MW Health Blog

The auditors just left.

They’ve been here for week conducting an independent financial audit of the Foundation, pouring over bank and investment statements, payroll records, check stubs and meeting minutes, all with an eye to ensuring that our financial statements are fairly presented and conform to generally accepted accounting standards. The results of the audit will be used in the preparation of our tax return and annual filing with the state’s attorney general.

The annual audit requires a great deal of our time and energy. There is the preparation, organizing all of the required documents and related files and providing electronic copies so that the auditors can easily track our assets, liabilities, income and expenses on their laptops. There is the process review, checking on who has authority to write checks, who handles deposits, and where is the oversight to ensure the absence of fraud.

And then there are the questions – lots of questions, what’s the status of this grant? Why is this line item different from last year? Or, what’s behind this journal entry?

The state requires annual financial audits of nonprofits with revenues over $500,000, but private foundations are exempt from this requirement. So, why do we spend all this time and expense to have an independent audit? The answer lies in the Foundation’s founders’ strong commitment to accountability and transparency.

As stewards of funds derived from the sale of a community asset, our board has always strived to ensure that we adhere to the highest possible standards of financial integrity. The founding bylaws called for the formation of an audit committee that would annually review the audited financial statements prepared by independent auditors and ensure compliance with federal and state requirements.

Our audit committee includes several Foundation trustees but is also made up of finance and accounting professionals who do not sit on the board – yet another way we strive for community accountability. They carefully review the work of the auditors and our financial statements not only looking for discrepancies, but what additional practices we should consider to further strengthen our financial position.

They carefully review the work of the auditors and our financial statements not only looking for discrepancies, but what additional practices we should consider to further strengthen our financial position.

Having an audit committee and an annual audit is clearly a best practice observed by most private foundations. As the person who signs the checks, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I want to help other people,” is a sentiment I often hear from high school students when asked why they want to become a health professional.

One young student was on a flight and felt moved when the pilot asked if there were any medical professionals on board hoping someday she would be the one to step forward. Others are motivated by watching members of their own family struggle with severe medical conditions.

Whether their desire to help was a trait passed down from a family member or inspired by a health professional that cared for them - their goal is a noble one.

Through the MetroWest Health Foundation’s sponsorship of health career days and our health profession scholarship program, I’ve talked to hundreds of students about their dreams to give back to the community where they were raised by becoming nurses, doctors, social workers, dentists, physical therapists, and radiologists.

We talk about academic choices, the wide range of health careers and settings in which to work, potential salaries and benefits. We talk about the importance of networking, volunteering, and reconsidering that part-time job at the local fast-food restaurant for one in a health care setting. We also talk about the financial reality of pursuing a college degree.

“Have you given any thought about how you are going to pay for your education?” I ask.

Most of the time, I’m faced with a deer-in-the-headlights look indicating cost is one aspect of their education they have not considered. This year’s graduates walk away with more than just a diploma – they leave school with an average debt of $25,250 or 5 percent more than graduates in 2009, according to a recent CNNMoney story.

The discussion turns to student loans, financial aid, scholarships, and tuition reimbursements. The students perk up.

The MetroWest Health Foundation offers up to $2,000 per year in scholarship assistance to students who live in our 25-town service area and are pursuing eligible health professions.

While the health profession scholarship program has been around for almost a decade and last year surpassed $1 million in aid to local students, it’s one that students and parents generally find out about through word of mouth. If you know of someone who needs help paying for college, help us reach out to them. They may be the one that steps up to help you in the future.

For more information about our scholarship program and other financial resources, visit our website at www.mwhealth.org and pass the word along. If you would like to share other financial resources with us, please contact me at cglover@mwhealth.org.

The biggest challenge MetroWest health care providers will face in the coming years is communicating within an increasingly diverse community, said Larry Finison who will be presenting key data from the 2010 U.S. Census at the Foundation’s Fall Health Disparities Forum tomorrow night.

Finison’s talk will center on how the racial and ethnic makeup of the region has changed over time. Two of the biggest shifts, said Finison, is that older residents living in MetroWest are predominantly White Non-Hispanic residents and the largest growing segment of youth is Hispanic, Asian and Brazilian.

“The youth population is markedly more non-White than the older population,” said Finison, Ph.D and Principal of SigmaWorks in Needham.

Finison said he expected the Hispanic, Asian and Brazilian populations to continue to grow.
“The population is becoming increasing diverse and we will see that particularly in the years ahead,” said Finison. “The younger population will begin to move into their twenties and thirties and have their own children.”

As the population changes the need for more and culturally competent medical staff will be important to address health needs.

Finison found the Black Non-Hispanic population is not growing nearly as fast as the Hispanic and Asian population, noting that the Black population in MetroWest tends to be older. While the Brazilian population is increasing in the region there is very little information about this community currently captured in the Census.

“We don’t know very much about that population,” he said. “If we are going to deal with some of these chronic disease issues…there’s a lot that needs to be learned.”

While communication around basic health needs is key, making progress in changing behaviors that lead to the some of the region’s biggest health concerns – such as diabetes and obesity – will require changes in deep-rooted cultural beliefs and practices.

“I think if we are going to be serious about tackling some of these issues about chronic disease then we need to be in a better position to communicate effectively in a way that’s sensitive to different cultural traditions.”