title: Does mission still matter? A hospital may forfeit its future by forgetting its community.
abstract: The public finds it increasingly difficult to distinguish voluntary, not-for-profit health care organizations from their for-profit competitors. One result of this trend is challenges to not-for-profits' tax-exempt status. In 1987, this article's author, with Bruce Vladeck, published a book called Mission Matters: A Report on the Future of Voluntary Health Care Institutions. That book warned not-for-profit hospitals that, if they were to survive, they must maintain a close relationship with their communities. They urged such hospitals to nurture five traditional characteristics: Values that reflect community commitment. Accountability to patients and communities. Long-term commitment in the face of short-term trends and opportunities. A physician-hospital relationship that fosters a symbiosis of service. Institutional voluntarism that allows institutions to be both provider and beneficiary of community service. In this article, the author seeks to remind leaders of voluntary, not-for-profit institutions, including Catholic institutions, that they neglect community service at their own peril.
authors.affiliation: National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of New York State, Albany, NY, USA.
authors.forename: J David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Seay
mesh_terms: D003153:Community Health Services / Q000600:supply & distribution; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D016519:Hospitals, Religious / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration; D006788:Hospitals, Voluntary / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D012941:Social Responsibility; D019464:Tax Exemption / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D017664:Uncompensated Care; D014481:United States