Though he is still a Hindu, the doctor says he has new priorities. Those priorities include making room for Jesus in his daily life.
Though he is still a Hindu, the doctor says he has new priorities. Those priorities include making room for Jesus in his daily life.
Rodney Applegate, retired president of Walla Walla Hospital in Washington state, United States, says the doctor—whose name was not disclosed—works at a hospital in India whose management is assisted by Adventist Health International (AHI). Those who work in Adventist hospitals such as this physician, have multiple opportunities to learn about the gospel.
Starting in 1999, AHI, a non-profit organization based out of Loma Linda University in California, began with the goal of transforming struggling Seventh-day Adventist hospitals and offering hope for a problem facing the church’s medical system: keeping open hospitals on the verge of financial shutdown.
Applegate, who works with AHI-assisted hospitals in India, says when seeking to establish hospitals in that country, the church looked for areas in great need of medical care.
However, he says, “In doing that we did not take into consideration the inflation of medical care costs in the future. It took a few years before we realized that we could not operate these clinics and hospitals [and break-even] in most locations. Any hospital must have enough patients that pay full fees in order to have the money to take care of the poor.”
Establishing AHI is “a recognition that our mission hospitals are not doing well,” says Dr. Richard Hart, AHI president and chancellor of Loma Linda University. There are multiple reasons for this, he says, and they’re not all common to any single hospital. “The prominence and effectiveness of our hospitals have gone down significantly in the last 20 years. There’s tough economics, limited management skills, decaying equipment and buildings,” he explains.
With the church facing a decrease in mission offerings over the last several years, there are also fewer funds available for church-owned hospitals. “There is reduced support for health ministry and international work in general,” says Don Gaede, secretary of AHI. “Most Christian denominations are struggling with that. People want to give to what they know about,” such as their local church.
“So what do we do?” asks Applegate.
“Our goal is to become attractive to those that can pay so we can afford to take care of the poor,” he answers. “And then as well provide health education and wellness to these masses of people. The needs of these dear people are overwhelming. Above all they need hope, and if we do not give it to them, who will?”
AHI is driving the growth of 26 hospitals and even more health clinics in 10 countries. Half of the 26 hospitals can cover all their local expenses with the money they generate, Hart says.
“In the traditional church system, board compositions are made up of pastors and others with that background,” says Hart. “[That] has not given the kinds of expertise that hospitals need to develop.” Hart adds that with health care becoming increasingly complex, hospitals need board members with management expertise, which is something AHI can provide.
Hart, writing in AHI’s 2003 annual report, said, “Even in the poorest countries, good management can make a hospital self-sufficient for operating expenses.” He says this has occurred in Guyana and Ethiopia, the first countries in which AHI began work.
“In each case, solid governing boards and strong management have led to operational solvency and the ability to control their own destiny,” he stated in the report. “When this state is reached, much less time is required from AHI Global for management assistance, allowing efforts to be concentrated elsewhere.”
It takes about five years, Hart says, for a hospital to really get up and running well again.
AHI assesses management, accounting, debt, equipment and personnel needs. “We try to figure how to break the cycle and start moving forward,” Hart says. Then, AHI establishes a new governing board, develops a timeline and a strategy for the hospital, and develops management.
The AHI global board is made up of corporate members from the church’s world headquarters, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), various health corporations in the United States, and Loma Linda University and Medical Center.
“[AHI] starts developing ties with donors, fixing equipment, repairing buildings, and constructing new buildings on occasion,” says Hart. “That comes with a business plan that says ‘this will go forward.’ You can’t get donors to contribute unless you have a viable plan. That’s where AHI and LLU’s credibility comes in. You’ve got to establish a plan first and market that plan and bring in money.”
“AHI is focused on management and trying to strengthen the health structure and the way we do business,” says Gaede. “Hopefully what that results in is a consistent and reliable source of health care in those communities we serve.”
However, Gaede adds, “The things we struggle with the most are finding and training people, particularly in the area of management. Trying to find mangers who have that experience and are interested in that, that’s tough.”
This also ties into financing the facility. “It’s not like managing churches. [It’s] basically how to finance health care. ... Every country is different.” Insurance is getting more and more complex all the time, he adds. It affects the fees hospitals charge, and managing the technical areas of health care, getting the trained professionals, and keeping equipment repaired is a challenge, he says.
“Trying to manage those systems as they continue to evolve and change is a hard task,” Gaede adds.
He stresses that AHI is not trying to take over mission hospitals. “We are here to help the church’s health ministry. We’re not trying to set up something separate,” he says.
“It is crystal clear that God wants these clinics and hospitals to survive, for they can convey the message of a loving God very vividly,” Applegate adds.
