POSITION PAPER ON THE DISTRICT'S HOSPITAL "MISSION STATEMENT" ROLE OF PUBLIC HOSPITALS IN THE NEW HEALTHCARE DELIVERY SYSTEM

By Nizar "Nick" Yaqub

CURRENT MISSION STATEMENT IS OUTDATED AND DOES NOT REFLECT REALITIES OF THE DISTRICT HEALTHCARE NEEDS. A NEW MISSION AND MINDSET IS NECESSARY TO EXECUTE THE BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITIES

Currently, healthcare has evolved into complex, expensive, obscenely profitable and competitive enterprise. In the eighties, healthcare including hospitals were deregulated to allow privatization allowing private actors to compete providing hospital care. Healthcare is one of the most profitable sections in our economy, which attracted many competitive providers making access no longer an issue. Public hospitals continued to rely on public subsidiaries and at the same maintained charges the same as private profit generating charges. This in effect created a double dibbing for providing similar services. Constituents (residents) of public hospitals reap no benefits from their tax support except mere access, which is no longer an issue in this competitive environment. Constituents still obligated to pay inflationary and unaffordable hospital cost to public hospitals.

Therefore, public hospitals must provide tangible and measurable benefits to constituents in return to their tax subsidy of public hospitals operation. Hospitals should measure both direct and indirect public contributions (tax abatements and other direct contributions) and offset that amount after administrative cost by hospital expenditure on public benefits.

In our health district, SVMH is a public district hospital owned by the district residents. The hospital enjoys direct and indirect financial support from the District residents. The hospital plows all excess proceeds from income on expansion and partnerships, the benefits of which to constituents is questionable. I propose that the hospital overtly calculate and use part of public subsidiary on defraying part of the hospital cost to the under-insured and un-insured residents.

Currently, "the Mission of Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System is to improve the healthcare of our geographical healthcare district and beyond." In effect the District residents are paying premium with financial support for the privilege of using the hospital at prices higher than what they can obtain by a private provider! The hospital board should re-examine the hospital's mission statement and modify it reflecting the new realities in healthcare and the real needs of the community in return to their financial contributions.