Community criteria

Spectrum Health defines community benefit activity, based on industry guidance, as activities that include the following criteria:

• Generates a low or negative margin
• Responds to the needs of special populations, like the poor and needy
• Supplies services or programs that would likely be discontinued or need to be offered by another not-for-profit organization or government provider if the decision was purely financial
• Responds to public health needs
• Involves education or research that improves the community's overall health