Healthier Communities Start Before Anyone Walks Through Our Doors

By Saint Francis Health System Staff

Caring for patients is at the heart of what Saint Francis Health System does. But our commitment to health doesn't stop at the hospital entrance — it extends into the neighborhoods, schools and communities where the people we serve actually live.
 

Understanding What Communities Need

Every three years, Saint Francis completes a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) — a process that goes well beyond regulatory compliance. Through surveys, focus groups and community interviews, we gather both data and direct input to understand what our neighbors need most.

Saint Francis conducts three separate CHNAs, one for each county where we operate a hospital: Tulsa, Muskogee and Craig. Our current plans cover 2025 through 2028.

The priorities identified through that process vary by community:

Once priorities are identified, Saint Francis develops an Implementation Strategy Plan — a concrete roadmap of specific actions the health system will take to address each one.
 

Care That Extends Beyond Our Walls

The CHNA shapes not just our programs, but how our people show up in the community.

Each month, Saint Francis staff can sign up for volunteer opportunities with local nonprofit partners whose missions align with CHNA priorities — food access, housing stability and healthcare for underserved communities. Partners have included Catholic Charities, City Lights, Emergency Infant Services, Hospitality House, The Parent Child Center, The Spring and Tulsa Day Center.

"Whenever we offered a volunteer opportunity, we would see the spots fill up immediately," said G.T. Bynum, Saint Francis Vice President of Government Affairs. "So we've created these monthly volunteer opportunities with key community partners."

Every year on the first Saturday in December, Saint Francis Serves Day brings hundreds of staff volunteers together to complete projects for nonprofit partners — from cooking meals to organizing holiday stockings for families in need.
 

$1.4 Billion Invested in the Communities We Serve

Over the past decade, Saint Francis has contributed $1.4 billion in community benefit — through charitable and uncompensated care, free and discounted drug programs, and philanthropic investments in local organizations.

Community partners supported across three areas of need include:

Healthcare & Mental Health Access

• Life Senior Services
• The Spring
• Mental Health Association
• Family and Children's Services
• Parkside
• Child Advocacy Network

Food Access

• Catholic Charities
• Meals on Wheels
• Oklahoma Food Bank

Housing

• Lindsey House
• Tulsa Day Center
• The Salvation Army
• Catholic Charities

"Whether providing someone charitable care during a health crisis or donating resources to support a nonprofit to serve its clients, the Saint Francis Community Benefit program extends our mission into the community," Bynum said. "Together, we help create a healthier community."

A healthier Tulsa — and a healthier eastern Oklahoma — is a goal that goes well beyond any single hospital visit. It's the work we show up to do every day, in every community we call home.