Defining Finance and Comparing Hospital Mission Statements

Finance and Hospitals Mission and Vision Statements

Finance is a term which is generally associated with the management of money including assets and liabilities. The most common association in everyday life may be the way income is managed to pay liabilities (debts), and allocate funds to expenditure. This includes decision made regarding everyday events as well as major life decisions.

When looking at the everyday events, the income will usually be in the form of wages from a job and/or allowances, such as from a student loan, or support from parents or a partner, and will then be allocated to expenditure.

The allocation of the income should be prioritized to satisfy liabilities or debts, and pay for essential expenditure. If funds are left over, non-essential expenditure may take place. Liabilities or debts which are seen in everyday life include the paying of mortgage and loan repayments, such as credit card debt. Other liabilities may include utility bills, such as electricity, water and telephone bills, where payments are made after the utility has been used. Essential expenditure will include the payment for items which are needed and necessary, where payments are made in advance of their use, such as rent for an apartment, food shopping, payment for gasoline in a car to get to work or school. Non-essential expenditure may include small luxuries which are not needed, such as the purchase of cakes and confectionary, to pay for nights out, or to purchase goods, such as CD's, clothes, and electronic goods, such as computers, iPods and even kitchen equipment. It is in these areas that there is the everyday use of finance, and while the common seen approach in terms of prioritization is usually seen, the emotional aspects of dealing with finance mean that on occasion non-essential items are purchased, either on impulse, or out of desire, before essential expenditure has all been allocated.

Finance can also seen in the context of larger decisions such as deciding on the source of funds for making large purchases such as buying a car or a house or making an investment. Where unallocated funds remain they are saved, and this may add up over a period of time, and may be used for larger purchases, such as a car, holiday, or a home. If funds are notable for larger purchases, other sources of finance may be considered, such as different types of debt, including loan, mortgage, overdraft and credit card debt.

Whiling having a general knowledge about finance is useful, it is a very complex area where more knowledge would be beneficial as it would help to improve decision making. It is a complex area, and one that is frequently changing, so knowledge also needs to remain up-to-date.

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In the U.S. there are many not for profit hospitals as well as for profit hospitals. Looking at the mission and vision statements it is possible to detect a slight difference. A not for profit hospital is St. Josephs Hospital in Atlanta. The hospital is part of the Emory healthcare group, linked to the university with the same name. The main mission statement is that of the entire Emory healthcare Group, the mission, vision are values are stated together, including the statement that the mission is committing to "providing the best care for our patients, educating health professionals and leaders for the future, pursuing discovery research in all of its forms, including basic, clinical, and population-based research, and serving our community." This reflects the interest of the entire organization. The vision is given as "to be recognized as a leading academic health system, differentiated by discovery, innovation and compassionate, patient- and family-centered care" (Emory, 2014).

This is a general mission and vision statement, each individual department also has its own mission statement, for example, the vision statement of the radiology department reads "Emory Radiology serves the community through advanced innovation, translational research and clinical application of imaging sciences. The Department is committed to excellence in scholarship and to the training of the next generation of radiologists, technologists and imaging scientists. The Department's goal is to provide the highest-quality patient care with predictive, diagnostic and therapeutic imaging-based approaches" (Emory, 2014). The radiology vision statement says "Emory Radiology will lead excellence in imaging sciences, education, and care delivery" (Emory, 2014).