A veil of secrecy surrounds the dealings of Lancaster General Health. However, NewsLanc was able to access LGH’s 2007 well-concealed tax return, which included a list of all of its ‘charitable’ donations.

According to a NewsLanc article regarding LGH’s vast “Excess” (profits) in 2007 ($113,326,709), one of the highest in the state, only one percent ($1,183,464) went to charitable donations, one of the lowest rates in the state.

The stated mission of LGH, a ‘Public Charity’, is “To advance the health and well-being of the communities we serve…”

There were approximately 155 separate donations, which included some strange items.

Most notable is that $117,000, 10% of the total, went to the private Franklin & Marshall College.  John Fry, F&M’s president, is a member of LGH’s board.

The Congressional Black Caucus received $13,500. Why would a political contribution be treated as charity?

There is a thousand dollars for the private Lancaster Country Day School, but only $560 to the McCaskey Alumni Association and nothing else for the School District of Lancaster. (There is also $250 for the Penn Manor High School post prom.)

The Lancaster Alliance receives $23,583. (Its prime effort over the past couple of years is to bring back a streetcar system to downtown.)

There was $6,564 for Willow Valley Resort.

Particularly notable for its absence is the lack of any contribution to public libraries, especially the downtown Lancaster Public Library.

Recently LGH has refused to provide funding to continue a syringe exchange in Lancaster, despite syringe sale recently being deregulated. Also, it only provides a clinic for the treatment of heroin addiction one afternoon a week, treating a only handful out of Lancaster’s 5,000 to 10,000 addicts—at least a thousand of which seek help. Both are core public health functions.

NewsLanc is eager for LGH to meet its legal obligation to post its 2008 tax return. In fact, we have requested a copy from LGH, but, as has so often been the case of the local media, have received no response. LGH is only interested in ‘puff pieces’, not journalism.