Every dollar of every gift helps patients pay medical bills at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. They are a very special group of patients.
The Offering helps patients who “fall between the cracks” of assistance. They have a little too much to qualify for government help or the Hospital’s charity care program. However, they do not have enough to pay medical bills they are responsible for.
With nowhere to turn for help, they receive a letter from the Hospital that says, “Your medical bill has been paid by compassionate and mission-minded North Carolina Baptists in the name of Jesus Christ and His love.”
Hospital financial counselors make most of the referrals. They look for deserving patients who are painfully in need – those who are burdened by medical bills, trying to help themselves, but in need of a helping hand. They carefully screen every referral, taking detailed financial statements to verify needs and rule out any other possible means of assistance.
Ministers or others also call Church and Community Relations to refer people whom they know are struggling with their hospital bills.
The Baptist Benevolent Committee (six N.C. Baptist ministers and laypersons) receives the referrals and prayerfully evaluates how much assistance to provide. The amount usually averages from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per patient.
A recent recipient of the Mother's Day Offering wrote to say, "I am sending heartfelt gratitude from myself and my son for the payment of the balance of his medical bill … This generous gift was an answer to prayer and a great blessing at this time."
Another recipient spoke for many when he said, “My faith was growing weak and I thought that God had forgotten all about me. The Mother’s Day Offering strengthened my faith and let me know there was hope, that God was with us.”
And another said, “The Mother’s Day Offering saved us and changed our lives. What a powerful way to tell others about the love of Jesus.”