Integrating care delivery

Mergers and acquisitions, multibillion dollar profit margins, and hospital chains that boast more than 400 sites all reflect the fact that health care is no longer a cottage industry but a corporate giant. The forms and structures that will provide care will continue to disintegrate and then evolve as we face a crisis in Medicare funding and as the ranks of uninsured continue to grow. The challenge for nursing leaders to stay centered on the core product and the core process of our industry--caring for patients. Integration is the key strategy that must be applied to achieve that end. We must strive for integration in three levels: within ourselves, between persons, and within our organization. Only then will nursing leadership be able to bring wholeness and influence to the corporate health care world through our individual roles and collectively through our profession.