“We are in the midst of re-aligning our practices with our mission... ”

© Imelda Maurer, cdp  June 3, 2015
ilmcdp@yahoo.com

“We are in the midst of re-aligning our practices with our mission... ” Thus read the first line of a letter to LeadingAge HR Listserv earlier this week.  It struck me as quite a significant statement. The writer was seeking information from her peers about a particular program in her community that clearly is valued precisely because it is aligned with her community’s mission.

“Mission-driven” is a term that has always stirred me, particularly since the beginnings of my work in aging services.  For me this term means that beyond the Mission Statement that may be framed and posted in the lobby and included in every marketing brochure, the mission is the wellspring of every practice, every policy, and every procedure in the workplace ‘where the rubber hits the road.’ Of course in licensed communities, many regulations frame policies. But the mission and values of the community should be wrapped around the technicalities of those regulations.

An exciting reality for me is that the mission of the community, its values and philosophy, in so many instances parallel the spirit and letter of the federally mandated minimum standards of care, ‘the regulations.’  If you are connected to a licensed aging services community, take a few minutes to see if you can discover those parallels, particularly in the areas of Quality of Life, Quality of Care and Residents Rights.

For Sisters and their staff who live in or serve Sisters (by election or by appointment) in a convent setting  that is not licensed, the parallel with these non-binding regulations is so evident.  We need only to read our documents and our Congregational mission statement with new eyes, the eyes that see the provision of aging services as closely aligned with justice, mercy and compassion. I invite you to read your documents again -- with new eyes.