When researching the quality of healthcare in hospitals, a list of requirements arises. For example, people look at hospitals mortality rate, success rate, renowned specialties, and patient care ratings. However, according to Secular AZ News (2022), 93% of Americans don’t even consider religious affiliation when choosing a hospital’s services over another, showing that a vast majority of Americans don’t think that religious versus secular views play a role in the quality of care in hospitals. This is a direct reflection of the lack of awareness regarding the impact of biblically founded values on hospital attention to quality. Even with a high rate of disregard for religious affiliation, Secular AZ News reports that religious hospitals are on the rise, with Catholic hospitals contributing to 14% of care across the U.S. Not only do they provide a wide range of care throughout the country, but Secular AZ News relays that in some states, they account for 30% of patient care. That is why it is key to break down three crucial areas to understand the direct impact biblically rooted values have on healthcare. To do this, a close analysis will be conducted on secular versus religiously affiliated hospitals, followed by an evaluation based on personal experiences with these contrasting organizational values.
To deduce a correlation between the quality of care and religious values, Centra Lynchburg General Hospital will be analyzed regarding its mortality rate, patient care, and productivity. According to Centra Health, Lynchburg General Hospital’s mortality rate is 0.45% compared to the national average of 2.38%. Taking a close look at their ratings according to Hospital Details, they have a perfect leadership score but below-average scores for nursing and bedside care. Regarding productivity, Hospital Details shows that they fluctuate with efficient communication. They receive above-average scores when it comes to nurses communicating with doctors but then average scores for doctors communicating with nurses. Because of this their rating for responsiveness to staff drops significantly below average. This is all directly reflected in Centra Lynchburg General receiving a C grade for hospital safety, which significantly dropped them from their grade in 2022, as reported by ABC 13 News. It is also reported by ABC 13 News that they received this grade for good reason, with reports of sepsis infection after surgery, dangerous objects left inside people after surgery, and accidental cuts.
When looking at these findings, it shows clear markers of a system failing to reach average standards. This can be attributed to a lack of support among staff. According to Seong-Kyeong Kwak et al. (2024), “Nurses who reported job stress at the upper tertiles level (≥118) were 2.24 times more likely to report near-miss errors” (para. 31). Hospital environments are extremely taxing on employees and patients because of the nature of the work and the circumstances that bring people in.
Paradoxically, with religiously affiliated hospitals, there is a staggering difference in their ability to reduce errors. A prime example of this is Virginia Mason Medical Center, which makes a point not only to have religious affiliations but to promote the practice of faith in communities. As stated on their Congregational Health Ministries website, they work to promote a connection between health and faith communities. The result of these principles shows a contrasting story when it comes to their grade in patient care. LeapFrog Hospital Safety Grades revealed that they received a grade A in the fall of 2024. This is due to their excellent ratings across the board. As reported by LeapFrog Hospital Safety Grades, they have been rated best in leadership skills, best in nursing and bedside care, above average in communication with doctors, and above average in communication with nurses. PR Newswire reported in 2022 that Virginia Mason Medical Center is among the top 5% of hospitals in the nation to earn LeapFrog awards and is recognized for its outstanding quality and safety. Fast forward to 2024, and they still maintain an excellent grade from the organization.
The superior performance of religiously affiliated hospitals is supported by Yasemin Bal and Ozgur Kokalan (2021), who state that studies have shown a direct link between religious beliefs and the ability to effectively cope with stress and overcome difficulties. Even Harvard Business Review in 2023 encourages organizations of all types to change their mindset from “religion is a risk” to “religion is your asset.” They further posit that studies have shown that embracing religious diversity in any workplace gives workers a higher purpose to strive for. As stated by the Harvard Business Review, “By proactively engaging religious diversity at work, companies prevent crises, broaden brand loyalty, strengthen company culture, and increase team cohesion and effectiveness” (Johnson, 2023, para. 26). This only reinforces the truth that religiously affiliated organizations, such as hospitals, are better off than secular ones because of their core traits that align with biblical values.
The effects of religious and secular organizations affect not only the organizations themselves but also those they offer services to. My personal testimony with secular versus religious organizations taught me the importance of this concept. My first impression of receiving a higher education was through a secular institution, Ivy Tech Community College. At this very college, it shaped my opinion on how drastically a secular college can impact the quality of education. Growing up homeschooled, I yearned to advocate for my values and find the tools to help me do just that.
One of my first classes at the institution was English 101. I was effervescent at the prospect of my first assignment: a persuasive essay on any topic. I chose to research GMOs, which at the time had little to no support to show the detrimental impacts they have. This was, in fact, two years before the law was passed in 2016 requiring companies to label their products with GMOs if they contained them. Researching this topic and learning how to write academically proved to be quite a challenge. Even more so since I took a strong, conservative, and religious view on the topic. With every draft I turned in for review, I received a slew of angry commentary from my professor at the time. Like an angry cartoon character, she instilled deep fear in my class. She started every class shouting at students’ inability to write properly, and at times she would stomp her cane on the floor to prove her point. I was terrified of her. This, in turn, made my paper even harder to write because, toward the end of the class, I was positive that my final draft would receive a failing grade. I remember the final day in that class. She slowly stomped through the classroom, handing back graded papers with silent contempt. But when she reached me, she paused and said something I never expected, “Well done.”
My years at Ivy Tech were rewarding because I pushed myself, no matter what, to research the things I believed in. But they were also a battleground that always put me on edge. It became clear to me from my first class on campus that there was no room for error behind enemy lines, which is what a secular college feels like. Even in success, it felt like a failure because my values were seen as a bias that hurt my research. This is why Yahweh makes a point to communicate the importance of planting ourselves in the right communities. As stated in Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”
Juxtaposed to Ivy Tech Community College, Liberty University was a night-and-day difference. Instead of being fearful, I became even more confident, which fostered clearer research and stronger writing. I was able to focus less on how my professor perceived me through my beliefs and more on communicating what I needed help with. In a religious institution like Liberty, I knew that my professor was there to help me, not disprove me. In Psalms 1:1-3, it states the benefit of not walking in the way of wickedness or subjecting yourself to the contempt of mockers but doing the opposite. To quote Psalms 1:3, “That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.” This is not the only time Yahweh instructs people to be wise about where they are planting themselves. In Matthew chapter 13, Yeshua tells The Parable of The Sower, which demonstrates how crucial it is to have discernment about where someone should throw seed and plant themselves. Similar to Ivy Tech, I felt like a seed planted by weeds that, over time, became a tighter noose around my bravery to speak on my own values. Conversely, Liberty University gave me the space, support, and confidence to research the subjects in the ways I believed they hadn’t been viewed in before.
From secular hospitals to religiously affiliated hospitals, and my own personal experience, it proves the momentous impact of God’s presence. Moral values, which are rooted in God’s word, have been shown across organizations to be the key to success. It helps nurses exude compassion and medical staff strive for excellence. It’s what makes educators patient and supportive in academics. The world believes that morals and ethics are not equivalent to being rooted in biblical principles. However, the reality is that in every institution that embraces God’s word, His truth, they excel in these principles, versus secular organizations that don’t. By studying these conflicting organizations and taking a deeper look at people’s own experiences, like my own, it helps to shine a light on God’s impact on communities.