What is the mission of Adventist hospitals? Adventist Health System/Sunbelt (AHS/Sunbelt) president Mardian Blair believes the answer to that question is crucial to the future of Adventist hospitals. Thus he commissioned the Conference on Mission in Orlando, Florida, the weekend of January 25-28, 1990.
The purpose of the conference was to share what hospitals are doing in mission fulfillment, to listen to the counsel of church leaders, and to raise issues that needed to be addressed for the health-care work to meet the church's expectations.
One hundred twenty-three health-care and church leaders attended, including union and conference leaders, hospital leaders, pastors, physicians, chaplains, representatives from AHS/US, AHS/ West, and AHS/NEMA, and the editors of Ministry and Southern Tidings.
In an early session of the conference's steering committee, Blair stated, "I want everything on the table. Nothing is to be hidden." In that spirit he commissioned research among church administrators, ministers, and Adventist physicians to uncover issues of concern. He brought the results to the delegates for discussion.
Researchers contacted 49 subjects (20 pastors, 21 AHS/Sunbelt physicians, and 8 conference presidents) and during 45-minute interviews pursued, through in-depth questions, their perceptions about the mission of Adventist hospitals and issues of concern about the operation of AHS/Sunbelt hospitals. *
Findings fell into six main categories, and these became the themes of the Conference on Mission, namely: (1) the vision of mission, (2) barriers to realizing the mission, (3) criteria for measuring success in mission implementation, (4) how to involve Christians of other faiths in the health care mission, (5) Sabbath observance, and (6) uniting health-care and church ministries.
One of the first and most important findings was that presidents, physicians, and pastors perceive mission differently—often very differently. In virtually all of the questions asked, the results of the three samples were different. And here perhaps is the reality out of which come some of the questions presently being asked about the mission of Adventist hospitals.
All the questions asked in the research were discussed at the conference in a number of ways. First, both a church and a hospital leader made a brief presentation on each issue. Participants then broke into small groups and gave each issue a thorough discussion. A plenary session fol lowed in which representatives of each of the small groups reported the suggestions made in their groups. Finally participants ranked these suggestions by voting on their importance. Votes were counted on a computerized system that projected the results on a screen where all could see them.
The report of the pre-conference re search exceeded 80 pages. A brief summary of the findings is presented in a box that accompanies this article. Signifi cant changes in perception developed out of discussion.
There was no unanimity among those surveyed concerning employment of those of other faiths as head nurse and departmental head. There was wide but not unanimous agreement that vice presidents and presidents of hospitals should be Adventists. There was not the same unity as to whether those of other faiths should serve on hospital boards.
Sabbath observance came in for lengthy discussion, preceded by a stimulating presentation by Des Cummings, Jr., on Jesus' Sabbath miracles. He ob served that not one of the seven individuals Jesus healed on the Sabbath had an acute problem, and thus all the healings could have been postponed without threatening the life of the patient.
The conference had been deliberately planned to convene over a weekend, enabling participants and their spouses to worship together. Friday evening and Sabbath morning services were held in downtown Orlando's beautiful Lutheran Towers church. Here one thing became evident: the Adventist Health System is committed to utilizing its unique situation, that is, in the United States more community members meet Adventists in our hospitals than any other place.
During a Sabbath meeting of the conference, former AHSAJS president Don Welch recounted how he went to the Florida Hospital foyer to make a phone call. While waiting for a telephone, he overheard two visitors discussing where to eat. One of them observed that the upstairs cafeteria was closed because "Adventists don't eat on Saturdays!" This introduced much thoughtful discussion about making Sabbath the most special day of the week in food service. The delegates also discussed the availability of health-care services, and the importance of having Adventists on duty to foster a dynamic spiritual environment in the hospitals during the Sabbath.
The participants rated their satisfaction with the conference as 4-4 on a 5.0 scale. A similar conference is planned for early 1991. One thing is certain: when perceptions are as varied as the preconference and conference research revealed, it is vital that hospital personnel, church leaders, pastors, and physicians meet often to try to reach consensus which is precisely what happened in January. As President Blair commented the morning after the conference: "This is one of the most notable meetings I have attended in the Adventist Health System. It is an important be ginning of a new period of regular, open discussion so that the Adventist Health System can clarify and pursue its mission until the Lord returns."
