Let It Pour Case Study

Let it Pour

Case Study

H. Lewis Davis

University of Phoenix

MGT/330

Jennifer Buchholz

July 5, 2005

Let it Pour

Introduction

. Overview of Project

There is an escalating problem facing all operations of the Faith Community Hospital. From administrative staff members to nurses and doctors, all personnel appear to have confused the intent and scope of Faith Community Hospital's vision. Faith Community Hospital's mission statement is as follows: "With the foundation and commitment of our spiritual heritage and values, our mission is to promote the health and well-being of the people in the communities we serve through a comprehensive continuum of services provided in collaboration with the partners who share the same vision and values."

The mission of Faith Community Hospital is the commitment to maintain its spiritual heritage and values while providing health services to the community while retaining partners that share the same vision and values. Implementing and incorporating this misinterpreted mission statement is only the beginning for the new Chief Executive Officer Assistant (CEOA). Chris the new (CEOA) of Faith Community are facing various challenges with his staff as well as with appropriate operational procedures.

The purpose of this case study analysis is to address various situations and barriers management staff face and what alternative solutions could be implemented to overcome these barriers. Proposed solutions for these problems will be discussed, in addition to the rationale for proposed solutions.

Triggering Event

One of the main problems that Faith Community is bombarded with is media presenting headlines regarding medical errors. The media coverage states that tens of thousands of medical errors cause death each year, close to 100,000 in hospitals alone; this problem does not assist in bringing new patients to the hospital. This quandary can have various repercussions for example, facing decrease in-patients and in turn, the amount of services the hospital provides.

The decrease in-patients significantly affect hospital revenue and in turn its budget. Since there are fixed costs, the hospital must treat patients and operate on this budget regardless of how many patients it receives, and a decrease in-patients means a reduction in revenue. Having less income but not having a comparative decrease in operating costs may force the CEO to curtail expenditures.

The budget needs to be modified to accommodate the change in revenue, which could include a reduction in staff, limited availability of specialists, staff, or equipment, and having to turn away patients who may not have the ability to pay. Each of these scenarios could have a negative affect on the hospital to some capacity. Considering the rising costs of insurance for the hospital, this concludes that this issue is pertinent to the hospitals financial continuation.

Background of Problem

Currently, there is an innumerable array of legitimate concerns plaguing Faith Community Hospital. Consequently, the concerns have become interwoven into the daily operations that the stability of the hospital has become imperiled. Three significant issues need to be addressed and are currently effecting the internal operation of the facility.

The first problem the hospital is facing includes the contradictory views of how to implement the mission statement within the medical environment, including the variance of views among different groups including shareholders, board of directors and staff. Patients feel that they should have the right to refuse medical treatments based on their beliefs, including the implementation of (DNR) do-not-resuscitate orders, or the refusal of surgeries due to his or her religious beliefs. While at the same time, doctors and nurses are faced with having to uphold their Hippocratic Oaths while balancing their own beliefs and interpretation of the mission statement of the hospital.

For example, they may not perform a treatment due to their beliefs, which a patient may want or need. This means that another doctor will need to be located to perform the treatment. Incorporated in this problem are external factors including outside organizations, such as the Department of Child and Family Services? This organization is adding to the disarray by being allowed the power to potentially override decisions made by the medical staff or family and take children away if he or she feels the proper medical decisions are not being made.

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The second important issuing facing Pat and Chris is the escalating costs of healthcare and the most effective way of being fiscally responsible. Although Faith Community Hospital is technically a "not for profit " organization, the Board of Directors still expect a profit. Contrastly, Faith Community Hospital is experiencing a steep decline in-patient population. The seven- percent patient population drop has effectively hindered the operating budget and cash flow expectations, which may require substantial cutbacks in operating funds.

Thirdly, Faith Community Hospital is endeavoring to understand and handle the discombobulated system of coverage provided by numerous insurance companies. It has been hard to ascertain what insurance company is going to provide coverage for the patients. Hence, when insurance companies do not pay for services rendered, the hospital is left to absolve the costs, which ultimately affects the already dwindling bottom line. The situation involving the increasing healthcare costs are problematic at best, but Chris and Pat must show care and compassion. Perhaps, a resolution to this circumstance should involve cost saving measures coupled with innovative techniques to ensure employee loyalty and job satisfaction.

Critical Thinking Components

Critical thinking is thinking that proceeds on the basis of careful evaluation of premises and evidence and comes to conclusions as objectively as possible through consideration of all pertinent factors and the use of valid procedures from logic (Callahan, 1998). Often the pertinent factors and the validity of the logic used in critical thinking are questionable. Consequently, Faith Community Hospital staff has routinely used the