HC002 Strategic Planning Needs Analysis

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 University

NURS 6241 Strategic Planning in Health Care Organizations

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Date

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a crucial process undertaken by every organization to delineate its direction. This process aids in identifying areas of excellence and areas needing improvement. According to Martin (2018), strategic planning involves proactive measures, enabling everyone to comprehend the overarching goal and potential risks along the way. This paper delves into a specific strategic planning issue and proposes solutions to address it.

Strategic Plan Issue

The current strategic plan issue revolves around labor shortages, a challenge prevalent across various career fields, particularly affecting healthcare at Hackensack Meridian Health. Healthcare shortages are escalating due to factors such as burnout, aging workforce, and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic (The University of Southern California, 2022). Gardner (2022) highlights the concerning trend of nurse refusal rates for Covid-19 vaccinations and its implications. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2022) notes a significant decline in the supply of registered nurses (RNs), with a considerable number leaving the workforce, particularly younger nurses employed in hospitals.

Mission, Vision, and Values

Hackensack Meridian Health’s mission is to revolutionize healthcare and be acknowledged as a catalyst for positive change. Their vision entails delivering patient-centered, accessible, and affordable high-quality care efficiently. The organization values prioritizing the delivery of superior care to patients. However, labor shortages pose a significant impediment to fulfilling these mission, vision, and values.

Addressing the Issue

Addressing labor shortages, especially in healthcare, is paramount for both organizational sustainability and patient well-being. Nursing shortages can lead to adverse outcomes such as medication errors, increased patient-to-staff ratios, nursing burnout, and heightened mortality rates (Haddad, Annamaraju, & Toney-Butler, 2022). Adequate staffing is imperative for ensuring safe patient care and conducive work environments. Long-term solutions entail adjusting shift scheduling, providing resources to combat burnout, advocating for staff welfare, and examining nurse workload.

Previous Attempts

Various strategies have been employed to mitigate healthcare shortages, including loosening licensing requirements, offering monetary incentives, and supporting educational programs (National Conference of State Legislators, 2022). However, these measures have not yielded long-term solutions. The current approach of resorting to contract nursing, though temporarily alleviating short staffing, remains a stopgap measure with inherent limitations.

Organizational Strengths

Hackensack Meridian Health boasts strengths such as personalized care and high success rates across multiple specialties. Personalized care ensures individualized treatment for each patient, fostering diversity and tailored interventions. Additionally, the organization’s track record of excellence, as evidenced by numerous Healthgrades Excellence Awards, underscores its commitment to quality care delivery (Hackensack Meridian Health, 2022).

Organizational Weaknesses

Despite its strengths, Hackensack Meridian Health grapples with weaknesses, including prolonged patient wait times and high staff turnover rates. These weaknesses are interconnected, with staff turnover exacerbating patient care delays and diminishing patient experiences. Research indicates that prolonged wait times adversely affect patient outcomes and satisfaction (Alrasheedi et al., 2019).

Market Opportunities

Opportunities for improvement lie in attracting quality staff through sign-on bonuses and enhancing cost-effectiveness to mitigate patient dissatisfaction stemming from extended wait times. Highlighting incentives for prospective employees and optimizing cost-effective care delivery can enhance organizational appeal and patient satisfaction.

Environmental Threats

Environmental threats such as negative patient experiences and stiff staff competition pose challenges to organizational stability. Poor patient experiences can tarnish the organization’s reputation, while heightened staff competition exacerbates staffing shortages. Addressing these threats necessitates enhancing patient experiences and implementing strategies to retain skilled staff.

Conclusion

Strategic planning is indispensable for guiding organizational direction and identifying areas for improvement. Labor shortages represent a significant challenge requiring continuous innovation and implementation of effective solutions. By addressing issues proactively, organizations can mitigate the impact of labor shortages on patient care and organizational performance.

References

Alrasheedi, K., AL-Mohaithef, M., Edrees, H., & Chandramohan, S. (2019). The association between wait times and patient outcomes: A systematic literature review. Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333392819861246

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2022). Nursing shortage. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. https://www.aacnnursing.org/news-information/factsheets/nursing-shortage

Baker, E. (2017). Planning effective stakeholder management strategies: Development. PMI. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/planning-effective-stakeholder-management-strategiesdevelopment-6058

Brown, C. (2017). Balanced scorecard implementation in a school of nursing: A case study analysis. Planning for Higher Education, 45(4), 1–14.

Gardner, S. (2022). The impact of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate on the nursing profession. American Bar Association. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/health_law/publications/aba_health_esource/2021-2022/july-2022/theimpact-of-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-on-the-nursing-profession/

Hackensack Meridian Health. (2022). HMH hospitals nationally recognized by Healthgrades for excellence. Hackensack Meridian Health. https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/News/2022/11/01/HMH-Hospitals-Nationally-Recognizedby-Healthgrades-for-Excellence

NURS 6241 Assessment 2 HC002 Strategic Planning Needs Analysis

Haddad, L., Annamaraju, P., & Toney-Butler, T. (2022). Nursing shortage. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493175/

Hastings, B. (2021). How the nursing shortage is impacting nurses and patients. Factum Consulting Ltd. https://www.factumltd.com/nursing-shortageimpacting-nurses-patients/

Martin, B. C. (2018). Strategic planning in healthcare: An introduction for health professionals. Springer Publishing Company.

Muir, J., Wanchek, T., Lobo, J., & Keim-Malpass, J. (2021). Evaluating the costs of nurse burnout-attributed turnover: A Markov modeling approach. Journal of Patient Safety. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35617593/

National Conference of State Legislators. (2022). Brief addressing nursing shortages: Options for states. National Conference of State Legislatures. https://www.ncsl.org/health/addressingnursing-shortages-options-for-states

Penner, S. J. (2016). Economics and financial management for nurses and nurse leaders (3rd ed.). Springer Publishing Company.

Ramer, C. (2023). Strategic planning basics. Balanced Scorecard Institute. https://balancedscorecard.org/strategic-planning-basics/

Resonate. (2022). How often do you conduct a strategic analysis? Resonate. https://www.resonate.com.au/blog/how-often-do-you-conduct-a-strategic-analysis/

The University of Southern California. (2022). Staffing shortages in healthcare. USC MPH. https://mphdegree.usc.edu/blog/staffing-shortages-in-health-care/

USDoctors. (2020). Guide – all you need to know about clinical rotations. USDoctors.co. https://usdoctors.co/clinical-rotations-guide/

NURS 6241 Assessment 2 HC002 Strategic Planning Needs Analysis