Adventist Health System
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The Adventist Health System is the organisation responsible for overseeing matters related to Hospitals and other medical facilities, related to the Seventh-day Adventist Church within the United States.
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[edit] History
Inspired by the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, and at the behest of Ellen G. White, the Seventh-day Adventist Church first established the innovative Western Health Reform Institute in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1866, to care for the sick as well as to disseminate health instruction.[1] Over the years, other Adventist sanitariums were established around the country. These sanitariums evolved into hospitals, forming the backbone of the Adventists' medical network.
In 1972, the church decided to centralize the management of its healthcare institutions on a regional basis and, in so doing, formed the Adventist Health System to support and strengthen Seventh-day Adventist healthcare organizations in the Southern and Southwestern regions of the United States.[2]
Ten years later, the regional operations formed a national organization, Adventist Health System/U.S., which management called the largest not-for-profit, multi-institutional healthcare system in the United States.[3]
Adventist Health System organizations currently operate 36 hospitals with more than 6,000 licensed beds, care for roughly 4 million patients annually in inpatient, outpatient and emergency room visits, and employ almost 43,000 people.[4]
[edit] Structure and affiliation
Every Adventist Health System entity operates independently in hiring employees and delivering care and services. The System's corporate office reinforces these efforts by sharing management and clinical knowledge, providing access to managed care plans, and offering other resources and services.[5]
Established in 1908, Adventist Health System's flagship, Florida Hospitals, is one of the largest healthcare providers in America and a recognized leader in cardiac care, providing more than 1,800 beds on seven campuses. Florida Hospital has been recognized as one the best hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report.[6]
