University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers, Ms. Alva Ferdinand, doctoral candidate in the department of health care organization and policy in the School of Public Health, Mr. Josué Epané, doctoral candidate in the department of health services administration, and Dr. Nir Menachemi, a Lister Hill Center for Health Policy senior scholar, analyzed longitudinal data and found that religious hospitals were more likely to engage in each of the community benefit activities examined than community-owned hospitals, academic medical centers, or for-profit hospitals. While 11 percent of U.S. hospitals are religious, community benefits provided by all hospitals increased over time and then leveled off during the start of the recent economic downturn.