Baycare Health Systems Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
BAYCARE HEALTH SYSTEM, INC. (BCHS) WILL IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF ALL WE SERVE THROUGH COMMUNITY-OWNED HEALTH CARE SERVICES THAT SET THE STANDARD FOR HIGH-QUALITY, COMPASSIONATE CARE. BCHS is the best place to work, receive and provide care. We are powered by an extraordinary team that delivers quality, drives innovation and embraces inclusivity.
- Income
- $1.6 billion
- Spending
- $835.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 91%
- Reserves
- 92.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- investment income, 48%
- Employees
- 8,197
- Volunteers
- 20
- Highest pay
- $3.0 million, president & ceo baycare
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
Good: 85 out of 100. Higher than 80% of charities in its peer group (health care, over $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 92.7 months of spending.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 57% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 48% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 58% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1591% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 53% of charities in its peer group (health care, over $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2520 of 21 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or 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 (1)
- $762.5 million spent. BayCare Health System, headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, is the leading, not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 16 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout West Central Florida, including Tampa Bay. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, surgery centers, wellness centers, behavioral health, home care and urgent care. BayCare's 2024 Report to the Community can be viewed at BayCare.org/Annual-Report. Continued on Schedule O BayCare's 16 hospitals are Bartow Regional Medical Center, BayCare Alliant, BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel, Mease Countryside, Mease Dunedin, Morton Plant, Morton Plant North Bay, St. Anthony's, St. Joseph's, St. Joseph's Children's, St. Joseph's Women's, St. Joseph's-North, St. Joseph's-South, South Florida Baptist, Winter Haven and Winter Haven Women's. (In certain cases, hospital locations with the same tax identification and state license number are listed as one facility on Form 990, Schedule H, consistent with IRS reporting guidelines.) BayCare is growing to meet the needs of areas experiencing rapid population growth, with several major construction projects announced or completed during 2024. In April 2024, BayCare announced it would build its 17th hospital in Manatee County, which is immediately south of BayCare's primary four-county service area consisting of Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties. BayCare Hospital Manatee will be that county's first not-for-profit hospital and is projected to open in 2028. The Manatee project includes construction of a 45,000-square-foot BayCare HealthHub expected to open in 2026. In August 2024, BayCare opened a modern, 424,000-square-foot South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City in Hillsborough County to replace the original 70-year-old hospital founded in 1953. The project included construction of an 85,000-square-foot medical arts building. In November 2024, BayCare broke ground for a $110 million expansion of Bartow Regional Medical Center to serve rapidly growing Polk County. BayCare was founded in 1997 after leaders of several of the area's independent, not-for-profit hospitals began discussing ways to ensure that high-quality, not-for-profit health care would remain a viable option for the Tampa Bay region for decades to come. The founding hospitals agreed to sacrifice some of their autonomy to be operated by a new entity, BayCare Health System, under a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA). Years of growth and achievement followed, with BayCare earning national recognition for high-quality, compassionate care. In 2024, BayCare transitioned from the JOA to a simplified corporate legal structure. BayCare remains a 501(c)3 not-for-profit. With $6.27 billion in operating revenue in 2024, BayCare is now a fully integrated health system dedicated to providing high-quality, compassionate care to all we serve, regardless of their ability to pay. In 2024, BayCare had 4,003 hospital beds, 18 urgent care centers, 4 surgery centers, 15 outpatient imaging centers, 208 physician practice locations and 20 behavioral health practice locations. BayCare annually generates $10 billion in economic impact in the region and state. BayCare is one of the largest employers in the Tampa Bay area, with 32,785 team members. During 2024, BayCare provided $855 million in benefits for its employees, including $256 million in retirement savings, $237 million in medical insurance, $216 million in paid time off and $71 million in team member development and education assistance. In 2024, BayCare was ranked nationally among health care systems for clinical quality and outcomes, safety and patient experience. Six of nine eligible BayCare hospitals scored 4 or 5 stars out of 5 in the 2024 Hospital Quality Star Ratings by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. BayCare received numerous 5-star ratings for exceptional performance in specific areas of care from Healthgrades and earned 20 Press Ganey Human Experience Awards for 2024, performing in the top 5% of U.S. health care systems. Nine of BayCare's acute-care hospitals earned "A" grades in the fall 2024 Leapfrog Safety Grades, eight of which earned Leapfrog's elite "Straight A" designation. And the Society of Thoracic Surgeons ranked BayCare in the top 10% nationally for cardiac outcomes. In the area of workplace awards, BayCare ranked 8th in the nation on the list of PEOPLE Companies that Care and ranked 17th in the nation on Fortune Best Workplaces in Health Care. BayCare also made the 2024 Top Workplaces list of the Tampa Bay Times newspaper for the 10th year in a row. In 2024, BayCare provided $467 million in total Community Benefit, including $272 million in Medicaid and other income-based programs, $107 million in traditional charity care and $88 million in unbilled community services, all measured in unreimbursed costs. BayCare is dedicated to improving the health of its communities. Addressing hunger has been a vital mission for BayCare since 2019, when a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) identified food insecurity as one of the top issues in the Tampa Bay and West Central Florida regions. Improving access to health and social services has been another priority. In 2024, BayCare released a mid-cycle 18-month report on its 2023-2025 CHNA implementation plans showing its efforts had led to more than a half-million engagements or interventions for the people of West Central Florida. BayCare's community benefit efforts during that 18-month period included contributing significant financial support to 42 school-based food pantries that distributed more than 2 million pounds of food; 140,000 free health screenings; distribution of 17,926 Healing Bags of nonperishable food to patients who identified as food insecure; and providing 51 Mental Health First Aid courses with 674 graduates. Twenty-seven years after BayCare was created, it is achie
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
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.
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 October 13, 2026.
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.
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.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since June 1987.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
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 October 21, 2026.
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