Crisis Management and Maintaining the Public Trust
By Bill Ide, Summer H. Martin and Mary Totten
Maintaining the public trust a hospital and its board can only be effective if they maintain the trust of those the organization serves. According to the Center for Healthcare Governance and the Health Research & Educational Trust’s Blue Ribbon Panel on health care governance, maintaining the public trust is the board’s most important responsibility."
“Whether public or private, for-profit or not-for-profit, part of a system or independent, all health care organizations must have the trust of their many publics to survive and achieve their individual missions. And it is the governing board of a health care organization that is ultimately accountable for maintaining the public’s trust, whether its members are appointed, elected, self perpetuating, volunteer or paid. Every other responsibility that a board has flows from this fundamental accountability and is best understood in this context.”