STRATEGIC PLAN
Institution Affiliation
Student Name
Date
Section 1: Summary of the Issue
The strategic plan that Saint Barnabas Medical Centre wants to implement focuses on the improvement of all its processes by 20%. The plan aligns with the Kaizen philosophy of continuous and systematic improvement. The strategic plan emphasizes the adoption of care delivery protocols in an attempt to improve the center’s processes and overall operations. In addition, the plan is aligned with the center’s mission statement; promote the health and well-being of our community through compassionate nursing care and innovation. Furthermore, the plan will also help the center meets its vision of empowering itself as well as others to maintain optimum health.
Background:
Since the center is a non-profit medical center, little emphasis is placed on income generation. Consequentially, the services offered by the institution do not match the majority of for-profit medical centers that have similar characteristics as Saint Barnabas Medical Center. One current issue that faces the center is the lack of collaboration and coordination among the physicians and nurses at the institution. Due to the lack of collaboration, the institution has faced a high nursing turn over between 2017 and 2019. The organization has experienced a high employee turnover rate of 27% in 2019 compared to the previous year (Inc. Fact, 2020). Furthermore, due to the lack of collaboration, there has been little growth in terms of the patients that the center serves in comparison to other medical centers. Lastly, the organization's revenue has declined; in 2019, the center recorded approximately $500 million in revenue whereas in 2018 the center recorded approximately $700 million in revenue.
The lack of advanced patient safety protocols in the surgical and operation rooms similar to Morristown Medical Center supports the need for a strategic plan at the institution to improve all its processes. There is a need for the institution to integrate evidence-based practice in handling patients, medical records, and generally in the running of the center. The main challenge that prompted the strategic change at Saint Barnabas Medical Center is high employee turnover and a reduced number of patients seeking services at the center, (Bean, 2018).
Literature:
Evidence-based practice is crucial in improving the overall quality of patient care, boosts nursing practices, and increases confidence in the decision-making process. Nurses and physicians are placed in a clinical setting to enhance the quality of healthcare services that are based on knowledge and research. According to Alatawi, et.al, 2020, nurses that provide care using scientific evidence make better decisions that concern the delivery of services and care. The advantages of integration of EBP include: “EBP ensures that health professionals are delivering patient care that is innovative and, thus, guaranteeing better outcomes for patients. Evidence-based practice also contributes to the science of nursing and increases the confidence in decision-making, resulting in ideal outcomes. Finally, EBP maintains certain health practices relevant and current,” (Alatawi, et.al, 2020). Lack of nurse knowledge about EBP and lack of resources to support research and knowledge which is crucial in patient care is some of the barriers that inhibit the implementation of evidence-based practice in the nursing profession.
Groups that addressed the issue in the past:
An example of an institution that had similar issues to Saint Barnabas Medical center but resolved its issues is the flagship hospital of West Orange. The organization integrated evidence-based practice after it realized that its inefficacy was as a result of poor processes around care delivery, (Bean, 2018). For example, in 2017, the hospital decided to control all infections using EBP by enforcing cleanliness improvement measures. The hospital enforced that the healthcare environment should at all. The implementation of the improvement strategy in the facility helped boost so many activities and clinical practices that have improved the quality of care and the center’s decision making processes.
Stakeholders: The stakeholders that should be included in the planning and implementation process of the plan include the executive committee of the center, the administration, and management of the center, department, and unit heads. All the stakeholders are key decision-makers of the institution.
Section 2: Swot Analysis
Saint Barnabas Medical Center is an accredited acute care hospital that offers a comprehensive array of services including cancer care, neurosurgical services, and cardiac care. The hospital is committed to the provision of quality and excellent patient care and promotes patient safety and to achieve this, the organization wants to increase its scope through strategic planning of integrating evidence-based practice through the clinical excellence and effectiveness program. A SWOT analysis will help understand the performance of the organization in the health industry and how the strategic plan will improve its processes and overall improve the institution.
strengths: The organization has a robust medical library that can help facilitate evidence-based practices and research among healthcare professionals. The departments and units can use the available resources to research on EBP for proper implementation. This is a major strength for the organization because the resource opens an opportunity for the hospital staff to increase their knowledge of EBP. In addition, the institution has a strong organizational culture. As much as there is little collaboration amongst the organization’s employees, the employees have good relationships amongst themselves. By leveraging and improving the existing relationships, the organization can improve collaboration which can have a positive ripple effect on care delivery. The nurses, physicians, and caregivers can coordinate better with each other to avoid medical errors and poor outcomes or decisions that can compromise patient safety.
Weaknesses: The main weakness of the center is that it has not fully adopted EBP in its operations. Consequently, its health services are not the best. The center relies on old nursing and treatment procedures to offer care. By adopting EBP and newer health practices, the center will efficiently offer relevant services. The center will reduce its costs, reduce its employee and patient turnover. Furthermore, the center will be strategically placed to be one of the top medical centers in its region.
Opportunities: Due to advancements in technology, the institution has the opportunity to leverage technology to improve its processes. For example, the institution can adopt telehealth to increase the number of patients that it serves. Telehealth is effective in service delivery more so for patients that are in remote areas. Through EBP telehealth, the center will ensure that as many people as people receive healthcare.
Threats: The threats that the organization faces include; competitors are expanding their services through acquisition which increases revenues in the industry. These organizations provide superior services and products to patients across New Jersey hence making it harder for the center to deliver healthcare, (Inc. Fact, 2020). The competitors have advanced technology and EBP programs that pose a threat to the survival of the organization. Saint Barnabas Medical Center can adopt the use of EBP to challenge its competitors. Through the adoption of EBP, the center will retain a large number of its patients.
Through the proposed strategic plan, the center will reduce its weakness and threats. In addition, it will leverage its strengths and opportunities to improve health care delivery as well as the overall performance of the center.
References
Alatawi, M., Aljuhani, E., Alsufiany, F., Aleid, K., Rawah, R., Aljanabi, S., & Banakhar, M. (2020). Barriers of Implementing Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing Profession: A Literature Review. American Journal of Nursing, 9(1), 35-42. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/10.11648.j.ajns.20200901.16.pdf
The article discusses the barriers of implementing EBP and is, therefore, is useful for the assignment considering that the assignment is on EBP. The article is relevant, reliable, and up to date. The article has been posted on the American journal of nursing science a renowned journal for medical and health studies and journals.
Bean, M. (2018). How Saint Barnabas Medical Center laid the groundwork for its physician-led quality improvement program. Retrieved from https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/how-saint-barnabas-medical-center-laid-the-groundwork-for-its-physician-led-quality-improvement-program.html
The article is relevant considering it is up to date article. The authors of the article are credible and offer verifiable information. The article analyses the improvement measures that Saint Barnabas Medical Center has taken to improve its process. The article provides a good basis and foundation for the best strategic plan for the center. It offers information on what has been improved and that which further needs improvement in the center.
Black, A. T., Balneaves, L. G., Garossino, C., Puyat, J. H., & Qian, H. (2015). Promoting evidence-based practice through a research training program for point-of-care clinicians. The Journal of nursing administration, 45(1), 14. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4263611/
The article is appropriate and relevant for the assignment as it based on ways of implementing evidence-based practices as well as the benefits of the practices. The article is reliable as it has been published in a reliable database for health and medicine related topics. Furthermore, the article is relevant and can, therefore, be used for the study.
Inc. Fact. (2020). Barnabas Health Revenue, Growth & Competitor Profile. Retrieved from https://incfact.com/company/barnabashealth-westorange-nj/
The article looks at the Saint Barnabas Medical Center’s performance for 2019 and the previous year. The article acts as a good reference point as to why the organization needs to implement a strategic plan that will see the organization improve its processes. The article is also appropriate as it is written by credible authors. The authors are known for offering accurate annual performances of organizations and institutions.
QKhalid
STRATEGICPLAN1-2.docx
0
