Middleville Regional Health Care is one (1) of three (3) hospitals serving a community of 350,000 people. Summary statistics on Middleville and its competitors, from the AHA Guide, are shown below in Table 1. All three organizations are not-for-profit.

Answer

The Governing Board’s Role in the Strategic Initiatives

Human Resources

The governing board’s role is critical to ensure that the Middleville health care system is effective and able to fully maximize their resources (Lee et. al., 2008). They should also manage resources effectively when developing the annual budget and by ensuring the health care has adequate resources to fulfill its mission. They should also make sure the resources are available at all times for the effectiveness of the health care.

Information Technology

In information and technology, the governing board’s role is to upgrade the new forms of technology in their health care so that they can be up to date with their patients (Lee et. al., 2008). Therefore, they have to buy new machines and use them in the health care facility. Additionally, they should monitor their programs and services and store them in form of software so as to promote health care effectiveness. The board should advocate for the shift towards electronic health records, instead of the paper storage (Lee et. al., 2008). The governing board should also offer cards for patients which will only need to be swiped so as to retrieve their health history.

Financing

The governing board should assist in developing the annual budget and ensuring that appropriate financial controls are put in place (Lee et. al., 2008). Moreover, they should also fundraise as part of their responsibility. The board needs to secure appropriate funding to carry out the activities around the health care facility. They should also invest in the hospital by extending it further. Furthermore they should also finance security measures such as the installation of sirens which can be activated during emergencies.

Marketing

The governing board should support the planned programs such as participation in seminars and workshops. However, they should also plan other public events such as donation of blood. They should encourage the advertisement of the organization’s services on bill boards, brochures, the internet and many other forms (Lee et. al., 2008).

Performance Measurements

Evidence from various organizations show that several measures can be used to measure success in the provision of quality healthcare. Generally, performance measurements are aimed towards monitoring, evaluating and communicating the extent to which the different aspects of the health system actually meet the set objectives (Johnston et. al., 2015). The three performances that Middleville can use to measure its success in providing quality healthcare to the community include population health, individual health outcomes, and clinical quality and appropriateness of care.

Population Health

            This performance measure focuses on the analysis of aggregated data on the health of the target population. The indicators of this measure include life expectancy, avoidable mortality, disability-adjusted life-years, and years of life lost (Johnston et. al., 2015). This performance measure is important in the identifying the level of success achieved in providing quality healthcare to the community. As such, the health care organization can use the performance indicators to gauge whether or not there has been success or failure. For example, if the population shows an improved life expectancy, then the organization will boast of its success.

Individual Health Outcomes

This performance measure considers an individual’s health status in relation to the whole population. Here, the indicators can either be generic or disease specific (Johnston et. al., 2015). For instance; an arthritis impact measurement scale is an indicator which will show whether individuals with arthritis are actually improving health wise or not. The Parkinson’s disease questionnaire is yet another indicator that can measure success by analyzing whether the individuals with this disease are improving or not.

Clinical Quality and Appropriateness of Care

            This measure focuses on the services and care that patients receive so as to achieve their desired outcomes. It also features measures that can be used to determine whether or not best practice has taken place, and if they have been conducted in a technologically sound approach. The indicators involve measures of health status, post-operative readmission and mortality rates, and lastly, the frequency of measuring blood pressure (Johnston et. al., 2015). For example, if there is a high number of patient readmission post-operation, it may be an indication of failure of providing quality care to the community.

Areas that Middleville Should Focus on to Maintain Competitive Advantage

            Competitive advantage is all about providing high quality products at high prices. It also involves the creation of brand loyalty and also selling unique brands. Since all the three organizations are not-for-profit, selling at high prices is not their aim. However, they aim towards the provision of quality services that will influence members of the community to choose their facilities (Johnston et. al., 2015). This is why it is very important for Middleville to minimize its costs of service provision such that it gets to save more, and invest in areas that will further improve quality of service. Considering the expenses of the three organizations, it is clear that Middleville has a wide room for minimizing costs. This is because its competitor Greystone, manage to offer quality services with only $80, 000.

            Additionally, the organization has invested in so many beds, yet it has a low admission rate compared to its competitor Brierfield. The number of beds should be equivalent to the expected number of admissions so as to minimize working costs (Kumar & Bauer, 2011). These beds need to bring in profits if the company is to maintain its competitive advantage. Since the numbers of outpatient visits are many, the company should invest more in this section by ensuring that more outpatient rooms are developed, and also that there are enough staff to cater for the high number.

Costs and Benefits of Implementing the EMR Software

The costs associated with implementing the software of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) are quite high. An EMR system can cost about five thousand dollars or more depending on the version of the software. Their prices increase with the advancement of the software. For instance, small health care facilities may use the lighter version of the EMR software that costs approximately five thousand whereas massive facilities may need a complete EMR system that goes for nearly forty thousand dollars to serve the purpose (Kumar & Bauer, 2011).

However, the costs for implementation may be high, but the system has long-term benefits. The healthcare facilities are gradually decreasing their dependence on paper since the EMR software has the capability to clutch quickly all the crucial medical information and store them in hard disks thus occupying less space than the journal records. Besides, Kumar and Bauer (2011) posit that replacing the old filing methods that involved a lot of paperwork with the modern technology that being the EMR software makes data categorization easier as well as it brings about proper archiving. Making the data collection and reclaiming process automatic can drastically increase the efficiency and productivity of the healthcare practices.

This insight is so because it allows the practitioners to track data over a short period, identify patients due for appointments, and monitor their progress. On top of that, the data stored in the system is only shared among health care providers and not to those not in the practice, therefore, in case another specialist needs a patient’s records, and then it will be printed out then delivered by mail. The EMR software generally improves the full quality of care provided in healthcare (Kumar & Bauer, 2011).

Plan for Implementation

Before the adaptation of any new technology, it is always advisable to carry out a cost benefits analysis to know if it will serve its purpose (Hays & Lou, 2015). Then, select EMR providers who will advise on the implementation schedule and offer training and assistance as well as the documentation and operational recommendations according to the needs of the organization. Then, there should be a workflow analysis of the EMR implementation with the formulation of ideas that will enhance the efficiency of the new system. And the final plan should be to configure the EMR software to the practice environment where it will limit individual patients’ information to only the right users.

Suggestions to Promote Employee Satisfaction

Employee satisfaction depends almost entirely on the human resource management since it encircles the organizational development, industrial relations, as well as the human resource development. There are cost-effective programs that can positively promote employee satisfaction without necessarily breaking the budget (Hays & Lou, 2015). Therefore, the human resources of Middleville Regional Healthcare need to do their best to improve employee satisfaction and ultimately retain experienced personnel without having to increase salaries.

Recognizing Employee Achievements

A high number of workers would feel motivated to do their best at all times whenever their efforts and achievements are recognized. The human resources could introduce the performance management software that helps them keep track of the successes and accomplishments of their employees (Lartey, Cummings & Profetto-McGrath, 2014). By monitoring such achievements, they can better recognize them and encourage them to do better and improve on their experience. Also, Middleville Regional Healthcare could frequently participate in programs that acknowledge outstanding employee work. For instance, there are various ways of rewarding employees without using the money. There can be the use of “Thank you” notes, parties, and gift vouchers. Such initiatives enhance employee satisfaction and prevent them from being unmotivated and feeling undervalued.

Foster Strengths-Based Training

Through strengths-based training, employees get energized enough to give their best at work (Hays & Lou, 2015). This coaching method enables human resources to identify areas that each employee needs to work on to improve on their potential. The managers set similar goals according to the designated growth areas of every employee and should ensure to give consistently positive feedback. Such strength-based goals promote employee focus most, especially when combined with proper supervision. Therefore, the human resources of Middleville Regional Healthcare should advocate for strength-based coaching since it is the perfect way to inspire employees and also fosters the manager and employee communication hence a high employee satisfaction.

Align Organizational and Employee Goals

It is necessary to measure the individual employee goals with the organizational goals to add to the support of the employees to the vision of the organization. The human resources can use the performance management software to set employee goals for the organization to define its objectives more precisely. According to Lartey, Cummings and Profetto-McGrath (2014), distinctly defined goals enable employees to know and work towards what is expected of them as well as what will determine their accomplishments in the facility. The setting of objectives helps the human resources in helping their employees to be independent when it comes to prioritizing tasks. It keeps them on track hence enhancing their performance and ultimately an improved employee satisfaction.