Week 1 Post

The vision, mission, and values of an organization are what give an organization meaning, focus, and direction. The vision statement describe a direction for the organization by providing future goals and plans (Finkelman & Kinner, 2010; Marquis & Huston, 2017). A Mission statement provides the purpose for the existence of the organization (Finkelman & Kinner, 2010; Marquis & Huston, 2017). The values of the organization guide the daily functions of the organization and are often found embedded in the mission statement.

The facility I work at, Nebraska Heart Hospital (NHH), is part of a larger hospital organization, Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI). The vision statement of CHI is: “As a ministry of the Catholic Church, we will lead the transformation of health care to achieve optimal health and well-being for the individuals and communities we serve, especially those who are and vulnerable” (Catholic Health Initiatives, 2018). The mission statement is: “The mission of Catholic Health Initiatives is to nurture the healing ministry of the Church, supported by education and research. Fidelity to the Gospel urges us to emphasize human dignity and social justice as we create healthier communities” (Catholic Health Initiatives, 2018).

To understand the values of NHH, one must understand where and why NHH was started. Initially, NHH was a stand-alone, physician owned cardiac and vascular hospital. It was started by a group of physician who broke away from the cardiology group in Lincoln. They did not like the direction of the hospitals they practiced at, so they formed their own hospital. They challenged the status quo of cardiac care and did things “their own way”. The nurses carried this rogue, individual attitude with patient care as well. With the passing of the Affordable Health Care Act, the physicians were afraid a physician owned hospital would lose federal funding and sold NHH to CHI, a not-for-profit hospital system. Although, we are part of larger system, the values formed from “doing things our own way” have not changed.

Organizational culture is “the values and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization” (businessdictionary.com, 2013). NHH culture is unique as the hospital was started by questioning the status quo. We have a universal bed model which means all patients with differing levels of care are cared for together. The patient never has to transfer to another unit when the level of care changes. We stand patients four hours after open-heart surgery and begin walking them the next morning.

Recently a group of doctors have left the hospital practice and formed their own practice, PHI. They wanted to have total autonomy again. This has left a negative felling amongst many of the staff. They are performing questionable cardiac cath procedures. One doctor asked our house lead what she could admit a patient for that would make her the most money. This has led to a negative organizational climate which is “how employees perceive an organization” (Marquis & Huston, 2017). NHH was started with a goal of providing the best possible care for our patients. Many of us feel like we can no longer say we are doing this.

The management team is aware of the questionable procedure being currently performed at NHH. They must still rely on PHI for many of the hospital admissions. They are actively recruiting cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons. The eventual plan is to phase out the need for PHI. To help improve the climate, staff meetings have been increased to monthly to allow for better “venting of feelings” from staff. This has made a slight improvement in morale. As management, improving the climate of an organization will improve retention of nurses, improve patient care, and ultimately improve patient outcomes. Improving patient outcomes should be the ultimate goal of every organization.

References

Business Dictionay.com. (2013). Organizational culture: Definition. Retrieved fromhttp://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organizational-culture.html

Catholic Health Initiatives. (2018). Mission & Vision. Retrieved fromhttps://home.catholichealth.net/portal/site/chihome/menuitem.c0e5676baa17129f579df0ef43abafa0/?vgnextoid=fea69ef74cb6b010VgnVCM10000026bcfa0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

Finkelman, A., & Kenner, C. (2010). Professional nursing concepts (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2017). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (9th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

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