In spite of being located for decades in one of the most difficult contexts that can be imagined (wars, deadly epidemics, extreme poverty, Lacor Hospital has always adopted an entrepreneurial approach to its search for quality, efficiency and flexible management practices.
Patients are not “recipients of charity”, but, without rhetoric, they are the centre of attention and the rationale behind the Hospital. Patients are clients whose cost of treatment is paid by the donors who support the Hospital.
Flexibility and adapting or anticipating the offer of services to the population’s priority needs (i.e. facing sudden increases in the number of patients during the war, outbreak of epidemics, appearance or disappearance of other health care providers). In a context of extreme poverty, these vital qualities have long been integrated into the Hospital’s operations.
Reinforcing capabilities in the areas of health, management and organisational procedures – A continuous process is essential because of the very high workload, the complexity attained by the Hospital and the evolving legal and economic environment. The Hospital has invested much to improve these capacities and intends to invest even more to ensure the most efficient possible use of the resources that are entrusted to it by the donors, and to regularly assess all its clinical practices.
Local legitimisation – A long history, institutional independence and local identification, local empowerment, a feeling of shared vision with staff and community, a complete and open compliance to local legislation, transparency, openness to external inspections and audits of all kinds, resistance to attempts at outside interference are some of the Hospital’s recognised strengths.
Transparency – The Hospital’s staff is aware that it depends on the donors’ trust and does everything it can to deserve that trust by presenting its activities carefully and being accountable to international audits.
Integration with the national strategic plan for the health sector – Lacor Hospital adheres to the principle of complementarity to avoid the duplication of services that would cause a waste of the health system’s insufficient resources.