HSM541 All Assignments (July 2019)

HSM 541 Health Services System

WEEK 2 YOU DECIDE ACTIVITY

Scenario Summary

You are the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Middlefield Hospital. Middlefield Hospital is a 450-bed tertiary care facility in a major urban area in the Northeast. The hospital is an integrated health system that provides the full array of inpatient and outpatient services. The hospital enjoys a reputation for quality care in the area.

As the new CEO, you have learned that the hospital’s employee turnover rate exceeds 20%, and there are over 100 nursing vacancies. You have also learned the following facts that may be impacting these workforce shortages.

A new hospital has recently opened in your market area that has produced competition for Middlefield Hospital.

Employee morale has deteriorated over the last 12 months.

Essex University (a local college) is considering eliminating its nursing degree program because there is continual difficulty in recruiting well-qualified instructors.

Your Role/Assignment

The board of directors has asked that you provide a 750-word report detailing your strategies and recommendations to overcome the workforce shortages and to improve employee morale. The strategies and recommendations should be as specific as possible and include the resources needed for implementation.

*Include a follow-up paragraph on how your recommendations would, or would not, change if a new federal law was passed that provided free nursing education to all students who work in an underserved area (which you would qualify) with rationale and justification.

Your primary text and journal and website research must be used as a reference to support your analysis.

Available Resources

Review the points of view of the following people to obtain further insights on this assignment.

Key Players

Dr. Rusty Gates: Internist

I have been admitting patients to Middlefield Hospital for 5 years. However, I recently moved my practice to the new hospital across town. The new hospital has much better facilities and the technology is state of the art. The staff appear much more invested in the quality of patient care and my patients seem happier.

Eileen Wright: Board Member for Middlefield Hospital

From my perspective, the employee morale at Middlefield has declined over the last 12 months. More and more employees are leaving Middlefield to go to the new hospital, and we have staffing shortages in most areas. The director of nursing is a great leader, but he is having difficulty retaining nursing staff. I am not sure what to do, but I don’t want the reputation of the hospital to suffer.

Anne Teaks: Registered Nurse for Middlefield Hospital

I have worked for Middlefield Hospital for 22 years. This hospital has always been committed to high quality in patient care. These nursing shortages have occurred many times through the years, and we will get through this one as well. I don’t like that we are short of staff on many shifts, but we all have to pitch in and make sure our patients get the care they need.

 

HSM 541 Health Services System

WEEK 6 YOU DECIDE ACTIVITY

Scenario Summary

You have been the Director of Operations for Middlefield Hospital for 2 and a half years and finally resolved the workforce challenges that plagued the hospital, and in particular the mental health unit. In a recent meeting, the chief financial officer (CFO) indicated that the financial performance of the hospital’s mental health unit has been deteriorating over the last 6 months. The hospital is not meeting its budget and he is concerned about the future. The new facility across town has continued to cut into Middlefield’s market share by admitting more patients. The number of admissions to Middlefield Hospital is declining each month, and more uninsured patients are seeking services at your facility. You convene the Middlefield Hospital management team and discover a few interesting facts, which are identified below.

The payer mix of Middlefield Hospital is comprised of more and more Medicare, Medicaid, and uninsured patients, and fewer patients have commercial insurance. This is reducing overall reimbursement and net income for the hospital.

The nearby hospital that competes with Middlefield has opened a wellness center that offers a comprehensive array of preventative and wellness services to the community. This facility is attracting young families to seek services at this location.

Most of Middlefield’s managed care contracts are more than 2 years old. There are little reliable utilization and reimbursement data available. No one at Middlefield Hospital is assigned to manage these contracts or maintain ongoing relationships with managed care companies.

The Joint Commission survey is scheduled for next year, and there are significant problems with the hospital’s quality improvement program.

The health plan offered to employees is getting more expensive each year. In fact, the costs are increasing at a rate of 20% each year. This is adding significantly to the hospital’s operational costs.

The inpatient mental health services and neonatal intensive care unit continue to lose money for the hospital.

Your Role/Assignment

The board of directors has asked that you provide a 750-word report (double-spaced in APA or other Devry-approved format) detailing your strategies and recommendations to improve the financial performance of the hospital by focusing on the mental health unit. The strategies and recommendations should be as specific as possible and include identifying resources that are necessary to implement the strategies. Also, describe the outcomes expected from implementing your recommendations. Your primary text and journal and website research must be used as a reference to support your analysis. Use at least three references.

Available Resources

Review the points of view of the following people to obtain further insight on this assignment.

Key Players

Dr. McCrae: Psychiatrist

I am a psychiatrist and admit my patients to the mental health inpatient unit at Middlefield. It is the only psychiatric inpatient unit available in the community, and the care provided is excellent. I understand the program loses money, but the hospital has a community obligation to offer services to patients who need mental health care.

Aretha Holly: Pharmacy Technician

I love the health plan offered by Middlefield Hospital. The plan really meets the needs of my family. The copays and deductibles are so low and I get my prescriptions for free. Also, I can go to any provider I choose. I hope they don’t make any changes to the plan, because I am worried that I may not be able to afford it.

Barbara Seville: Director of Quality Improvement

Middlefield’s quality improvement activities are not effective anymore. We do lots of data collection and reporting, but there is little improvement in the quality of care. Most staff members believe that we already provide quality patient care and don’t see why we are putting resources into this function. I think we are relying too much on our past reputation.

 

HSM 541 Health Services System

WEEK 3 WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT

Use Google search, the DeVry-Keller Online Library, and/or one of the approved websites posted in the Web Resources section of the Course Resources page to find a research article(s) related to nonprofit versus for-profit healthcare and organizations. Analyze the characteristics of each type of organization and the factors that impact operations. Discuss options to improve the financial and operational performance of nonprofit organizations and the criticisms leveled at for-profit healthcare organizations.

Your resultant written paper should not exceed 4 pages,(cover and reference pages do not count as part of the pages), double-spaced, and in APA or other approved DeVry-Keller format/style. Your primary text and the journal and website research article must be used as references to support your analysis and summary paper. Use at least three references.

Please review the grading rubric for all written weekly assignments in the Syllabus, and post your finished paper as a Word document.

Don’t forget to submit your assignment.

 

HSM 541 Health Services System

WEEK 5 WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT

Go to the website for the American Hospital Association (AHA) at the following web address:http://www.aha.org/ (Links to an external site.).

Click on the Advocacy tab and find the Issues for You subtab at the top of the web page. Under this area, there are current issues being addressed by the AHA (access and coverage, affordability, etc.). Choose one of these issues and complete a 3-4 pages paper related to why this is an issue and how it impacts the U.S. healthcare delivery system. Describe the problems associated with the issue and what is being done by the AHA and other stakeholder groups to address it. Finally, choose one recommendation that you believe would be most effective in resolving the issue. Justify your recommendations and be as specific as possible.

Your resultant written paper should not exceed 4 pages (cover and reference pages do not count as part of the pages), double-spaced, and in APA or other approved DeVry-Keller format and style. Your primary text and the journal and website research article must be used as references to support your analysis and summary paper. You must use at least three professional references.

Please review the grading rubric for all written weekly assignments in the Syllabus, and post your finished paper as a Word document.

Don’t forget to submit your assignment.

 

HSM 541 Health Services System

WEEK 7 Course Project

Research Paper and PowerPoint Presentation

Introduction

This Course Project gives you the opportunity to select a problem that currently exists in our healthcare system and analyze its implications on our healthcare system. The Research Paper should critically analyze the issues related to the topic and identify key strategies for improvement. In order to meet the project requirements, it is important to identify an issue or problem within the healthcare system. Please analyze and review the grading rubric to understand why this is important. The PowerPoint presentation is a visual technology tool to support a live presentation to a specific group of stakeholders (e.g., leadership team, board of directors, community and public interest group, etc.). Both web references and professional journals should be considered as references. Don’t overlook the Keller Online Library as an important source of information for your paper. The Research Paper should include 8–10 references in APA or another approved format.

See a more detailed grading rubric below.

The Course Project has two deliverables due in Week 7.

Research Paper: The length of the Research Paper should be approxi-mately five to seven pages, double-spaced in MS Word and include 8-10 references in APA or another approved format.

PowerPoint Presentation: The length of the PowerPoint presentation should be approximately 10–15 slides with relevant speaker’s notes and include a minimum of three audio-visual components (e.g., images, figures, tables, audio and/or video links, etc.). Follow these guidelines to create your PowerPoint presentation.

Include a cover slide with the course number, course title, title of the PowerPoint presentation, your full name, and date.

Title of Presentation: Course Project: PowerPoint Presentation

Insert headers or titles or subtitles on each slide.

Insert page and slide number.

Keep it simple but engaging. Use appropriate images and graphics to illustrate and complement your presentation.

Number of slides: 10–15 slides

Complete a minimum of three of the 10–15 PowerPoint slides with an audio or visual component to present, explain, and bring to life your presentation. Show enthusiasm and speak with proper volume and inflection to maintain audience interest and attention.

Possible Course Project Topics

Describe the problems with our multiple reimbursement systems.

Discuss how a single-payer system may improve access and cost containment in the U.S. healthcare system.

Evaluate the lack of reimbursement environments for preventive healthcare programs and evaluate the effectiveness of the current reimbursement patterns. Propose solutions for expanding these programs.

Describe the problems in the U.S. healthcare system and how we might use another nation’s healthcare system for reform. Evaluate how a new system would improve access to care, quality of care, and the efficient utilization of resources.

Choose one particular form of complementary (nontraditional, alternative) medicine and explain why it may not be accepted by insurance providers or reimbursed by insurance companies. Describe its clinical approach and effectiveness, evaluate its economic impact, and review its potential for mainstream use, including future licensing and third-party reimbursement.

Evaluate the problem of fraud and abuse in the current U.S. healthcare system. Analyze the effectiveness of the OIG’s Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Program, and analyze effective actions healthcare organizations can take to decrease their liabilities in this area, offering examples.

Critically evaluate the readiness and the effectiveness of the U.S. Healthcare Delivery System in responding to a widespread bioterrorism event. Propose changes as appropriate to your analysis.

Discuss some of the problems in measuring quality in the healthcare environment and investigate quality measurement. Provide options for quality measurement and the processes that could be measured in a healthcare setting.

Critically evaluate the use of technology in healthcare and the challenges it presents in healthcare delivery. Offer specific examples or situations addressing technology’s contributions to improving the quality of health and healthcare. Consider the impact on healthcare costs and analyze trade-offs.

Describe the problem of medical errors in our delivery system. Evaluate the effectiveness of selected programs aimed at reducing medical errors in the U.S. healthcare system. Discuss one or more of the most effective measures identified to date and make recommendations for additional action.

Note: Other topics related to course content and COs will be considered but only as approved in advance by your instructor.