Better Use of Charity Dollars

Last week I attended a golf tournament to raise funds for a hospital in my community. The event was a great success for the hospital which raised over $100,000. Last week I wrote about more effectively using our health care dollars to improve outcomes. It is only my assumption, but I would guess that money raised at events such as this used to fund new equipment or buildings for the hospital to use to improve their care for their patients.

Then I got to thinking...is this really the best use of all of these charity dollars? New buildings and equipment are great and I know they do a lot to advance patient care, but there may be a better return on that investment. I think that it would be more economically advantageous for the hospital to use the money raised through charity to more efficiently and effectively take care of their poor population. This may include funding studies regarding throughput or workspace design. Anything along those lines would not only have an immediate impact on the poor population, improving the health of the community, but would also have a long term return regarding all patients.