The conclusion paragraph needs to be at least 75 words.
Runninghead: LEGACY HEALTH SWOT ANALYSIS
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Legacy Health SWOT Analysis
Melody Bradley, Ali Ervilus, Laura Hingson, Richard Lex, Mika Sunago
Leadership and Management in Nursing and Health Care NUR 587
April 22, 2013
Dr. Jodi Protokowicz, PhD, RN
Legacy Health SWOT Analysis
Introduction
Health care reform has challenged the state of Oregon and its regional health care providers. These challenges have created the need to approach strategic planning from a long-term and short-term perspective. Legacy Health is positioned at the center of Oregon’s reform challenges and opportunities. Transformation is an organizational reality. A strength-based analysis supports discovery into our readiness to engage current and future challenges. This paper offers a summary of organizational strengths, weakness, external opportunities and threats as well as suggestions for strategic planning.
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats (SWOT) Analysis
A SWOT analysis is a valuable tool used by organizations to brainstorm on where the organization is doing its best and where the organization needs to improve (Chapman, 2012). By doing a assessment of Legacy Health structure and policies, the following SWOT analysis has been developed.
Legacy Health’s Strengths
Legacy Health is an organization with many locations throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, operating in different areas of health care consisting of hospitals, clinics, imaging locations, laboratory, drug testing sites, physical therapy locations, and hospice (legacy health, 2012). By providing the different services, Legacy Health can meet the needs of the community in different ways, focusing on improving the health of its employees and the communities it serves.
Legacy Health’s Weaknesses
Although Legacy Health has a large percentage of bachelor degree prepared nurses (52.59%) there is a low percentage of masters prepared nurses (3.51%) this could be considered a weakness because higher educated nurses use evidence-based practice to provide the most up-to-date and quality care for patients (Altmann, 2011). By increasing the amount of master’s prepared nurses the organization can ensure that the safest and quality care to the communities that they serve.
External Opportunities
Marriner-Tomey (2009) punctuates the importance of an assessment of external factors that create organizational opportunities. Aligning a thoughtful assessment and a responsible plan positions Legacy Health to respond to historical, existing, and future external factors in a way that can have a positive influence on our resources and our outcomes.
Technological
Legacy Health has implemented EPIC as the electronic medical record (EMR) in 2011 in all six hospitals as part of the meaningful use incentive promoted by Obamacare. Legacy’s strategic plan includes optimizing EMR use by timely updates on the EPIC. Legacy is slated to implement its biggest upgrading of EPIC version in spring 2014. Recent JOINT COMMISSION surveys have proved that Legacy’s implementation of EPIC has been very positive for patient safety and quality measurements. In alignment to our current federal government proposal, Legacy has condition to increase engagement in different channels (online, digital, etc.) and access points (e.g., retail outlets, telehealth) (Legacy Health, 2012).
Political
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) set aside $1.9 billion for Oregon to launch it pilot program supporting Oregon’s plan to move its Medicaid patient populations in coordinated care organizations (CCO) (Oregon Health Authority, 2013). Senior leadership engaged strategic opportunity early in state discussion and planning of coordinated care. Collaborative work completed in 2012 led to the creation of Health Share of Oregon that will serve as the state’s largest CCO (Health Share of Oregon, 2013). Legacy Health’s position within Health Share as founding member and CEO Dr. George Brown as Health Share Chairman sets our six-hospital system squarely in position to serve as a hospital portal for coordinated care.
Competitive
Legacy Health is very competitive in that they offer many services, and this allows them to compete with organizations that do not offer the services. By offering these and many other services they, increase revenue and become more competitive for other organizations. Legacy Health has mission and vision-based care, and this makes it harder for the other organizations to compete with Legacy Health. Legacy Health has received many awards for the quality of care that they provide and this makes the competition harder.
Regulatory
Because Legacy Health is a large hospital system, regulatory surveys could demonstrate to be challenging, however just within the last three months one of Legacy’s hospitals – Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital has welcomed Joint Commission to survey and has achieved successfully its accreditation in more than 10 clinical practice areas. In addition, the oncology department has also received the accreditation from College of Surgeons, Breast Health accreditation, and Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy. Legacy continues to thrive on “high-performance culture” to increase accreditation power in different specialties (Legacy Health, 2012).
Social
Legacy Health hospitals are composed of six hospitals in the Pacific Northwest, Portland – Oregon. Legacy serves the large population of Portland as well as patient populations from cities over Oregon attracted to its care and specialty programs such as bloodless surgery, kidney transplant program, stem cell transplant program, breast health center, and the burn unit. However, with the increasing quality scores and accreditation results Legacy has a good opportunity to increase specific patient clientele to its specialized care.
Economic (Ali)
The economic segment of the external environment includes the GDP, interest rates, personal and business savings rates, and trade and budget surpluses. Interest rates are low and are expected to remain so. This provides the hospital with the opportunity to borrow at a very low rate to, for example, invest in new technologies or maintain current technology systems, purchase another hospital or clinic, or perform renovations.
External Threats
Alongside opportunities, current health care challenges present threats to our relationships, resources, and outcomes. Identifying these threats supports a reflective and creative strategic response. From this position, strategy can support, develop, and implement processes and structures needed to preserve our mission and our vision.
Technological (Ali)
By implementing an Electronic Health Records system (EHR), the hospital is on the cutting edge of hospital technology. However, there are new technologies that are constantly being developed and implemented, challenging the ability of the hospital to provide the highest quality of care available. One examples is the recent development of a compact MRI, which is useful for diagnostic imaging of small areas (e.g. the wrist). Although cheaper than traditional MRI systems, implementing this innovation still requires the hospital to make an expenditure. The development of new technologies is constant, varied, and extensive and thus will remain a constant challenge to the hospital.
Political
Despite federal funding of Oregon’s coordinated care organizations up through 2016, the state faces an uncertain health care future. Poor economic turnaround and a stalled political strategy to bolster the state’s economy through job creation threaten Oregon’s long-term health care status. Without an increase in tax funding, existing plans to increase the state’s Medicaid roster by a projected 240,000 members in 2014 will not be financially sustainable past year 2016 (Health Share of Oregon, 2013). Legislative indecision and bipartisanship block significant planning to support a long-term state-funded health care solution. Oregon’s high unemployment and job displacement requires legislative focus and resolve to improve the state’s job outlook. Legacy Health’s significant investment in coordinated care requires continuing the organization’s current strategic plan to enhance political outreach in protecting LH interests.
Competitive
Some of the hospitals that Legacy health operates are small and may not be able to provide all services to the community. This is a threat because if they do not provide the service the patient may have to go to another facility owned and operated by another organization. If the patient has to go somewhere else the revenue is taken out of the organization and the other organization is competitive in ensuring the needs of the patient can be met.
Regulatory
Regulatory agencies have free reign to walk in at any time, day or night without notification. These include Joint Commission, CMS, OSHPD, and DHS to name a few. This can result in negative public opinion. Physicians do not want their names attached to bad publicity so recruitment can be tainted. Public opinion can be tarnished by negative outcomes posted on these regulatory sites. Financial implications are almost certain with any deficiency sited.
Social (Ali)
It is expected that the population of Portland, the city that Legacy Health serves, will grow in the coming years. This means that there will be more people who will be in need of the services that Legacy Health provides. Furthermore, the population in Portland is aging. If the hospital is not prepared, these changes could strain its resources.
Economic
Portland is a medium-sized city in the Pacific Northwest with population of approximately half a million people. As an attractive city that combines liberal thinking, high technology industries, design businesses, beautiful nature, and food mecca, there is increased population moving into the city of Portland. Nursing jobs are scarce in the area, and competition to enter nursing school is fierce. In addition, Portland area hospitals are still confronting economy related challenges because of decreased elective surgeries, lower reimbursements, and competitive market.
Strategic Planning
Legacy Health senior leadership has a history of thoughtful targeted strategic planning. Strategic planning has provided the organization with clarity and has protected organizational values. Effective management of strategy has provided improved efficiencies, concentrated resources, and reduced duplication. This analysis provides opportunity to expand strategic thought and planning offering consideration of strategic initiatives related to efficiency and regulatory compliance.
Strategic Initiative
Legacy Health dwells in a highly competitive market confronted with economic woes. Finding a niche to support growth will be dependent on strategic planning management. Lean Six Sigma is a system proven to eliminate waste, foster growth, improve outcomes, and can be applied to all facets in every industry. Increasing patient satisfaction is a goal and mission of Legacy Health. Implementing the Lean Six Sigma strategy will facilitate the success of this endeavor.
Keeping current with the Joint Commission standards is a tedious process that demands constant monitoring of changes. Implementing all managers and above to become Certified Joint Commission Professionals (CJCP) will expect and ensure up-to-date knowledge and compliance by facilities and show the public Legacy’s commitment to evidence-based practice, quality, and safety for the patient. The Joint Commission’s focus is to improve patient safety and quality of care.
Allocations of Resources
Research shows that using the Lean Six Sigma methodology to improve performance in the infrastructure of processes has led to outstanding results. This approach focuses on timely, increased customer satisfaction, reducing costs, improved quality, resulting in maximizing shareholder value of invested capital. This methodology looks at areas for opportunity such as time delays, eliminating waste, and communication processes that prevent mistakes (Dumitrescu, Tent, & Dumitrescu, 2010).
Mandating leadership certification shows shareholders Legacy Health’s commitment to safety and quality in providing patient care and satisfaction. Promoting this as a marketing tool in conjunction with Lean Six Sigma methodology for process improvement will entice public loyalty, physician recruitment; ensure Joint Commission readiness resulting in optimum outcomes for patients and support organizational goals.
External Environment effect
The mission of LH is to build an integrated delivery network while maintaining or increasing the quality of care provided in a cost-efficient manner. The public has access and a right to know how health care organizations perform by way of posted outcomes from regulatory agencies that all health care organizations must report. Successful implementation of the initiatives proposed will show potential patients, physicians, and stakeholders, LH’s pledge and self-appointed obligation to the community at large.
Strategic Management
Leadership at points of care and service is essential to successful planning and implementation of organizational strategy (Marriner-Tomey, 2009). Strategic initiatives identified in this SWOT highlight this importance. Structuring leadership accountability in the discharge of strategic planning begins with empowerment. Empowering frontline leadership to move the strategic plan successfully throughout the organization requires an investment in education and training for managers and frontline supervisors. Clear communication of expectations related to the implementation and measurement of strategic planning requires targeted communication from senior leadership. Budgeting training and certification resources over the next two fiscal budgets aligns action to strategic planning.
Conclusion (Ali)
References
Altmann, T. K. (2011). Registered nurses returning returning to school for a bachelor’s degree in nursing: Issues emerging from a meta-analysis of the research. Contemporary nurse. 39(2). 256-272. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/1022985800
Chapman, A. (1995-2012). SWOT analysis. Retrieved from http://www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetemplate.htm.
Dumitrescu, C. D., Tent, I. D., & Dumitrescu, E. I. (2010). Lean six sigma principles. Annals of DAAAM & proceedings, 433-434. ISBN 978-3-901509-73-5
Health Share of Oregon (2013). About us. Retrieved April 17, 2013 from http://healthshareoregon.org/about/
Legacy Health (2012). Our Path to the Future. Strategic Plans Summary. Retrieved from: www.LegacyHealth.org
Marriner-Tomey, A. (2009). Guide to nursing management and leadership (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier
Oregon Health Authority (2013). Coordinated care organizations. Retrieved April 17, 2013 from http://www.oregon.gov/oha/ohpb/pages/health-reform/ccos.aspx
