Community Impact Report shows how Cincinnati Children’s is improving child health

Cincinnati Children’s has issued its fourth annual Community Impact Report, which highlights how the health system is improving child health through innovation and research. 

“Pediatric care and research are evolving and improving to meet patient and community needs, such as by integrating artificial intelligence to address pediatric chronic conditions and applying virtual reality to train medical providers in safety protocols,” said Steve Davis MD, MMM, president and CEO. “And our outpatient Bridge Clinic connects patients to mental health care while reducing emergency department visits.” 

Here are some highlights from the report covering Fiscal Year 2024, which ran from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024:   

• A virtual reality training program helps physicians build confidence in talking about firearm safety practices.
• The CincyKids Health Connect app and website offer virtual urgent care services that improve access to care.
• Cincinnati Children’s ImpactU program collaborates with community organizations to implement quality improvements that benefit children and families.
• Programs at the health system support employee growth and advancement to new roles.
• The report notes that Cincinnati Children’s had more than 1.7 million patient encounters in Fiscal Year 2024, including:  
  • 1.5 million outpatient visits 
  • 169,000 emergency department and urgent care visits   
  • 103,000 telehealth visits  
  •  34,000 admissions  

As one of the nation’s largest providers of pediatric mental health services, Cincinnati Children’s reported more than 227,000 visits, screenings, consultations and admissions related to mental health in Fiscal Year 2024. The outpatient Bridge Clinic provides immediate assessment, intervention and short-term follow-up for patients who are not acutely suicidal.

The report also noted that Cincinnati Children’s delivered $587.8 million in community benefit services—including more than $341 million in charitable patient care and over $12.7 million in subsidized health services—during Fiscal Year 2023.

That total included more than $15 million devoted to community outreach such as wellness initiatives and injury prevention. Another $143.7 million went to laboratory science and applied research, and over $75 million to the education of prospective physicians and other healthcare professionals. 

Sidebar: Community Health Needs Assessment

The health system also recently released the latest Community Health Needs Assessment, which is conducted every three years as mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Data were used to identify child health and health-related needs, and Cincinnati Children’s employees representing primary and specialty pediatric care, social work and regional locations selected four priorities:

• Child and Youth Mental Health
• Child and Youth Chronic Disease
• Food Insecurity and Poor Nutrition Health Impacts
• Child and Youth Injury

Cincinnati Children’s has developed an implementation plan for addressing each of these priorities over the next three years.