The story of Utopia: a parable

The story of Utopia Healthcare Center demonstrates that hospitals which survive the closing decades of the twentieth century will be those which address in bold ways the problems that beset them today. Utopia survived through its participation in: A hospital foundation; A for-profit data processing corporation; A home health agency; A hospital-physician preferred provider organization; Affiliations with health maintenance organizations; Extensive recruitment of young physicians; An expanded public relations and marketing program. For the long term, however, the twenty-first century success story will be the hospital which acknowledges that acute care is only one part of the total health care spectrum. The successful community health care center will focus its resources on activities that contribute to disease prevention and encourage individual responsibility for a healthy life-style. Programs and services that provide a continuum of health care and recognize the elderly's special needs will include: community health education; comprehensive geriatric services; congregate housing for the elderly and the handicapped; home care; long-term care; hospice.