Development of a master plan for a Medical Center

The planning process at the Medical Center has developed over a six-year period (1975 through 1981) and produced a formal long-range planning process. There is a skilled planning team, consisting of a hospital consultant, architect, financial planner, accounting firm, and construction manager. The board of trustees has appointed a standing long-range planning committee that meets monthly. The board has also adopted a long-range master plan for the Medical Center; it includes a $25.4 million building program. The state health planning agency has issued a certificate-of-need to the hospital in the amount of $40 million for completion of the master plan. The hospital has been instrumental in creating a county health facilities authority and is the first institution to use this mechanism within the community. Tax-exempt bonds in the amount of $44 million were sold in August of 1981. Hospital management has encouraged the board of trustees to adopt community-oriented programs and to participate in charity-care efforts. This involvement has projected the hospital as a progressive organization deserving of planning-agency and government support.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)