Comparing Hospital Mission Statement Content in a Changing Healthcare Field.

Mission statements are key elements of how an organization communicates its purpose and priorities to its community. This study considers how mission statements from Ohio, Florida, and Texas hospitals approach key concepts in healthcare - access, cost, and quality. It also considers the concept of community benefit, given its recent prevalence in policy changes. The analysis found quality represented within hospital mission statements at a rate of 65%, compared to 21% for access, 21% for cost, and 24% for community benefit. Investor-owned hospitals emphasize quality and cost at significantly higher rates while not-for-profit hospitals emphasize access and community benefit at significantly higher rates than other organization types.