The influence of organizational culture on patient care restructuring

University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, embarked on a 3-year patient care restructuring project that altered all the patient care delivery systems throughout the organization. In the patient care services areas, patient care managers faced many new challenges in dealing with changes in professional practice and the introduction of multiskilled workers. The influence of the existing organizational culture on patient care restructuring was identified as an important factor to assess early into the project to ensure successful change. The Cultural Assessment Survey (CAS) was used to evaluate unit culture on the four pilot units (two Adult Health and two Pediatric). The results of the survey, implications for managers, and organizational culture are discussed.