Technical difficulties have kept the Blog down since April and now, our browser is upgraded and all indicators say “full steam ahead”! PeaceHealth Southwest is settling into its new identity. While we remain through and through Clark County boosters, we now are part of something bigger than ourselves. This hospital was founded by Mother Joseph, a Catholic missionary to the frontier and a dynamic force of good who established several hospitals in the territories that are now Oregon and Washington. Along the way, this hospital dropped its relationship to church and became the prime hospital for southwest Washington state, a non-profit, but governed by a board of local citizens.
Now, local influence remains in our governing board but they (and we) are part of a larger organization that answers to the board of the PeaceHealth system, a Catholic organization providing healthcare services in a scattering of cities throughout the Northwest, from Alaska to Oregon. So, we are dusting off and revitalizing our spiritual roots as we travel forward into the twenty-first century.
The first manifestation of this organizational change is in our name change to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center or PHSW Medical Center. All our licenses and documents are in transition, our fiscal year is changing and our Gift shops are now PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center Gift Shops or PHSW Gift Shops and we are selling new polo shirts, hats, vests, jackets and cups with the new PHSW logo on them.
Other changes to the tiny Gift Shop inventories will be small but may involve more book titles and greeting cards in the “spiritual” category (not necessarily Catholic), and an availability of articles associated with Christian faith. Overall, the prime ingredients of our identity will remain unchanged with focus on compassion, integrity and respect but adding social justice and collaboration to our foremost efforts.
