By Lynn Mergen
Chief Executive Officer
Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital

Lynn Mergen

WARSAW —The Lutheran Health Network team played a vital role in 2023 helping community members with their health care needs during more than 1.1 million patient encounters. Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital provided 314,600 of those patient encounters. Every day of the year, we are here for our community. Our employees and medical staff throughout the network are the force powering all that we do. Their unwavering focus on delivering safe, quality care and a compassionate experience for patients is the heart of the network.

Life-saving medical care is provided for all patients in our emergency rooms, regardless of ability to pay. Community members who cannot fully afford their medical care are provided deep discounts. Last year, LHN provided more than $87 million in charity and uncompensated care for the community’s most vulnerable. LKH delivered $17 million of this care within our local community.

LHN is proud to support the work of Kosciusko Community Senior Services, Joe’s Kids, Matthew 25 Health and Care, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the Vera Bradley Foundation and other charitable organizations. To address regional food insecurity, a networkwide “Jars of Love” peanut butter drive supported Community Harvest Food Bank, Miami County Helping Hands, Wells County Food Bank and Combined Community Services here in Warsaw.

Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital continues to invest in facilities and technologies that are important to our patients. The hospital began a $30 million capital investment project in 2023 that will improve the delivery of care and services in our area when completed. In addition, as part of a $3.6 million dollar investment project, LKH installed a CT within the Emergency Department with the goal of diagnosing and treating patients faster. In April, another CT will be added for patients to expand imaging capabilities such as cardiac angiography, and starting in June, LKH will begin offering inpatient nephrology services, allowing patients requiring dialysis to remain locally for their care.

Lutheran Health Network expanded upon its regional footprint of 32 primary care and/or walk-in locations with the addition of primary care services in Plymouth at 1904 Lake Ave. and broke ground on a medical office in Huntington at 235 Hauenstein Road, which will open this summer. LHN also has 36 surgical specialists representing 14 specialties, and over the past two years, more than 100 physicians and midlevel providers have joined Lutheran Health Physicians. Additionally, LHN is investing in growing nursing volumes with its involvement with Jersey College and celebrated the first graduating class of nurses in 2023.

Our network impact extends beyond our campus, including approximately $82.9 million in taxes paid in 2023 (LKH paid $9 million) that supported critical services and infrastructure such as first responders, schools and roads. In addition, payroll of more than $486 million ripples through the local area’s economies as employees buy goods and services.

As a part of Lutheran Health Network, Lutheran Kosciusko Hospital is honored to serve the region and extremely proud of LHN’s regional impact of more than $789 million in 2023. To view the full community report, go to lutheranhealth.net/community-benefit-report-lutheran.