Abstract
Polk Memorial Hospital (PMH) is a community-based organization that offers a variety of healthcare services. The organization is one of the leading healthcare organizations in the region serving a service area of 500,000 people. PMH has a task force summing up to 250 physicians. The company’s long-serving CEO retired recently leaving the seat for another aspiring lady. The new CEO identifies the main strengths of the organization such as the existence of experienced management and governing body, high occupancy rate, a busy emergency room and the existence of a good reputation on the company. The new CEO, Jane Smith also identified a number of weaknesses that ought to be acted upon promptly. The various objectives relating to the mitigation of the weaknesses and enhancement of strengths have also been discussed in the report. If PMH works in respect to the set recommendations, it can successfully achieve most of the set objectives.
Introduction
Polk Memorial Hospital is a community-based organization that offers general medical or surgical care. The hospital has a full occupancy of 350 beds and the total service area population of the hospital is 500,000 people. There are 250 members of staff in the hospital. With the change of leadership in the hospital, the new CEO, Jane Smith carried out a survey in the hospital which helped in identifying the current strengths and weaknesses of the hospital. Jane Smith identified several objectives that if accomplished would aid in enhancing the hospital’s strengths and mitigating the weaknesses. The first goal is positioning the hospital for the future. The second objective is addressing the management team issues. Thirdly, Jane aims at addressing the governance issues. Fourthly, she aims at addressing the financial, clinical and facilities liability issues. The fifth objective is addressing the staffing issues in PMH. The sixth goal is addressing the facilities, equipment, and new technology issues. Jane also aims at addressing the issues of patient satisfaction and quality of service. The purpose of this consultant report is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the issues facing the hospital and also to provide applicable recommendations on how to counter the existing issues which will aid in achieving the new CEO’s set objectives.
Positioning PMH for the Future
Findings
After a thorough survey into the institution, it was found that the organization was facing several inefficiencies that would affect its future operations. Firstly, the organization was at the risk of facing financial constraints in the future. This was mainly due to the increased level of patients’ occupancy in the hospital. Since the hospital is a non-profit organization, its sources of finance are limited. Increased occupancy in the hospital calls for the need to increase the number of physicians and also improve the available facilities in the hospital. This translates to more demand for funds which may not be available if the organization fails to take the necessary steps to counter this issue. Secondly, the company was at a risk of lowering its quality of services due to overworking its employees and also due to the presence of inadequate facilities. It was also found that the company did not have sound strategic plans in place to ensure its continued sustainability. Thirdly, from a survey among the hospital’s staff, it was found that most employees were not contented with the change in leadership after the previous CEO who they had worked with for many years had retired. This was identified as a threat to the future prosperity of the organization as it would limit the cooperation between employees and the management.
Recommendations
Although PMH is performing well currently, it should consider its future position as a community-based institution to ensure that it continues to serve the community effectively in the future. For instance, the company has a stable financial order with proper cash flows and margins. However, the CEO raised her concern on the insufficiency of funds required for capital investments in facilities and equipment. To solve this issue, the organization ought to carry out a comprehensive operational assessment to reduce its expenditure and maximize on its savings (Poister, Pitts, & Hamilton Edwards, 2010). On the issue of increased occupancy and which calls for the hiring of more physicians, the hospital management can formulate a strategic deal with the current doctors.
Since the highest percentage of the physicians are also attached to other institutions, the organization’s management can strike a deal with the employees whereby they can employ them on a full-time basis to avoid hiring new employees. To ensure continued provision of quality services, the organization should formulate a comprehensive strategic plan which clearly stipulates the roles of all the hospital’s stakeholders (Poister, Pitts, & Hamilton Edwards, 2010). To enhance the cooperation of the staff members with the management, the new CEO should involve them in decision making on significant matters relating to the organization (Chassin & Loeb, 2011). This can aid in ensuring the employees’ loyalty to the organization which helps in improving performance.
Addressing Management Team Issues
Findings
A discussion with the new CEO about the organization’s management proved that the group faced several management issues that needed to be dealt with promptly. Firstly, the management team had operated with the previous CEO for a long time which had gained the CEO full loyalty from the team. Secondly, there have been no significant changes in the administration of the organization with a team of board members remaining in office for a long time. These two issues were of primary concern as they were bound to cause conflicts in the organization’s management with the introduction of a new CEO into the hospital. This was a sign that the stakeholders of PMH did not embrace change, and they preferred working with the same workforce for a long time. The new CEO would face management problems if she introduced new practices in the organization that were not in line with the routine practices of the staff in PMH. The CEO would also experience hardship in trying to win the loyalty of the hospital’s workforce that had been used to the previous CEO. The need to change the long-serving board of members would also raise issues in the organization with most people opposing this move.
Recommendations
To deal with the management issues, the new CEO ought to be very careful as this is a critical part of the directorate. For the organization to run efficiently, there should be continued collective action and collaboration among the organization’s workforce (Mitchell, et.al, 2012). This is mainly facilitated by the management team. For the new CEO to gain the full support of the rest of the management team, she ought to involve them in decision making on significant matters relating to the organization. The CEO should be in a position to manipulate the management team on the need for change in the operation of the organization. This can only be achieved through transparency and openness (Mitchell, et.al, 2012). The CEO should clearly explain to the team the reasons for change and how this change can be brought about. The CEO should be proactive to conflicts by laying down strategies for dealing with such conflicts. A win-win approach should be utilized in solving the conflicts.
Addressing Governance Issues
Findings
The main issue on governance of PMH that was discovered during a survey in the hospital was related to the organization’s structure. The team had been served by the same board of members for a very long time. This limited the introduction of new practices in the organization that could aid in enhancing the performance of the community-based hospital. Some employees were also not contented with the existing board of members, and they yearned to exercise their democracy of voting in a new board of members. There also existed some people who wanted to volunteer as members of the council in PMH. The CEO expressed her will to change the existing structure of the board of members which was an important step in improving the organization’s performance. However, she anticipated conflicts would arise due to conflicting views among those people who were satisfied with the existing board of members and were not welcome to change.
Recommendations
The new CEO should propose the election of new board of members in the institution. This is in order to enhance the governance of the organization. In a view to promoting cooperation from the physicians, the CEO should involve the members of staff in this democratic process (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). The minimum requirements of the new board of members should be updated so as to be relevant in the dynamic medical field. In order to achieve good governance from the elected board of members, the behaviors of the board of members should be well stipulated (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). This relates to the operation of the board of members in accordance with the formulated roles and responsibilities. Firstly, all members of the council should have respect for all the stakeholders in PMH. Secondly, the board of members should ensure confidentiality to prevent the organization’s information from leaking to outsiders (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). Thirdly, they should display openness especially in the allocation of the organization’s funds to avoid conflicts in the team. The board of members should also promote democracy within the organization by introducing organization elections on the main issues affecting the organization (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). When the board of members behaves in the recommended way, unity will be enhanced in the organization which will also solve the issues related to governance.
Addressing the Financial, Clinical and Facilities Liability Issues
Findings
A critical evaluation of the hospital’s records revealed that there was a rise in the number of liabilities incurred by the company. Most of these liabilities can be attributed to the crowding in PMH and the overworking of the available workforce. The overworked workforce is prone to making errors while giving medication to the patients attended in the hospital. This can lead to clinical liability which may result in the company being involved in a lawsuit. The organization should also install a system that automatically notifies the other physicians when one of the physicians prescribes wrong medication. The organization was also facing financial liabilities due to wastage of resources as a result of errors made by the workforce. Due to high occupancy in the hospital, most of the hospital’s facilities were used up which led to increased liabilities in the organization.
Recommendations
To counter the issue of increased liabilities in the organization, the firm should undertake various strategic reforms. Firstly, the company should employ more physicians to relieve the employees of the additional workload which contributes highly to clinical liabilities. The physicians should also be sensitized to be more careful in their operations to prevent the medication errors from occurring (Reamer, 2014). The doctors who do not observe the set standards of the organization should be penalized which can aid in reducing the incidences of medication errors as the physicians become more careful in their work (Reamer, 2014). The hospital should also expand its facilities so as they can comfortably accommodate a large number of patients admitted to the hospital (Chassin & Loeb, 2011). This aids in reducing the facilities liabilities resulting from over occupancy in the hospital.
Addressing Staffing Issues
Findings
A survey carried out in the hospital indicated a shortage of staff which could be attributed to the high number of patients admitted to the hospital. This was evident from the long waiting time in the emergency rooms as the number of service providers were far much less compared to the number of patients. The shortage of physicians in this community-based hospital could also be attributed to the fact that most of the physicians employed by this hospital were affiliated with other healthcare institutions. This shortage of employees translated into overworking of the available staff which led to decreased productivity among the staff members. This contributed to the scarcity of staff due to lack of enough full-time personnel. It was also found that most physicians suffered from a lack of adequate resources to carry out their operations successfully. The issue of overcrowding in the facilities was also identified in relation to the staffing problems in the hospital.
Recommendations
Various approaches can be used to solve the general staffing issues in PMH. The first method involves recruitment of new employees into the facility. The organization should be keen on the hiring process by recruiting physicians on merit so as to improve the performance of the team. The second approach relates to investing in the existing workforce. This can be in the form of offering them with further training and also increasing their remuneration (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). This can lead to increased workforce retention and productivity. The latter can also aid in increasing the number of physicians working on a full-time basis in the organization which is crucial in cutting down the shortage of employees. The group should also focus on expanding its facilities so as to avoid the issue of overcrowding which was reported by the physicians.
Addressing Facilities, Equipment and New Technology Issues
Findings
From an analysis of the new CEO’s findings on the company, it was evident that the firm was suffering from lack of enough facilities, equipment, and new technology. The company lacked sufficient financial reserves to invest in improving its capital. The survey indicated that the physicians were holding complaints about the lack of upgraded equipment which was in line with the existing technology. Most of the beds used in the hospital were found not be in right conditions to be used for the patients admitted to the hospital. The survey indicated some of the effects of this phenomenon to be reduced performance among employees and dissatisfaction of the customers.
Recommendations
To address the issues of shortage of facilities, equipment, and new technology, the organization should invest more into expanding its resources. The organization can source the required funds from donors, financial money lending institutions, and it can also invest in other short-term investments which can generate the required funds (Chassin & Loeb, 2011). The collected funds should be used to expand the organization’s facilities, purchase more hospital equipment and update its technology. In order to successfully update to new technology, the hospital can hire IT specialists. The organization should also set governing rules to guide in the usage of the hospital’s resources so as to enhance the durability of the purchased resources.
Addressing Patient Satisfaction and Quality of Services Issues
Findings
Research on the company was carried out to assess the satisfaction of the patients and the quality of services offered. This was done through interviewing a random number of patients in PMH. The majority of the patients interviewed demonstrated their dissatisfaction with the services provided in the hospital in the recent years. Research carried out to identify the cause of this phenomenon provided several results. The first result attributed the phenomenon to the increased overcrowding in the facility which lowered the quality of services offered. Overworking of employees was also attributed to the deteriorating quality of services available in PMH. The shortage facilities and lack of upgraded equipment were also attributed as causes of increased provision of quality services which lowered the patients’ satisfaction with the services offered. Increased medical errors among the physicians were also highlighted as causes of lack of patients’ satisfaction.
Recommendations
To improve the satisfaction of the patients and also the quality of services offered, PMH’s management ought to make several reforms. Firstly, the hospital’s management should invest in expanding the hospital’s facilities so as to cater for the needs of all the patients in the hospital. The management should also set to recruit more employees so as to reduce overworking of employees which is translated in reduced productivity (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). The management should also closely monitor the operations of its employees to ensure that they work in line with the patients’ expectations.
Final Recommendation
To meet her set objectives as the new CEO, Jane should collaborate with the other members of the management team to implement the recommendation provided in this consultant report. Among the fundamental reforms that should be carried out in this organization include the hiring of new staff, purchase of more hospital equipment and expansion of the hospital’s facilities. These reforms can only be successful in transforming the organization if all the hospital’s stakeholders cooperate in improving the general performance of the organization (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). The set objectives should be well communicated to the hospital’s staff so that they can all work towards a common goal.
Conclusion
This paper has provided a comprehensive analysis of the issues facing the hospital and has also provided applicable recommendations on how to counter the existing problems in the firm. The report has achieved this through critical evaluation of the issues facing the organization. Recommendations have been provided in relation to every issue addressed in the paper. From the journal, it is evident that main issues facing the organization include staffing issues, management issues, liability issues, shortages of equipment, facilities and new technology, governance issues, and matters relating to the organization’s future position. PMH can utilize this report to formulate a strategic plan that can be used in transforming the organization into one of the best medical care performers. The transformation can also aid in countering the competition from other healthcare agencies in the region.