System integration: a necessity

Healthcare organizations are undergoing tremendous change in an attempt to become more flexible and adaptive. To be successful in any such transformation, organizations must build processes and systems that allow them to move with change and create a culture that allows individuals to thrive amid change. The authors describe how a community teaching hospital has attempted this through its partnership in a vertically integrated delivery system, its reorganization to product line management, its adoption of a shared governance structure, and its commitment to building a culture with strong relationships. Many of these processes and systems are in their infancy, but an examination of the journey will inform other organizations as they respond to change.