Community Resources: Improving Public Health and Equal Opportunity
Public health and safety are critical aspects of community well-being, and numerous nonprofit organizations contribute to these efforts. In this regard, this report focuses on St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a globally recognized nonprofit organization that focuses on pediatric catastrophic diseases. This report will analyze how St. Jude’s mission and vision enable it to improve public health and safety, promote equal opportunity, and enhance the quality of life for patients and their families. Additionally, the report will assess the impact of funding, policy, and legislation on the organization’s services and explore the potential role of nurses in advancing St. Jude’s mission.
Mission and Vision of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital aims to advance cures for childhood catastrophic diseases through research and to provide treatment to children/adolescents with treatment-related expenses free of charge for families. Based on this mission, the utility of the services to the population is evident, as everyone, regardless of their financial status, is provided with urgent medical services. Research has been focused on this, and this has helped the hospital achieve four major milestones in pediatric cancer, including improving the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia from 20% to over 90% (Hudson, 2024). Accordingly, the mission of St. Jude has a positive impact on society, showing that patients’ health is affordably improved while vulnerable groups are protected from dangers such as diseases.
Additionally, St. Jude’s vision of a world where children live free from life-threatening diseases is realized through global initiatives like the St. Jude Global program. This initiative engages over 24 healthcare organizations worldwide through the sharing of treatment guidelines and data with the aim of enhancing survival outcomes in settings with limited resource endowments. Making a connection between a charity and an excellent global health program, St. Jude proves to be a significant contributor to the local and global improvement of public health by sticking to its mission of providing free treatment and contributing to the scientific progress of better treatment all while operating under the umbrella of equality for citizens globally.
Promoting Equal Opportunity and Quality of Life
St. Jude’s commitment to promoting equal opportunity is fundamental to its operational model. The hospital provides free treatment to every child, regardless of socioeconomic status, which ensures that no child is turned away due to financial constraints. This policy is particularly important for families from lower-income backgrounds who often face barriers to accessing specialized medical care. By eliminating the financial burden, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital helps level the playing field for families who would otherwise not afford the best possible care for their children.
In addition to financial support, St. Jude offers families resources such as travel, housing, and food assistance. This holistic care addresses both the medical and non-medical needs of families, enhancing their quality of life during treatment. The organization’s commitment to cultural sensitivity is another example of how it promotes equal opportunity. Families come from diverse backgrounds, and St. Jude provides translators and culturally appropriate care to ensure all families feel supported throughout the treatment process.
Impact of Funding, Policy, and Legislation
Funding is a cornerstone of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s ability to offer free care. A large portion, about 75%, of St. Jude’s funding is collected through donations from the general public, with the rest being from grants and affiliations (Gale, 2022). Even though such a strong focus on philanthropy supports the organization in delivering the best treatment to patients without asking for money, this brings some threats to the organization. Notably, a sharp drop in donations can hinder its operations by failing to provide free services to thousands of families every year. Therefore, the constant inflow of donations and the continuation of the development of partnerships are essential to the organization.
In terms of policy and legislation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital benefits from supportive healthcare policies, such as the 21st Century Cures Act, which provides critical federal funding for pediatric research. This funding allows the hospital to continue innovating in the area of pediatric oncology, which has increased overall survival rates of illnesses such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia from 20% to over 90% (Folayan et al., 2022). However, some potential policy changes that may alter the funding structure by reducing the amount of federal funds available for research or issues with regard to tax exemptions for nonprofit organizations may present formidable threats to the organization. Stakeholder advocacy is essential to sustaining St. Jude’s treatment capacity, and federal policy reform is needed to ensure continued funding for the center’s costly innovations.
Impact on Local Communities and Nurse Involvement
St. Jude’s work has a profound impact on both local and global communities. At the community level, the hospital treats children with life-threatening illnesses directly, hence giving hope to families in such situations. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital also contributes to the growth of employment and the growth of the economy. For the same reason, many healthcare professionals and researchers are drawn to the community. Thus, the hospital profits from the dissemination of state-of-the-art care, which is consistent with the global boost of pediatric health not only in the United States but also in many other countries (Gabrielson, 2021).
Nurses have a critical role to play in St. Jude’s operations. Apart from delivering care to individual patients, the intervention allows nurses to participate in community health promotion initiatives regarding pediatric cancer with families. They can also fund advocacy by lobbying for issues related to children’s healthcare and funding research. In addition, while at St. Jude, nurses can work closely with researchers to develop ways to turn findings into useful treatment paradigms in a bid to respond fully to the hospital’s mandate of enhancing the survival rates of childhood cancer. Based on these activities, nurses are in a unique position to help the organization grow and enhance the delivery of child health worldwide.
Conclusion
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital stands as an example of the potential of a nonprofit organization to promote society’s equality in health, safety, and worth. It is compatible with international health objectives because of the provision of free health care and the performance of research at the international standard. It also provides solutions for economic, social, and traditional imperatives for care and guarantees the same likelihood with families regardless of color. However, the dependence on donations and supportive policies shows that funding for the organization must be ongoing. Further, the roles nurses could assume to extend the scope of St. Jude’s mission include direct care of patients, education, raising awareness within the community, and lobbying for changes in legislation. In these actions, St Jude remains at the forefront of conquering the catastrophic diseases that affect children and their families’ quality of life across the globe.
References
Folayan, M. O., Conway, M., Russo, C., Diniz, N., Jafta, L. P., Sam-Agudu, N. A., Bernays, S., Santana, V. M., Epps, C., & Turner, M. A. (2022). Health equity in pediatric drug development: Translating aspiration into operation. Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science, 56(6), 991–1003. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43441-022-00410-3
Gabrielson, D. A. (2021, November 12). St. Jude hoards billions while many of its families drain their savings. ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/st-jude-hoards-billions-while-many-of-its-families-drain-their-savings
Gale, A. (2022). How much of a donated dollar goes to healthcare or research? Missouri Medicine, 119(6), 542–543. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9762212/
Hudson, M. M. (2024). The St. Jude children’s research hospital after completion of therapy clinic. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-023-01519-6
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Question 
Assessment 2: Community Resources
Research a selected local, national, or global nonprofit organization or government agency to determine how it contributes to public health and safety improvements, promotes equal opportunity, and improves the quality of life within the community. Submit your findings in a 3-5 page report.
Introduction
Many organizations work to better local and global communities’ quality of life and promote health and safety in times of crisis. As public health and safety advocates, nurses must be cognizant of how such organizations help certain populations. As change agents, nurses must be aware of factors that impact the organization and the services that it offers. Familiarity with these organizations enables the nurse to offer assistance as a volunteer and source of referral.
This assessment provides an opportunity for you gain insight into the mission, vision, and operations of a community services organization.
Preparation
You are interested in expanding your role as a nurse and are considering working in an area where you can help to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life within the local or global community. You are aware of several nonprofit organizations and government agencies whose work contributes to this effort in some way. You have particular interest in one of these organizations but would like to know more about its contributions to public health and safety improvements. You would like to report the results of your research in a scholarly paper that you could submit for publication.
Research a local, national, or global nonprofit organization or government agency selected from the Assessment 02 Supplement: Community Resources [PDF] resource. Determine how the selected organization or agency contributes to public health and safety improvements, promotes equal opportunity, and improves the quality of life within the community. Submit your findings in a 3–5 page report.
As you begin to prepare this assessment, it would be an excellent choice to complete the Nonprofit Organizations and Community Health activity. Complete this activity to gain insight into promoting equal opportunity and improving the quality of life in a community. The information gained from completing this activity will help you succeed with the assessment.
Note: As you revise your writing, check out the resources listed on the Writing Center’s Writing Support page.
Instructions
First, select one of the local, national, or global nonprofit organizations or government agencies presented in the Assessment 02 Supplement: Community Resources [PDF] resource.
Then research the nonprofit organization or government agency that you selected. Determine how the organization or agency contributes to public health and safety improvements, promotes equal opportunity, and improves the quality of life within the community. Submit your findings in a 3–5 page report structured according to the following specifications:
Document Format and Length
Format your paper using APA style.
- Refer to the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] to help you in writing and formatting your paper. Be sure to include:
- A title page and references page. An abstract is not required.
- Appropriate section headings.
- Your paper should comprise 3–5 pages of content plus title and references pages.
Supporting Evidence
- Cite at least three credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications published within the past 5 years that support your research findings.
Graded Requirements
The research requirements, outlined below, correspond to the grading criteria in the assessment scoring guide, so be sure to address each point.
- Explain how the organization’s mission and vision enable it to contribute to public health and safety improvements.
- Include examples of ways a local and/or global initiative supports organizational mission and vision and promotes public health and safety.
- Evaluate an organization’s ability to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life in the community.
- Consider the effects of social, cultural, economic, and physical barriers.
- Assess the impact of funding sources, policy, and legislation on the organization’s provision of services.
- Consider the potential implications of funding decisions, policy, and legislation for individuals, families, and aggregates within the community.
- Explain how an organization’s work impacts the health and/or safety needs of a local community.
- Consider how nurses might become involved with the organization.
- Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions; contains few errors in grammar/punctuation, word choice, and spelling.
- Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format.
- Write with a specific purpose and audience in mind.
- Adhere to scholarly and disciplinary writing standards and APA formatting requirements.
Community Resources: Improving Public Health and Equal Opportunity
Additional Requirements
- Before submitting your paper, proofread it to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it difficult for them to focus on your research findings.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
- Competency 1: Analyze health risks and health care needs among distinct populations.
- Explain how an organization’s work impacts the health and/or safety needs of a local community.
- Competency 2: Propose health promotion strategies to improve the health of populations.
- Explain how an organization’s mission and vision enable it to contribute to public health and safety improvements.
- Competency 3: valuate health policies, based on their ability to achieve desired outcomes.
- Assess the impact of funding sources, policy, and legislation on an organization’s service delivery.
- Competency 4: Integrate principles of social justice in community health interventions.
- Evaluate an organization’s ability to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life in a community.
- Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication strategies to lead health promotion and improve population health.
- Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions; contains few errors in grammar/punctuation, word choice, and spelling.
- Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format.
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