MHA FPX 5010 Assessment 1 Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Student Name

Capella University

MHA FPX5010

Professor Name

Submission Date

Nor’easter Medical Center Hospital

Client Name

Date: ____________

Re: Strategic Core Concepts

Purpose of Report

Nor’easter Medical Center is a not-for-profit hospital that helps multiple counties across Maine with its commitment to offering compassionate and excellent care to a diverse patient population, with the majority being rural. The American Hospital Association (AHA) Environmental Scan addressed the current Health Equity issues at the hospital, which have been summarized here. The report stresses the significance of strategic planning to decrease inequities in access, affordability, and patient outcomes by analyzing inequities in access and affordability and ensuring that this is done in line with an organization’s goals.

This analysis will consider how Nor’easter can develop specific strategies as an active participant to ensure it delivers fairness in its provision of care, in its distribution of resources, and in its organizational sustainability without otherwise compromising its mission and vision. Strategic planning is included in this report to identify the critical role that operational decision-making plays in addressing inequity, improving patient safety and health outcomes in communities that are underserved.

Strategic Planning Importance

Leaders in the healthcare sector need to learn how to strategically plan to help tackle complex systems-level challenges such as inequitable access to healthcare, social determinants of health, and service disparities. Through strategic planning, leaders can anticipate the needs of the community and use aggressive measures to meet those needs, while also helping to ensure that organizational development is successful. Strategic planning is particularly important for Nor’easter Medical Center as this hospital is facing an influx of patients after the pandemic, financial constraints, and staffing problems, all impacting vulnerable populations.

The AHA Environmental Scan suggests an urgent need to address the problem of inequity in the health system, as there is a continuous gap in access to services and a need for cultural competence and inclusion of perspectives. Nor’easter would be unable to accomplish its mission and vision to become a leader in healthcare excellence without conscious strategies for health and equality. The strategic planning would help the hospital move its resources closer to equity goals, improve the quality of patient care, and create an atmosphere that would foster a welcoming and inclusive environment for patients. Personally, as a healthcare leader, I would like to learn to be a strategic planner so as to be able to build equity and sustain organizational performance broadly and in the long term.

Strategic Core Concepts

There are several elements to strategic planning, and without these elements the organization will not be successful in the long term. The mission also sets out the core mission or its aims and the values to be used in decision-making. This vision is what the organisation hopes to be and is a beacon to help achieve this. Goals are short-term and long-term goals that link the vision to the mission and are measurable. As for the action plan to accomplish these goals, it is called strategy; a philosophy is the organization’s approach, such as bringing attention to patient-centered care or innovation. Actions like the introduction of equity initiatives, community outreach, specific services, etc., that put the strategy into action are known as tactics and take the organization toward the goal are known as actions.

For Nor’easter Medical Center, these have been critical strategic elements to help address the issues of health inequity. This hospital’s job is to make the community healthier: there should be a conscious shift in the inequalities of access, affordability, and quality of care, particularly in the case of vulnerable sections of society in rural areas. Because of its vision on healthcare excellence, the need to restore equity-based performance indicators that were marred by the pandemic and post-pandemic pressures is brought to the fore. Immediate issues include greater engagement with communities, improving access to essential services, and implementing measures to reduce inequalities in the delivery of services to those that are less served.

To achieve these objectives, strategic programs need to focus on improving how the program operates and on sustainment of services based on equity. Culturally competent care, patient navigation programs, and technology solutions to identify and address barriers to care are some of the methods that can be implemented. The congruent strategies would be direct efforts to underserved populations, increasing the use of telehealth, and collaborating with communities to increase affordability and access.

Next Steps

Based on the American Hospital Association (AHA) 2023 Environmental Scan, there are specific strategies that should be implemented by Nor’easter Medical Center that target internal and external health equity trends. One of these is to enhance access to equitable provision of healthcare services by partnering up with local schools, colleges, and universities to create clinical rotations, community health internships, and employment opportunities for students who might want to pursue careers in healthcare.

The partnerships will help increase the hospital’s capacity to serve its underserved populations and establish a culture of the hospital’s practitioners being culturally competent. Secondly, provide flexibility to staff members who do not work directly with clients, as they can play a role in enhancing job satisfaction and retention, and in ensuring an employee workforce reflects community diversity.

Additionally, there is a need to incorporate technology into its work to help create health equity at Nor’eater. Telehealth, patient navigation, and data-driven solutions can help identify patient gaps, minimize disparities, and improve patient communication with rural/underserved patients. Not only does this help to simplify administrative tasks, but it also helps to provide more timely, available, and patient-centered care. Additionally, internal leadership development processes can be established, and staff can be promoted to new roles revolving around community health and equity initiatives that have a positive impact on the organization in the long term and boost employee morale.

Nor’easter should use a variety of tools for strategic analysis to evaluate and optimise these initiatives. A SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) will allow it to determine areas of strength, such as positive relationships with the community and value-oriented cultures among the population, as well as areas of weakness, such as limited finances and potential lack of workers. External factors, such as (but not limited to) competition in the region, policy changes, and changes in the population which could affect access to healthcare, can also be considered.

Furthermore, this use of PESTLE allows the organization to consider more of the environmental factors which could impact the provision of fair service, including economic, regulatory, and technological changes. The tools can be applied to help ensure that Nor’easter is responsive to the community’s needs and is responsive to the needs of the underserved populations, by monitoring continually, forecasting the weather, and implementing strategies as needed.

Closing Remarks

The chronic inequality in health access and outcomes that exists in the region, and the need to improve overall operational efficiency, will be paramount in the strategic planning work that will be key in solving the problem at Nor’eater Medical Center. AHA Environmental Scan identified the following key characteristics to be applied: equitable approach, use of new technologies, and responsiveness to the needs of all populations. The hospital will be able to regain its performance by getting proactive and equity-oriented efforts in line with the hospital’s mission and becoming one of the best in the industry in healthcare excellence.