Defining the Mission Statement

The questions she asks them to consider are:

• Who are the users we want to serve? Where do they come from? What age group(s) do they belong to?
• What are the most important services that the health center should offer?
• How should these services be provided?
• What qualities should the staff and the institution reflect?

As they did last time, Mrs. Gutierrez and Mr. Y ask the staff to pin their cards up on the wall. They ask them to help organize the cards into categories and re-group the cards according to their ideas until a consensus is reached.

Mrs. Gutierrez then summarizes the central idea of each group of cards into one short phrase. These phrases together formulate the Mission Statement as defined by the health center staff:

"The health center should seek the improvement of local health conditions by providing health services of the best possible quality to the population of Santa Rosa, especially to those of low income. Services should be provided in a professional manner, in a clean, professional health center building, by warm and respectful staff."

The Vision Statement and the Mission Statement are introduced to all staff. Their feedback is taken into consideration and the Mission Statement is finalized.