Response to two peers in the discussion board

Week 6 Discussion Prompt

Finding ways to save money is an important part of every business plan. How would you handle this dilemma that Lee was faced with? Place yourself in the role of a healthcare leader, you are faced with limited resources and budget constraints.  How do you address the needs of your patients under these conditions?  How do you maintain morale when the financial decision-making stakeholder dictates a reduction in resources (hours, staff, supplies, etc.) while maintaining normal business operations?

Weekly Discussion Guidelines

* Online discussions are an important component of the program and course. You are expected to respond to the discussion questions with your initial post by the 3rd day of the unit week. After the initial post, you will then respond to multiple peers to drive the weekly unit discussions. One peer response should occur on a different day of the unit from your initial discussion post.  You should respond to your peers throughout the unit week, but all responses need to be submitted no later than the last day of the unit week. 

* Each week your discussion will be graded on a point scale. In order to successfully complete each weekly discussion assignment, you will need to address all items included in the discussion topic/question, respond to peers thoughtfully, add value to the discussion, and apply ideas, insights, or concepts from scholarly sources, such as: journal articles, assigned readings, textbook material, lectures, course materials, or authoritative websites. For specific details and criteria, refer to the discussion rubric in the Menu (⋮) or in the Course Overview Weekly Discussion Guidelines. 

* Note: This is a fast-paced baccalaureate level course that will sometimes require significant effort to complete all assignments thoroughly, accurately, and on time. Late submissions will not be accepted for grading. Any submissions outside of the assigned unit week will not be counted. Please ensure that you plan accordingly and take steps to ensure you meet the assigned submission dates. 

*My post:

One of my primary roles as a healthcare leader is to ensure that my patients always receive high-quality treatment, regardless of how much money we have. Prioritizing and making well-informed decisions that benefit both patients and the organization are essential while working within strict financial limits.

If I were tasked with finding a solution to the healthcare system's funding crisis, I'd start by looking for ways to save money without lowering standards of care. Some examples of this might include improved supplier contract negotiations, less waste, and smarter resource management (Ledlow & Maryon, 2023). Patients, workers, and management should all have input into this process to ensure that everyone's needs are met.

While making decisions about resource distribution, it is crucial to preserve transparency and open communication with employees and patients. Employees should be educated about the reasons for the decrease in resources, and how it will effect their work. They need to be given a chance to weigh in with criticisms and ideas for improving the situation (Ledlow & Maryon, 2023). Changes to services should be communicated to patients, who should be assured that their care will not suffer as a result.

Recognizing and appreciating employees' efforts during trying times is essential to keeping morale high. Some examples of such actions are expanding existing training opportunities, highlighting employees' accomplishments, and providing access to counseling and EAPs (Figueroa et al, 2019). Staff members should be reminded of their importance to the company and the delivery of high-quality patient care.

In conclusion, it is crucial for healthcare leaders to put patients first and make educated choices about how to allocate limited resources. To do this, there must be honest dialogue, participation from all relevant parties, and a readiness to try new approaches that might result in cost savings without sacrificing quality. Staff morale can be maintained by open communication, acknowledgement of worker contributions, and the provision of support services to help employees deal with any difficulties they may encounter.

 

References

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw1qN3oZrpg

Ledlow, G. R., Bosworth, M., & Maryon, T. (2023). Leadership for health professionals: Theory, skills, and applications. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Figueroa, C. A., Harrison, R., Chauhan, A., & Meyer, L. (2019). Priorities and challenges for health leadership and workforce management globally: a rapid review. BMC health services research, 19(1), 1-11.

*******1st peer post:

My hospital had a situation where a new unit was supposed to open, so they hired enough staff to run the new unit. The unit was supposed to open within two months of hiring the new employees. An issue with supplies and wiring on the unit made opening the unit impossible for an additional six months. Because of this, we had too many nurses, and the budget did not support this. My organization started to cut back on staffing. They canceled traveler contracts first. They then started to place staff on call. They would put techs on call first as nurses could still take patients and be profitable to the organization. They also increased our rations to 7:1 and canceled their contract with the peritoneal dialysis company and cross-trained floor staff. This was unbelievably difficult for those months. I was a charge nurse during this period, and morale was extremely low. On my shift, I would bring in snacks or buy food with my money. Also, the staff on my unit would check in with each other to make sure they weren't drowning under the workload. Understandably nurses and tech quit, and the budget leveled out. Those decisions were hard; managing a budget is difficult when projects fail.

Answer to the 1st peer:

*******2nd peer post:

When it comes to the situation Lee was faced with, I think he handled it appropriately. In such an uneasy time in America, he chose to give move to his customers versus cutting back. This costly decision benefited him by attracting more customer. Sometimes, spending and giving more pays off.

      In healthcare, changes and decrease in revenue happen frequently. I notice significant changes in how many patients we see as snow birds come and go. I also notice that as we get busier, the staff we have tends to sign travel contracts to go be with their families during the holidays. When it comes to the safety of patients and staff, my company goes above and beyond to protect us. When short staffing occurs, incentives are provided to bring in more staff. Similar to Lee’s dilemma, spending more brings more people in. I also never feel that my company cuts back. I think that even when we are accelerating, we are very modest with our spending so when things go wrong and cut backs need to happen, we are already prepared.

      Maintaining the morale is something I find incredibly hard to do in healthcare when things change so frequently and short staffing has become our new norm. As a healthcare leader, providing support and reassurance to the staff is something I have sound to keep the morale alive. Despite the situation, making people feel important is an important leadership skill to implement so when  situations and cutbacks happen, the staff doesn’t feel any change (Cockerell, 2010).

Cockerell, L. (2010). Creating magic: 10 common sense leadership strategies from a life at Disney. Ebury Digital.

2nd peer response: