Catholic and other not-for-profit health care organizations were born out of community need, not for economic opportunity. They not only provide essential health care services to their communities but also serve their communities through community benefit and other programs and activities. They promote community partnerships to address community needs, address social, environmental, and economic well-being of their communities, advocate for just health policies, and are in the vanguard of working for health equity in their communities. In recent years, the increasing availability of data and resources has led researchers and others to ask new questions about how hospital charity care and community benefits impact their communities.
