and neighbors because they live and raise their families in the communities served by freeman. Additionally, freeman reaches out across the region by providing heart-care clinics neosho, missouri; pittsburg, kansas; girard, kansas; parsons, kansas; grove, oklahoma; and miami, oklahoma. Freeman heart & vascular institute has a proven track record of shaving minutes off the time it takes to restore blood flow and save precious heart muscle during myocardial infarction. In fact, the freeman team beats national door-to-device standards (national standard: 90 minutes; freeman: 54 minutes). This is for all stemi patients calculated from the time they hit freeman doors until the initial cardiac intervention begins in the cath lab. Freeman continues to perform at the 90th percentile as measured by the ncdr chest pain - ami registry. Freeman heart & vascular institute offers rapid, expert care when patients need it most. Freeman heart & vascular institute provides all cardiac services in one convenient location, including preventive care, emergency interventions, diagnostics, open-heart surgeries, structural heart clinic, rehabilitation, cardiologist and cardiology clinics, education, and more. Patients rely on freeman heart & vascular institute for a variety of noninvasive tests to diagnose heart disease and other conditions. Additionally, freeman serves patients with heart problems when they need help the most. Freeman offers the latest non-invasive treatments and open-heart surgeries. These include the ross procedure, stent placement, bypass surgery, keyhole surgery, cardiac valve replacement and repair, percutaneous peripheral vascular intervention, video-assisted thoracoscopy, aortic dissection, and many other lifesaving procedures. Watchman freeman health system continues bringing exciting new advances to the communities it serves. Recently, freeman became the first and only health system in the area to provide the game-changing watchman implant, a permanent heart device that reduces the risk of stroke in patients with a”

“Freeman heart & vascular institute (continued): administrative support another factor that speaks to quality of care is the support freeman heart & vascular institute receives from freeman's senior leadership team and board of directors. With a focus on providing the best tools to take care of patients, freeman continually invests in heart-care technologies, such as cath lab updates and the hybrid or for the structural heart program. Heartwise patients often feel alarmed to learn they have a chronic cardiac condition. Although receiving this diagnosis can be frightening, it is treatable. With the right team in place, the right medications and devices prescribed as needed, and the right lifestyle changes, patients can enjoy a healthy, happy life. That's where heartwise, an initiative focused on empowering patients to better manage their chronic cardiac conditions, can help.”

“Common paymaster arrangement & salaries: freeman health system files all w-2's on behalf of freeman neosho hospital (fnh), a related organization. The amount of w-2's filed for the year on part v, line 2a, includes the amount of w-2's filed on behalf of fnh for those that work primarily for fnh and the w-2's filed for freeman health system employees. Salary and benefits expenses are allocated from freeman health system to fnh for those employees who work primarily for fnh.”

“Other changes in net assets: $(1,817) change in value of pledged assets”