Research a Health Care Organization or Network
Research a health care organization or network that spans several states with in the United States (United Healthcare, Vanguard, Banner Health, etc.). Assess the readiness of the health care organization or network you chose in regard to meeting the health care needs of citizens in the next decade. Prepare a 1,000-1,250 word paper that presents your assessment and proposes a strategic plan to ensure readiness. Include the following:
- Describe the health care organization or network.
- Describe the organization’s overall readiness based on your findings.
- Prepare a strategic plan to address issues pertaining to network growth, nurse staffing, resource management, and patient satisfaction.
- Identify any current or potential issues within the organizational culture and discuss how these issues may affect aspects of the strategic plan.
- Propose a theory or model that could be used to support implementation of the strategic plan for this organization. Explain why this theory or model is best.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
Sample Answer
A Description of Banner Health
Banner Health is one of the largest nonprofit health care networks in the United States and serves communities in six states. The network is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The network operates 30 hospitals, three academic medical centers, and other health centers and clinics. It has around 50,000 employees. The organization is recognized as a top health system providing quality clinical services to communities. The organization serves more than one million members. Banner Health was formed in 1999 through a merger between health systems; Lutheran Health systems in North Dakota and Samaritan Health System in Phoenix, Arizona. The mission of the health system is to make healthcare easier so that people’s lives can be better. The health system offers comprehensive services, home care services, physician services, and hospice. It also offers specialized services and free services such as the Banner Poison and Drug Information Center.
The Organization’s Overall Readiness Based on the Findings
The findings indicate that the organization is adequately prepared to provide care to the citizen’s needs now and in the future. The health system offers a variety of services to meet the needs of the communities. The organization offers comprehensive services, home care services, physicians services, and hospice. Specialized care is also offered at various centers, including the Heart hospital, Concussion center, and Alzheimer’s Institute. The health system is well established in six states, including Arizona, Colorado, California, Nevada, Nebraska, and Wyoming. The organization has over 50,000 employees to serve the communities. The organization has made innovation and technology the cornerstone of its vision and mission, promoting quality health care. It was the first health care provider to implement telehealth in remote monitoring of patients. It has a 55-bed stimulation medical center to enhance the training and skills of the professionals. The health system has 30 acute-care hospitals and other health care entities that provide health care services to communities served by the organization (Banner Health, 2021). The healthcare system has able leadership that ensures proper planning and success of the organization. All these show the capacity to provide care to a more diverse population in terms of age, racial and ethnic groups, and the nature of health problems in the future.
A strategic Plan
Network Growth
The strategic plan of the organization regarding network growth involves the construction of comprehensive medical centers to increase access to healthcare services to the communities. New facilities increase the capacity of the organization to offer current and future health care needs of the citizens. Banner Health reinvests profits in purchasing new hospital beds, new technologies, maintaining current equipment and facilities, and paying salaries. Additional strategies for network growth include establishing a partnership to increase its presence in various regions. The health system can partner with other health care facilities and agencies to offer care to communities that it has not been able to reach, especially those characterized by health disparities and at increased risk of chronic health problems. This may involve offering mobile clinics to communities.
Nurse Staffing
Nurse staffing is recognized by the organization’s backbone of quality and exceptional care. Part of the funds by the organization is invested in paying employee salaries as a strategy of promoting the retainment of nurses. The health system promotes the competency of nurses by providing resources and opportunities. An example of such effort is the 55-bed stimulation medical center, which enhances the skills of nurses. Part of the strategic plan of the organization also includes funding for health professional organizations. The organization contributes $45 million to health professional organizations (Banner Health, 2021). Much of the strategic plan aims at increasing job satisfaction to reduce turnover rates. The organization can enhance nurse staffing by establishing a plan that addresses the hiring of new staff and sets a recommended nurse-patient ratio in their health care facilities. The organization should adopt the workload indicator of staffing needs recommended by the World Health Organization (Sharma & Rani, 2020). The approach enables a facility to estimate the appropriate number of health care providers based on the workload in the setting.
Resource Allocation
Banner Health’s strategic plan involving resource allocation aims at increasing cost-effectiveness through the provision of quality care and accountability in resource utilization. The organization is transparent on how it allocates resources and how much, and the activities are included. Resource allocation is driven by benefits for the communities rather than profits. For example, all income is reinvested in purchasing new hospital beds, hiring new physicians, new technologies, expanding patient care services, and paying salaries. The organization donates 73.4 million in charity care, allocates $11 million to research activities, $45 million of education of health professionals, and $482 to the unpaid cost of public programs (Banner Health, 2021). The success of the health care system can be attributed to efficient and effective resource allocation. The organization, however, should improve on the strategic plan by hiring more professional advisers for better plans addressing vulnerable communities and addressing health disparities.
Patient Satisfaction
The strategic plan of the organization for patient satisfaction involves offering convenient and quality care and making health care more accessible. The plan is evident in the organization’s efforts towards expanding health facilities, offering free services to the communities, investing in research, and meeting the unpaid costs of public programs. The organization also attains patient satisfaction by implementing the use of technology in care delivery, such as the use of medical records and telehealth in monitoring patients. A strategic plan for the organization should shift more towards the vulnerable population. According to Chen et al. (2019), poor satisfaction is more likely reported among racial and ethnic minorities and individuals from lower socioeconomic status.
