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Stewart Memorial Community Hospital

EIN 42-0860039 · Lake City, IA

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair50 out of 100GovernanceGood85 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

Points to look into

  • It reported loans to or from officers, directors or other insiders.

These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.

What it says it does

The mission of the Corporation is to improve the health and health care related services to our communities.

Income
$46.5 million
Spending
$40.4 million
Spent on programs
84%
Reserves
-3.6 months of spending
Largest source of income
fees for its services, 96%
Employees
317
Volunteers
38
Highest pay
$981,079, family medicine

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Fair: 50 out of 100. Higher than 32% of charities in its peer group (health care, $10m to $100m).

  • Reserves

    0 of 35

    Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.

  • Debt

    5 of 20

    It owes 56% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 13% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 18% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    84% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 21 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 22% of charities in its peer group (health care, $10m to $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    7 of 8 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    0 of 5

    Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    0 of 10

    Reports at least one of: diversion of assets, excess benefits, loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (4)
  1. $21.2 million spent. Stewart Memorial Community Hospital is a 20-bed Critical Access Hospital that also operates 4 Rural Health Clinics. Stewart Memorial employs 14 Family Practice providers, 3 behavioral health provider, 2 General Surgeons and 3 CRNAs. Besides offering 24/7 Emergency Room services, Stewart Memorial also provides general Radiology, CT Scans, Ultrasound, Mobile MRI, Nuclear Scans, Laboratory, Blood Administration, Cardiac Rehabilitation, EKGs, Respiratory Therapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Operating Room, Pharmacy, Infusions and Obstetrics. During 2024, Stewart Memorial had 708 Acute Patient days, 2,491 Emergency Room visits, 1,605 Operating Room Procedures and 40,646 Clinic encounters.The Hospital provides financial assistance to patients who meet certain criteria under its financial assistance policy. Because the Hospital does not pursue collection of amounts determined to qualify as patient financial assistance, they are not reported as patient service revenue in the consolidated statements of operations. The Hospital is dedicated to providing comprehensive healthcare services to all segments of society, including the aged and otherwise economically disadvantaged. In addition, the Hospital provides a variety of community health services at or below cost.The Hospital maintains a financial assistance program to patients who are financially unable to pay for the healthcare services they receive. It is the policy of the Hospital not to pursue collection of amounts determined to qualify as charity care. Accordingly, the Hospital does not report these amounts in patient service revenue. The Hospital determines the costs associated with providing charity care by aggregating the direct and indirect costs, including salaries, benefits, supplies, and other operating expenses, based on the overall cost to charge ratio for the Hospital. The costs of caring for charity care patients for the year ended December 31, 2024 were approximately $110,000.
  2. $7.9 million spent. Stewart Memorial Community Hospital owns and operates Rural Health Clinics in the communities of Lake City, Gowrie, Lake View and Rockwell City. We employ 19 providers which are composed of physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. They provide medical professional services to members of these communities and surrounding areas in a designated Health Professional Shortage Area.
  3. $2.4 million spent. The laboratory department provides inpatient, outpatient and emergency testing for patients of Stewart Memorial Community Hospital. It also provide services to the McCrary-Rost Clinic in Lake City. Reagent and salary costs of personnel account for the majority of the department's expenses.
  4. $2.2 million spent. The operating and recovery rooms department provide general surgical and orthopedic procedures along with procedures for ENT, cataract and podiatry. The supplies used in such procedures account for a large portion of expenses.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since April 1964.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.