During a recent outreach clinic in the Northeast, Dr. Roberts examines a patient as clinic staff and the youngster's mom look on. Reaching out to those in need in a rapidly changing socioeconomic environment has been the focal point of a plan developed at the Springfield Shriners Hospital for Children to target specific elements relevant to patient referral and ongoing care. In early 1996, the hospital's Strategic Planning Committee established a task force to identify problems and suggest solutions. Jobs are hard to come by in the rural areas of the Northeast, the major service area for the Springfield Hospital.
Job security is tenuous.
In many of our patients' families, both parents work. Increasingly, patients have single parents. For most families, leaving their child in the care of strangers is no longer an option. These factors make it difficult for a parent to take the day off to bring a child to an outpatient clinic, much less stay at an inpatient's bedside. Springfield Hospital's Ten-Point Plan Expand outreach program.