Governance models for cultural assets owned by public healthcare organizations: Italian and Portuguese experiences

Introduction:Healthcare organizations often possess significant cultural assets, accumulated over long periods of activity or through mergers with other healthcare institutions. Several challenges have emerged in conserving and promoting this heritage, including the need for qualified staff, appropriate organizational models, and dedicated financial resources. This study aims to identify a governance model for managing the complex cultural heritage held by healthcare organizations, while always taking into account their primary mission. Method: To achieve this goal, the paper investigated the experiences of Unidade Local de Saùde de São José in Lisbon (Portugal) and Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale Toscana Centro in Florence (Italy). These case studies were selected because both entities are characterized by an extraordinary network of historical hospitals that form an integral part of the cultural heritage of their respective cities. Results: The findings revealed that both case studies followed a similar evolutionary path and ultimately adopted the same governance model already identified in the existing literature. Discussion: This path could be established by other healthcare organizations with important cultural assets to achieve their dual mission—providing healthcare services while simultaneously preserving and promoting their cultural heritage— because of its total independence to national regulations or healthcare systems’ organization. Significant steps by both cases toward the adoption of integrated partnership model suggests that this approach may represent the next stage in the evolution of governance models for cultural assets managed by HOS.