Sterling has always considered itself an integral member of the community, servicing non-profit organizations with the same careful attention as it provides its commercial-enterprise customers. Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center, a major long-term care facility and a member of the Catholic Health Care System, provides specialized care to over 700 residents. Those who reside at the Center include the elderly, people with AIDS, severely disabled children, and those who live with chronic illnesses. In 1997, the Center moved its relationship to Sterling, where it was assured of the bank’s commitment to personalized service and its experience working with health care institutions.

Like many nursing homes, the Center relies on the accurate and timely receipt of payments from government programs such as Social Security and Medicaid. But the record-keeping of so many individual accounts can be overwhelming—both time consuming and prone to error. In response, Sterling created TimeFrame™, a multi-faceted package of services uniquely suited for nursing homes and similar health-related facilities.

One of TimeFrame™’s key features is the electronic conversion and direct deposit of residents’ Social Security benefits into their individual nursing home accounts. As a result, the Center is automatically credited with payment for each resident enrolled, and can easily review and reconcile each account online. Furthermore, the Center can directly enter resident information online as needed, reducing inaccuracies, and can automatically inform Social Security when patients are discharged, avoiding the delay and inefficiency that can result when payments must be transferred or cease.

Under the TimeFrame™ umbrella, Sterling also receives Medicaid checks by courier and promptly processes them, relieving the Center of the handling burden while providing prompt availability of funds. Sterling also maintains interest-bearing resident allowance accounts as well as accounts for additional resident needs.

In addition to TimeFrame™, Sterling also provides the Center with a variety of other financial services, including deposit and cash management services, a supplemental working capital credit line, equipment leasing, and provided real estate mortgage financing for the acquisition and rehabilitation of a multi-level parking facility.

For nursing homes like Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center, TimeFrame™ is a great advantage. It increases efficiency, reduces paperwork and greatly speeds up their access to funds. As a result of this success, Sterling has been able to introduce TimeFrame™ to many other nursing homes and health care institutions.