What is not-for-profit healthcare?

ARH is a not-for-profit healthcare system. Quite simply, this means that the decisions made by our organization are based on the needs of the people and communities we serve, rather than the needs of stockholders. As a not-for-profit organization, ARH does not have stockholders; our corporation is "entrusted" to a group of men and women who serve as voluntary members of the ARH Board of Trustees, setting the course of our organization and making certain that ARH fulfills its mission.

As a not-for-profit entity, ARH does not avoid worthwhile projects simply because they are not financially profitable. It does, however, understand the importance of carefully managing its resources, since ARH's financial strength is fundamental to its ability to perform the ARH mission.

Historically, not-for-profit health organizations such as ARH are tax-exempt. As a tax-exempt entity, ARH operates exclusively for a charitable purpose. Our services are available to all members of our communities. When our healthcare services generate extra money, those funds are invested back into healthcare services and programs for our communities.

Investor-owned, or for-profit, hospitals are not tax-exempt institutions because they are not required to be available to all members of the community and are not operated exclusively for charitable purposes. Their primary responsibility is to generate dollars for private stockholders.

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