Alex Bryan, senior pastor at the Walla Walla University Church, has been named administrative director for mission identity for Adventist Health. While continuing to be present at the church through the end of the school year, his transition will begin April 30. Bryan will develop and lead Adventist Health’s strategy around alignment to mission, spiritual care, church and faith community relations, and theological and ethical foundations of mission.
You do realize that Adventist Health and the SDA Church have no legal ties since the mid 80’s. The church was afraid a malpractice lawsuit could bankrupt the church and AH saw it as a huge opportunity to become competitive in hiring administrators and healthcare staff by offering non-church wages.
So what is your point?
Not to mention a record-breaking government fraud settlement.
In an oft-repeated refrain from numerous federal attorneys across the United States, Acting U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose said in a news release, “Adventist-owned hospitals… allegedly paid doctors’ bonuses based on the number of test(s) and procedures they ordered. This type of financial incentive is not only prohibited by law, but can undermine patients’ medical care. Would-be violators should take notice that my office will use the False Claims Act to prevent and pursue health care providers that threaten the integrity of our healthcare system and waste taxpayer dollars.”
Correct. Hospital salaries are way beyond teachers, pastors and other denominational employees.
I’m aware that many times pastors are criticized (not saying you are, or aren’t) for leaving their pastor position to work in the hospital system, or another line of work, particularly if it pays quite a bit more. I don’t see why this is an issue though. Is it a “life sentence” to be a pastor? Can’t they change lanes? Ministry can and should happen anywhere and everywhere.
If he makes more money…nothing wrong with that, IMO.
The top salaries seem exorbitant to me as well. My point was, I don’t think someone should be criticized for changing jobs, most especially it seems, if the person will be making more money…pastors seem to be particularly criticized for this.
As a former Adventist who has recently retired from a career in (non-Adventist) healthcare, I have watched both The One Project and Adventist Health’with interest.
I had loved ones who derived great benefit from The One Project, and I considered participating. I feared, however, that it could not ultimately thrive under the
top-down authoritarian administration that currently controls Adventism. Its dissolution is a loss, as is Alex Bryan’s departure from a pulpit where he influenced young minds.
While I wish Pastor Bryan well as he joins Adventist Health, I must ask the question - How is an Adventist hospital different than any other? Health care is no longer a ministry, it is a science
charged with treating populations effectively.
Adventist hospitals are not staffed by SDA personnel or physicians, except at administrative levels. They are reimbursed by insurance, MediCare and Medicaid as any other hospital. They must achieve clinical quality and patient experience measures related to both accreditation and government reimbursement as any other hospital.
If, indeed, Alex Bryan can make Adventist Health distinctive in an environment which necessarily
focuses on clinical outcomes, he deserves whatever compensation he is provided. If you believe Adventist Health is the right arm of the message, you should wish him well.
When ministry becomes a profession instead of a calling and passion–spirituality, love for God an others declines. The example and success of Jesus ministry style was that it never became entangled with the love of money.
There is almost nothing that we practice in our healthcare system that is taught in the books Medical Ministry and Counsels on Health or Loma Linda Messages. What is taught in these books is not standard practice in SDA hospital systems. Therefore we cannot call it the right arm of the message, anymore.
“Every medical practitioner, whether he acknowledges it or not, is responsible for the souls as well as the bodies of his patients. The Lord expects of us much more than we often do for Him. Every physician should be a devoted, intelligent gospel medical missionary, familiar with Heaven’s remedy for the sin-sick soul as well as with the science of healing bodily disease.” Medical Ministry
“I would now advise that none of our young people attach themselves to worldly medical institutions in the hope of gaining better success or stronger influence as physicians.”
“…We knew that it was not pleasing to God for flesh meat to be placed before the patients.”
Wow. Just learned that an earthquake during the opening ceremonies of White Memorial Hospital split the medical lab right down the center! Was that a message to discontinue or as some say because they joined the AMA??
Again get over high salaries and all the other comments. The salaries are usually in line with commesurate salaries in like healthcare systems. The church should be suing AH for using the trademark as there are no legal ties…all designed to keep the church members thinking it is “our” system. Nothing worse than implying you are a Christian healthcare system and function like all the greedy secular systems. It would be interesting to see what happens if we did whole person care, didn’t take alcohol industry money and trusted God more and insurance/government less.
Not that I know. It is a common English name.
An academy alumni group, considered THE alumni organization, was advised to incorporate by the academy principal and according to Risk Management policy for alumni groups that want to raise money. The academy board was kept informed at each step. As soon as the incorporation was legally done, the conference with full knowledge of TW, a graduate of the academy, and the GC LEGAL team sued the newly incorporated alumni for trademark violation.
The church loves to claim AH in NAD But not legally attached to the church. It has been a big deception against the church members.