Did the organization involve its key stakeholders in the plans development?

St. Judes Hospital recently released its six-year strategic plan, affirming its commitment to science, its employees, and also the individuals that receive its healthcare services. Components of the strategic plan include the inclusion of 1,400 additional jobs and a promise to spend $1.9 billion on construction and new scientific research (Strategic Plan, 2021). Unlike a for-profit institution, St. Judes explicitly identifies its stakeholders as part of a global community of individuals, and uses its plan to confirm its commitment not only to researching and treating cancers, but all infectious diseases. The strategic plan also includes new partnerships with research-based organizations and a commitment to reduce the side effects and toxicity of cancer therapies, as well as earlier detection. As well as a new chair of its Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Judes also will create a new Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease Research, again underlining the scope of its new ambitions.

It is not immediately clear from the strategic plan, however, that St. Judes has involved patients, parents, or outside researchers in its plan, given that the plan focuses on immediate rehabilitation and expansion of St. Judes research and treatment facilities. The fact that one of the projects includes Dominos Village, a housing facility specifically designed to accommodate children and parents who require long and short-term residences, a new parking garage, and an expanded cafeteria, all suggest that the needs of patients and employees were an important consideration in terms of what the organization was choosing to prioritize in its expansion, however (Slowey, 2021). This plan requires a significant financial investment, and could potentially benefit the immediate community, in terms of generating new jobs in construction and healthcare, as well as benefiting others through its research. St. Judes outreach is global, both in terms of the scope of its research implications and the individuals with whom it partners and shares its research.

References

Slowey, K. (2021). St. Judes readies $19b construction project amid flurry of big hospital projects. Construction Dive. Retrieved from: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/st-jude-readies-19b-construction-push-amid-flurry-of-big-hospital-projec/599588/

St. Jude strategic plan. (2021). St. Judes Hospital. Retrieved from: https://www.stjude.org/media-resources/special-announcements/st-jude-strategic-plan-2022-27.html