Importance of Mission and Vision Statements in Strategic Planning

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Importance of Mission and Vision Statements in Strategic Planning

Mission and vision statements are an important part of strategic planning for healthcare organizations. The mission statement tells the patients who the organization is and what they do whereas the vision statement tells the patients where the organization plans to go and how they plan to get there. There are several different mission and vision statements that could be chosen for Stevens District Hospital. When selecting a mission and vision statement it is important to look at what the organization stands for and where they are trying to go in the future.

Mission and Vision Statement

The new mission and vision statement for Stevens District Hospital will be as follows; Mission: To be deeply committed to the communities we serve, enhance population health and well-being. Vision: Deliver an exceptional experience with every encounter. The reason these mission and vision statements were selected over the other options is due to goals that the hospital had for the previous strategic plan. Stevens District Hospital had a goal to improve HCAPS scores in all six criteria to a baseline of the 85th percentile. The hospital improved in four of the six criteria but was lacking in the area of inpatient patient satisfaction and primary care patient satisfaction. This vision statement shows where the organization plans to go in the future.

The new mission and vision statement show where the organization is currently and where it plans to go in the future (Beckham, 2016). The vision statement shows that the hospital is committed to increasing the HCAPS scores in the criteria of patient satisfaction. Since looking at the goals of the last year and where the organization fell short this is the best choice for the new mission and vision statement. The mission and vision statement are created through the strategic planning process. The strategic plan is generated from where the organization is currently and where they want to go (Beckham, 2016). The strategic plan should come from an assessment of the organization’s situation (Beckham, 2016). This looks at the internal and external environments, which helps to see where similarities are.

It is important to include active board members in the strategic planning process because they are able to include insights from their own professional experiences (Beckham, 2016). Including physicians in the strategic planning process is essential. The providers can show the organizations what the patient needs and how they as the provider can give that to them.

Drive of Strategic Plan

Healthcare long term is typically no more than three years out (Strategic Planning: Why It Makes a Difference, and How to Do It, 2009). The board should meet annually to revisit the practice goals and make changes as needed. At this time they should also plan for any changes that may occur during the next year. This can include the increase of the patient population and how they will be able to serve all the new patients. An outside facilitator may be helpful in setting up the mission and vision statements for the organization and assisting with the strategic planning process. Using an outside facilitator to aid in this process provides a new set of eyes to the progress and lack of progress in certain areas that the organization may not see. Start with developing the mission statement which provides the foundation of the strategic plan. Then create the vision statement. The vision statement should be a broad statement and represent the end goal (Strategic Planning: Why It Makes a Difference, and How to Do It, 2009).

Conclusion

The mission and vision statements provide the foundation for strategic planning. Without the mission or vision statement there is not basis for the strategic plan of an organization. There is no direction for the organization to go in. The mission statement tells who the organization is and what they stand for. The vision statement is giving a broad overview of where the organization sees themselves in the next few years. These statements should be revisited and edited annually or as major changes in the organization occur. The staff should be included in the strategic planning process. They are able to give to provide insight from their personal experiences in their career field.

References

Beckham, D. (2016, June). How To Make Strategic Planning Work for Your Health Care Organization. Hospitals & Health Networks, (), . Retrieved from https://www.hhnmag.com/articles/7361-how-to-make-strategic-planning-work-for-your-health-care-organization

Strategic Planning: Why It Makes a Difference, and How to Do It. (2009). Journal of Oncology Practice, 5(3), 139–143. http://doi.org/10.1200/JOP.0936501