DCH Corner – A New Vision for DCH

Most people are aware that virtually every organization has its own “mission, vision and value” statements that are intended to define that enterprise. This is especially true in healthcare, where such principles are developed so as to build trust for patients and within the greater community. This is important because we all place our very well-being in the hands of our healthcare providers and the organizations that employ them.

For clarity, a Mission Statement is a sentence or short paragraph which is written by a company or business that reflects its core purpose, identity, and principle business aims. For example, Facebook’s mission statement is “to give people the power to share and to make the world more open and connected.”

A Vision Statement is a sentence or phrase describing the clear and inspirational long-term desired change resulting from an organization’s work. For example, Walmart’s vision is “to help people save money so they can live better.”

Values are a description of a business’s core principles, used to create a positive image of the company among customers, employees, and the local community. Value statements are almost too many to name; the problem is that organizations often over-complicate their values in order to try to be all things imaginable.

As part of the hospital’s strategic planning process, DCH recently reviewed and revised the hospital’s mission, vision and value statements. Not that the previous statements weren’t good, they were just overly wordy and difficult to recall. People associated with DCH should be able to easily remember what the hospital stands for. Toward that end, last week the DCH Board of Trustees approved the following “new and improved” mission, vision and values for Decatur County Hospital:

The DCH Mission: “To deliver exceptional care close to home.” This is a promise the governing body and the staff of DCH will strive to live up to each and every day.

The DCH Vision: “To enhance lives and improve health.” DCH doesn’t just want to treat you when you’re sick; the new vision represents a commitment to health prevention and community well-being.

The DCH Values: “Dedication. Compassion. Honesty.” Our staff will be expected to exemplify these values with every patient experience (and because the first letters spell out “D-C-H,” we should be able to remember to do just that!).

Decatur County is blessed to have a state-of-the-art hospital and a staff who truly care for their neighbors. These new statements better reflect the hospital’s core beliefs; our guarantee going forward is to deliver on these promises.

To learn more about Decatur County Hospital and our available services, please visit www.www.decaturcountyhospital.org, or follow us on Facebook @DecaturCountyHospitalIowa. We want to hear from you! Email us at serb@d-c-h.org if you have a topic or question you would like us to cover in one of our DCH Corner articles.