From Revival in 1980 to the National Award in 2002: Santa Casa of Porto Alegre - Hospital Complex

摘要

The development of management in organizations is an unquestionable fact which has been thought and applied since the origins of the administration, both classical and scientific, from the end of the XIX Century and beginning of the XX Century. In the segment of health care organizations, specially hospitals, the practice of management has been studied for the last 40 years, and in Brazil for the last 20 years. However, it is observed that the professionalization of management is an incipient subject, mainly in the segment of nonprofit hospitals. And it is exactly in this segment, whose goals are noble and resources are scarce, is just where management becomes even more necessary. In this perspective there is the example of the Hospital Complex of Santa Casa of Porto Alegre, observed in its recent history of 20 years, in which there was a profound transformation, coming from an almost bankrupt to a modern social organization, self-supported and recognized by the local, national and international community. The present article introduces the case of Santa Casa of Porto Alegre, the evolution of the Institution, specially the experience of the last 20 years and, more recently, the administration system by total quality, whose top recognition in 2002 was obtained by the conquest of the National Quality Award. It is important to mention that Santa Casa is the first hospital and the first social, nonprofit organization, to conquer such award.