The mission of LifeCare Medical Center is to provide for a healthy life by offering high quality, compassionate care. At LifeCare, we continue to provide care to more than 17,000 people in our region.
   In this issue of HealthMatters, we are pleased to share our Community Benefits Report, which outlines many of the community-focused programs and services LifeCare offers. Through these and other programs, LifeCare is able to fulfill its role of improving the health of our communities.
   Because LifeCare is a not-for-profit organization, we take seriously our responsibility to invest resources into programs and services that meet the diverse health care needs of the population we serve. All this is done regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.
   We are proud to announce LifeCare Medical Center contributed $3,918,312 in community benefits last year. This includes health care programs, education, community care, community volunteer hours from our employees, and donations. What a testament to the commitment and leadership of our Board of Directors, medical staff, employees and volunteers!

   LifeCare Medical Center continues to add services to better serve the region. An example is Telemedicine. Using a high definition video conferencing system, patients at LifeCare link directly to specialists for follow-up visits without having to travel out of town.
   LifeCare’s two nursing homes, Greenbush Manor and Roseau Manor, continue to provide excellent care to residents living there. Our focus is to provide our residents with great care in a home-like environment. Each nursing home is surveyed annually by the Minnesota Department of Health and both facilities had very good surveys in 2008.
   Improving quality and safety is always a priority at LifeCare. In 2008, we worked on many initiatives throughout our organization, and always with quality and safety in mind. Imagine how thrilled we all were when LifeCare received four awards from the Minnesota Hospital Associations for our efforts in the hospital, and Greenbush Manor was recognized for resident and family satisfaction scores.
   In 2008, our LifeCare Customer Service team led training and education for staff in order to establish a unified approach to customer service throughout the organization. We will continue to work on quality and safety as one our strategic goals.
   We are very fortunate to have a great group of community members serving on our Board of Directors. These 13 board members live throughout Roseau County and are dedicated to ensuring that quality health care is available to the residents of this region for years to come. We thank our board members (shown below) for their dedication to LifeCare Medical Center and our region.
   We are blessed to have a talented group of physicians, employees, and volunteers who together create a nurturing environment and provide great care. We appreciate all they do for LifeCare Medical Center and its patients and residents.
   I would like to personally thank each of you for your support of LifeCare Medical Center. It is through your support that this organization is able to offer such a variety of services that enables us to improve the health of the people of this region.

LifeCares Board of Directors includes (front row): Therese Mcbride, Chuck Lindner, Audry Olson, Steve Haugen, and Cory Vatnsdal. Back Row: Pete Helgeson, Chairman Mike Hetteen, Pete Granger, Carolyn Eeg, Carmen Przekwas, Dr. Ralph Herseth, Paul Everson, and Jon Johnson.