Social Responsibility at Adventist Health White Memorial

Our mission anchors everything we do at Adventist Health White Memorial. We believe in setting goals, measuring our progress and making improvements whenever we fall short. These are the qualities that define Adventist Health White Memorial, and they are the same qualities associated with socially responsible organizations.

One of the key characteristics of a socially responsible organization is a commitment to open communication about performance. For White Memorial, this commitment to transparency flows naturally from our mission and guiding principles as a faith-based hospital.

As we have progressed through our public reporting journey, we realize that social responsibility has always been a two-way street at White Memorial. Instead of responsibility that flows one way from the hospital to our stakeholders, we work together with our stakeholders to identify and address issues of common interest or shared priorities in a mutually accountable relationship.

This sense of collaboration and partnership is clear in such areas as patient safety, community workforce development and access and affordability. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of performance and professionalism, and our stakeholders do their part to help us to achieve our common goals.

Our Shared Priorities

A sense of shared accountability drives our decisions as an organization and shapes our involvement in the four areas that are covered in this social responsibility report: patient safety and clinical excellence, access and affordability, economic impact and community workforce development, and the emerging issue of environmental sustainability. Accountability for these shared priorities means not just managing our risk as an organization, but ensuring that we are taking the steps to engage key stakeholders, implement best practices, set performance goals, measure our results and make course corrections, where necessary.

Patient Safety and Clinical Excellence

Patient care is why we exist, and patient safety is our first and foremost responsibility. It is an issue with oversight from the highest levels of our organization. This commitment drives our participation in a number of in-house, statewide and national initiatives that seek to integrate patient safety into our organizational culture, from general policies and procedures, to the actions of individual physicians and employees. These initiatives also focus on clinical excellence—adopting best practices, monitoring our progress and continuously improving our care to ensure the best possible outcomes for our patients.

Access and Affordability

Even the best clinical programs and most advanced technologies don't matter if they don't reach the people who need the care. Patients come to White Memorial from near and far for a variety of services. At the same time we are aware that social and economic factors impact our local community's ability to benefit from these same services. For these reasons we monitor our patients' ability to access medical care when and where they need it regardless of their ability to pay. Also, we have partnerships in place to help fill the most pressing needs, including transportation, preventative screenings and wellness programs for seniors, lower-income families and our broader community.

Economic Impact and Community Workforce Development

With an economic impact of about $880 million a year, we are mindful of White Memorial's role as an economic engine in our community. We are the largest private employer in our neighborhood--nearly 33 percent of our employees live in the hospital's service area and many more work in our physicians' offices. We partner with colleges and foundations to promote workforce development programs for high school students, nursing students and other residents who wish to volunteer or gain experience in different health care fields. Also, we encourage our employees to give back to our community through volunteerism and annual giving.

Environmental Sustainability

A big part of being a good neighbor in our community is paying close attention to how we purchase, use and dispose of our resources. Although the hospital industry as a whole has been slower than other sectors to adopt and implement environmental sustainability policies, we are committed to leading the way in this area. Several environmental-responsibility initiatives at White Memorial are now receiving strong support from our stakeholders, and are making a noticeable impact on our environmental footprint.