Interlakes community health centers: A case study

• Author: Albert J. Abramovitz
• Date: 01 December 1993
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nml.4130040208
• Published date: 01 December 1993

FEATURE

Interlakes Community Health

Centers:

A

Case Study

Albert

J.

Abrarnovitz

Interlakes Community Health Centers

(ICHC)

provides pri-

mary health care services

to

low-income people in a rnediurn-

size city.

rCHC

expandedlfrom three tofive service centers and

soon ran into problems meeting payroll. Several strategc

rnan-

agement dilemmas

stern

from this crisis.

ANDA

ANDERSON

was worried. The meeting of the board of

the Interlakes Community Health Centers (ICHC) was

W

only two hours away.

This

special June meeting had one

agenda item: the financial crisis. Simply put, there was not enough

money to meet the June 30th payroll. Getting a loan to tide

ICHC

over was a stopgap measure at best and a bottomless pit at worst.

What concerned Wanda more than the financial problem was how

ICHC had gotten into trouble in the first place and how the problem

might have been avoided.

The angry words of the board member who had just hung up still

rang in Wanda’s

ears:

“You

are the chief financial officer. It

is

your Fault

we are in this mess.

I

want you out of here once we solve the problem

and will urge the board to fire you. You misled us, and you will pay”

Wanda reflected on the situation. She had been with ICHC eight

years-good years. She had always enjoyed good working relation-

ships with her board members and took special pride in cultivating

the support of the three board presidents she had served under. She

knew she could count on Tom Johnson, the veteran (ten-year) direc-

tor, for support and encouragement. But in this case he probably

could not be of much help.

Tom relied on Wanda to handle finances. He only wanted to be

kept informed, and he expected Wanda to “mind the store.” Fur-

thermore, Tom had spent some political capital in setting the stage

for the expansion of services that

now

threatened

ICHC.

Not only had Wanda minded the store, but she had always kept

the board and director informed.

As

a matter of fact, Wanda had

warned the board about potential cash-flow problems even before

last October’s decision to expand.

229

NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT

&LEADERSHIP,

vol.

4,

no.

2.

Winter

1993

Q

Jossey-Bass

Publishers