Health/Aged Care Institution Mission Drift

Adventist health institutions globally generate enormous revenue — AdventHealth (US) reported $19.8 billion in operating revenue in 2024, while the smaller US-based Adventist HealthCare Inc. reported $1.08 billion. In Australia, Sydney Adventist Hospital (SAH), operated by Adventist HealthCare Limited, is NSW's largest private hospital, processing 195,178 patient episodes in 2023/24. However, the proportion of this revenue that flows back to denominational mission versus institutional reinvestment remains opaque. Critics have long warned of mission drift, noting that in the late 1980s the church transferred healthcare operations to independent corporations not owned by the General Conference, prioritising EBITDA-driven strategies. These institutions employ predominantly non-Adventist staff, serve pluralistic populations, and adopt secular operational practices. While institutions like AdventHealth maintain wholistic care frameworks integrating spiritual assessments, the structural separation from church governance raises fundamental questions about whether these remain genuinely mission-aligned or have become secular healthcare providers with Adventist heritage branding.