In a 2023 JAMA article, Dr. Don Berwick – a national leader in healthcare improvement – issued a heartfelt call to action. He warned of the growing influence of profit motives in American healthcare, suggesting that the system risks losing its moral compass when financial gain overshadows the mission to heal. His insights serve as a timely reminder: healthcare must be more than a business. It must be a public trust.
At GBMC HealthCare, we are driven by a clear and simple vision: to provide the care we’d want for our own loved ones. That principle reminds us that good healthcare is built not just on clinical excellence but on compassion, accessibility, and accountability.
Today, we see the consequences when people lose health insurance or access to preventive services. Chronic diseases go unmanaged. Children fall behind on vaccines. Emergency departments fill up with patients who could have been treated earlier, more affordably, and more effectively in the community. These challenges are largely preventable. But only if we align our healthcare system with the long-term health of the population, not just short-term revenue streams. These are symptoms of a broader challenge: how we prioritize and invest in our collective well-being.
In Maryland, we are fortunate to operate under a model that encourages preventive care and system-wide accountability. The Maryland Model and new AHEAD initiative promote value over volume, rewarding organizations for keeping people as healthy as they can be and not just waiting until they must be hospitalized. At GBMC, we’ve embraced this model fully, investing in advanced primary care, behavioral health integration, and services that address the root causes of poor health like food insecurity and housing.
Transformation isn’t easy, but it’s necessary, and we’re still waiting for reimbursement models to catch up. We must ensure that health systems are not only financially viable but also socially responsible. This means resisting the status quo and instead designing care that is equitable, accessible, and driven by what our communities truly need.
We believe the true measure of a health system’s success is not how full its hospitals are, but how many people it can keep healthy and out of the hospital in the first place. Let’s continue to move toward a future where every person, regardless of income or background, has access to the care they need, when they need it.
Because every preventable illness is a missed opportunity. And every life saved through timely, compassionate care is a reminder of what matters most.
