Collaborative partnerships involving the community.

Riverside Methodist Hospitals in Columbus, OH, is the 1,063-bed flagship hospital of the U.S. Health Corporation. Riverside depends on collaborative activities to carry out its mission to improve the health status of the community, and credits the collaborative spirit to a top-down leadership philosophy. To strengthen the concept of collaboration, education and experiential training are provided to board members, medical and executive staff, and employees to demonstrate the interrelatedness between the hospital and other systems in the community. Collaboration is a process which can be learned by any individual or organization. As Riverside's experience demonstrates, choosing collaborative partners carefully and using several key strategies facilitate successful collaborative efforts.