The Complex World of Simply Serving People

Happy New Year! Each year at this time, there are many people who make resolutions about what their future will look like. We don’t just do that once a year at Mosaic–we are constantly planning and taking action to ensure the organization has a secure future. The people we support will always have needs, and we are determined to be here to help them.

The phrase “one foot in two canoes” is a good metaphor for the daily operations of Mosaic. One canoe is the work we do to ensure people receive the highest quality, personalized services possible. The other canoe is the work we do to ensure a sustainable future for the organization. Both of these are important.

From the outside, Mosaic looks like a social service organization. But in truth, we are a healthcare organization, and we’re obligated by all of the regulations and compliance expectations of a healthcare organization.

When our founders started Bethphage and Martin Luther Homes, they kept one book with a ledger that recorded everything–income, expenses, new admissions, etc. Well into the 1970s, all funding for the organizations came from gifts. Today, more than 97% of our income is from government funding. Government funding allowed both Bethphage and Martin Luther Homes to grow to serve more people than would ever be possible on gifts alone. But, federal and state funding also brings strong regulations around the services provided.

As a result, today, we have staff with expertise in accounting and finance, safety and risk management, compliance, human resources (both the regulatory side and employee relations), information technology and data systems, health and behavioral services, marketing, operations (the day-to-day service structure), government relations, training and more. We use more than 90 different technology applications to complete the various necessary tasks. That is a far cry from the one simple ledger of our founders!

Recognizing that, you can understand why we routinely hear from smaller organizations that inquire about becoming part of or affiliating with Mosaic (last year, two organizations became part of Mosaic). Finding the expertise and resources you need to meet all the requirements of a healthcare organization is a challenge for smaller providers. 

It would be accurate to say what we do is simple–love and serve–but how we do it is complex. The ministry of our founders still goes forward, but the expertise around it has grown dramatically.

That’s why we plan. We will ensure Mosaic remains a stable, sustainable organization that carries forth its legacy.