Using Iterative Financial Modeling to Build an Internal Consensus on Staffing at LifeLong Medical Care

by Brent Copen


The LifeLong Medical Care case is about developing financial models for a Bay-area health care organization. The protagonist is Brenda Goldstein, MPH, chief of integrated services at LifeLong Medical Care, a mission-oriented nonprofit. The case focuses on the financial planning needed to open a new health care clinic that will serve the unhoused population in Berkeley, CA. Goldstein, working with clinical, programmatic, financial and executive stakeholders, employs financial modeling to build a framework, align perspectives, and address key issues, including staffing and services.

Learning Objectives


1. To provide the tools needed to develop an Excel-based financial model to help inform strategic decision-making within a mission-driven organization.

2. To identify essential financial and operational drivers associated with launching a new location and translate mission-oriented priorities alongside financial assumptions and risks.

3. To underscore the importance of collaboration among stakeholders, illustrating how financial models can serve as a unifying framework for aligning perspectives and addressing key strategic issues.

4. To hone the ability to communicate complex quantitative insights through simple and clear visualizations that facilitate informed and collaborative decision-making.

Details

Pub Date: April 1, 2026

Discipline: Financial Analysis

Keywords: Health care, Financial analysis, Business model development, Business models, Nonprofit organizations, Expansion

Product #: B6085-PDF-ENG

Industry: Health care services, Mental health care, Emergency services

Geography: United States, California

Length: 7 page(s)


Berkeley Haas Case Series
Berkeley Haas Case Series The Berkeley Haas Case Series is a collection of business case studies written by faculty members at the Haas School of Business. Cases are conceived, developed, written, and published throughout the year, on subjects ranging from entrepreneurship and strategy to finance and marketing. Each case includes a teaching note for use in the classroom.

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