Introduction and Problem Statement
Faith Community Hospital is a not-for-profit, community focused institution. It is not living up to its Mission Statement and its costs are growing more quickly that its revenue. Moreover, the CEO, by his own admission, is "not sure of ...[his]...role any more" (University of Phoenix course material, p.3).
With an absence of leadership, it is no surprise that the hospital appears to be in chaos. Many of what the CEO thinks are problems are symptoms of the bigger problem. The replacement of the CEO is not an option for his Executive Assistant, so the problem identified is that the Administration of Faith Community Hospital has lost control of the day-to-day ethical, economic, and legal decision-making processes in their organization.
Root Causes
Today's hospitals are a much more complicated environment than they were a generation ago (Povar et al., 2004). Faith Community Hospital probably established its mission statement in a time when people's views in our society were much more homogenous than today.
Mission Statement
Sample mission statement
Annals of Internal MedicineSince then, the ethical landscape has become much more hazardous and people's views more divergent. Unfortunately, the hospital has done little to insure that the once common understanding of the mission statement's intent remained consistent through time. As a result, people in the hospital are interpreting the mission statement according to their personal ethical standards and not according to the understanding of the Board of Directors.
Also missing is any direction, policy, or expressed strategy regarding uninsured patients. The CEO decries the free treatment of patients by some of his staff, but then expresses his concern over the practice of not treating patients without first confirming insurance coverage. If the CEO is not clear-minded on the issue, the hospital cannot expect the staff to decide when and when not to be providing pro bono...