Lessons on reform from faith-based pioneers

As the healthcare industry digests the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, there has been considerable unrest and hand-wringing over just what these changes will mean for the health systems and hospitals of America, which are struggling to comply with the statute.

As the healthcare industry digests the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, there has been considerable unrest and hand-wringing over just what these changes will mean for the health systems and hospitals of America, which are struggling to comply with the statute.

It’s a time when leadership is paramount and creativity is nothing less than a mandate. And for that, there are some definite role models in the faith-based history of healthcare.

The recent “Health System Benchmarks” study from Thomson Reuters discovered that faith-based health systems provided better quality of care than their secular counterparts.

In addition to dedicated professionals serving Catholic and other faith-based institutions today, we like to think that part of the reason for the success of these hospitals has more than a little to do with the lingering legacy of the founders, many of whom were sisters who arrived in their communities with little training and fewer resources.

We also find some qualities in them that would make today’s administrators and caregivers stand out in an industry hungry for leadership — innovation, courage, preventive care, patient-centered care.

Read more in the latest edition of Furst Group’s thought-leadership series, “PPACA and the Pioneer Spirit.”