Introduction
For many years, Roswell Health Center has participated in service delivery enjoying success and facing challenges in equal measure. The major factor that has contributed to the inability of the health center to maximize on the market is the failure of its management to adopt strategic plan. Strategic planning is the important aspect of institutional focus and goal setting. It is a documentation of the various objectives outlining means of achieving the goals, strategies to employ, and the challenges along the way. Normally organizations focus on both the factors within and external influence in a move to create a clear strategy in achieving essential objectives. This project seeks to create a systematic realistic approach in defining the plan, approaches, and implementation of the goals of Roswell Health Center. The study dwells on the elderly and women because they are the most vulnerable part of the society providing a viable market for this strategy. For many years, Roswell Health Center has greatly felt the effect of both internal factors and external forces (Savage, 2012).
In analyzing these market factors and the necessary strategies, the study adopts the SWOT analysis as the appropriate analytical tool suited to the project. SWOT analysis focuses on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the organization. While strengths and weaknesses are internal factors of the organization, opportunities and threats are factors that develop from the external market. The internal factors which fall under strengths include positive organization culture, advanced information technology, financial capacity, available facilities, and apt management (Shi, 2007). Weaknesses in the organization may include an unstable dissatisfied human resource and lack of capital. The study also focuses on the external factors that influence operations of an organization but are beyond its control. Some of the factors that may likely affect Roswell Health Center are government regulations, fiscal policies, politics, and the external economy conditions. These forces constitute threats and opportunities depending on their effect on the facility. The study manipulates SWOT analysis in determining various strategies the firm can adopt in line with its goals to maximize on the market.
Mission and Vision of Roswell Health Center
Roswell Health Center ensures an effective provision of accessible and comprehensive healthcare to the medically underserved communities in the region through effective partnership with the community and its resources. Roswell Health Center fulfills its mission through the provision of a wide range of healthcare services which include quality care and management of chronic diseases and conditions such as cancer, heart diseases, diabetes and high blood pressure, care for injuries, and mental health problems among others. The health facility aims to serve the community by establishing a culture that supports community-based care, patient-centered services, and promotion of staff engagement and adoption of the latest and effective technologies, and partnership with the community to improve the quality of life for all.
Barriers to Strategic Project Delivery and Their Solutions
There are specific internal and external factors that may create hurdles in achieving a successful strategic plan. Being an important internal factor of organizational management, financial challenges may cripple the efforts in establishing an exclusive solution to Roswell Health Center. Because the facility is limited on finances, development of its strategic plans may not succeed at the end. To solve this situation, the study recommends that donors and well-wishers should contribute to make the course successful. Meanwhile, apart from the financial situation of the health facility, government policies and regulations might also influence the progress of the project. This factor being an external force impairs the financial and management ability of the organization because firms have to comply with the policies. The only to this challenge is to regulate needless costs but to obey government policies by embracing legal ways of undertaking operations.
Strategic Goals of the Project
The goals and objectives of this study revolve around creation and development of a well-documented strategic plan for Roswell Health Center in guidance with the SWOT analysis. The goals may be diverse and complex but they will still converge to a single objective of improving the welfare of this health facility. To offer healthcare services that encompass the health needs of the people, Roswell Health Center adopts a community-based approach of facilitation. The idea ensures that the healthcare services the facility provides consider the existing problems in the society. Secondly, Roswell Health Center will ensure that it provides both on-site services and hospital-based care. This means that the services will include home-based care, outpatient, inpatient and ambulatory services. In collaboration with community-based organizations and public institutions such as schools and other health units, Roswell Health Center will be able to determine and undertake the healthcare needs of the society.
Apart from the goals already mentioned, the health facility intends to form an effective marketing strategy that will ensure it meets the financial targets. Finance being an important aspect of strategic planning of Roswell Health Center, it is vital that the management adopts effective strategies of financial planning and policy guidelines. Another important goal of this particular project is to improve the human resource of Roswell Health Center. To achieve its objectives, Roswell Health Center should have a qualified and stable human resource system that goes a long way in offering service delivery to the society and helping achieve the mandate of the organization (Savage, 2002). Delivery is also an important aspect of the health service delivery at Roswell Center. As mentioned above, skillful professionals will drive the company’s delivery system in order to enhance the value chain. For Roswell Health Center to reach higher levels in service delivery and to outdo most competitors, its facilities have to be of the highest standards possible. Better facilities are efficient, flexible, modern, and effective. The health center’s aim is to have the best cancer screening and treatment equipment, disease testing systems, and advanced survey equipment.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Roswell Health Center receives financial support from donors, fundraisings, and well-wishers which aids in project facilitations. Not only does the facility build its financial reserves from grants but it also depends on patient fees and insured clients which ease the financial burden most organizations face. While scrutinizing the essentials of the facility, the management considers financial endowment as a priority for the health center to continue offering services. Because human resource is the backbone of all operations within an organization, Roswell Health Center over the years has prioritized on quality labor force to facilitate its mandate of service delivery to the society. Having a skilled affordable human resource boosts the performance of an institution. Therefore, the health facility only employs a work force that works in accordance with the goals and objectives (Fottler, 2010). Financial capability and qualified human resource are some of the aspects that enable Roswell Health Center to achieve sustainability.
Weaknesses
One of the major weaknesses of this health facility is its system of operations. The marketing and management approach it practiced in the past has yielded little benefits in terms of growth and market segmentation (Ginter & Duncan, 2012). Roswell Health Center seeks to undertake its functions and management under a capitalistic approach by employing a management team that understands the market and its policies. The skilled management must be capable to define and understand the needs of the company as well as inhibit business skills, and make valuable decisions to fulfill the institutional goal. Equally, Roswell Health Center should maintain a strong customer-based approach as the central component of the institution’s operational strategies. Keeping client records and maintaining communication is an effective strategy that the facility wishes to employ.
Opportunities
The non-capitalism approach of Roswell Health Center results in financial challenges. To counter this challenge, the facility focuses on building its reputation which attracts donors and well-wishers to contribute to its course (Geisler, 2003). Reputation goes a long in both in market creation and attracting volunteers who ease the burden on salaries. Having a trustworthy and reliable market makes the health facility sustainable.
Threats
Being an external factor, organizations normally turn threats into gains because they learn from them. One of the direct threats of Roswell Health Center is competition from other health facilities offering the same services. There are many health centers across the United States with some private and others public. However, a competitive advantage depends on the reputation of the facilities and the management style of clients.
Strategy Implementation Pillars
Financial Strategy
Although at times influenced by fiscal policies and other environmental factors, finance remains a crucial component of organizational tools that determine the future sustainability of organizational operations. To maintain its financial viability, Roswell Health Center will rely on patient fees, recruiting of insured patients and the efforts for fundraising. Previously, Roswell Health Center has been depending on insured clients and patient fees. The facility will combine the two methods with fundraising to ensure that the institution achieves its financial goals while also ensuring the patients receive fair service delivery and costs. This practice enables the health facility to provide affordable and accessible healthcare services. As such, the management pursues a matrix of grants and donations as well as participating in fundraisings to boost its financial muscle. Local and national donors including non-profit organizations will be involved in the fundraising efforts that seek to improve community-based healthcare provision.. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act contributes to the increased demand for patient services within the health facility which significantly increases the number of patients seeking To the public the legislation has been of great value because at least there is a reduction in healthcare costs for the people. By evaluating and implementing these varied strategies, Roswell Health Facility will be able to meet its goals of affordable and high quality health care for everyone. The financial strategies like fundraisings raise the financial strength of the health center making it possible to fund the strategic planning implementation as well as other relevant sectors.
Human Resource strategy
Employees and workforce are some of the most important aspects of an organization structure. Roswell Health Center aims at adopting quality skilled professionals to perform service delivery. Combining volunteers with employed workforce, the health facility offers stable service to its patients in an attempt to increase profits and achieve firm goals. While reducing expenses by employing volunteers, the facility also maximizes on skills and potential which enables quality of performance which in the long-run creates a worthwhile reputation. Besides, the health center will adopt an interdisciplinary approach in which the employees that include doctors, clinicians, pharmacists, nurses, laboratory staff and other professionals will work as a team to ensure that the clients receive service based on effective consultations and evidence-based care at all levels. Highly skilled employees yield more revenue to the facility as well building the reputation of the firm. A stable human resource is one of the strengths of an organization.
Information Technology
In the modern market, Information Technology has become an essential requirement in every organization because it increases efficiency and flexibility as well as reducing the cost of operations (Geisler, 2003). Roswell Health Center will have the ability to improve quality of health and keep information pertaining to patients electronically to improve data safety. A number of health cases become impossible to monitor and cure. One example is cancer which undergoes radiology and other computer powered systems for it to vanish. The power of information technology is an essential need within a health facility therefore Roswell Health Center would like to adopt efficient affordable information systems in service delivery.
Facilities
The quality of materials and equipment will be a major component of service delivery to Roswell Health Center. Quality medicine, medical equipment, machines will be available, and the management plans to install and maintain other facilities to ensure that a high quality of the value chain becomes achievable
Recommendations
Roswell Health Center is an institution that wants to be highly competitive within the evolving market. Therefore, for this facility to such a competitive advantage, its human resource must comprise skilled and flexible personnel. The point-of-service is the most effective strategy for this service industry. In a health facility, the actual service of treatment means much to clients. The service itself and the service-delivery personnel are important organs of Roswell Health facility. Because of the current technology-connected market, the employees must be able to adapt in terms of technology and service delivery. Another area which the facility needs to improve on for long term sustainability is the reduction of costs of operations. A well-defined financial strategy within the institution will ensure Roswell Health Center minimizes on the costs it incurs both internally and externally (Blair, 2000). Concisely, the payroll must portray a clear structure to avoid wastage of resources. Besides, finances circulating within the organizational environment should reflect in the financial statements. The health institution should seek to reduce operational costs while maximizing on profits to enable sustainability. Another strategy of minimizing costs is to avoid purchasing equipment that is cheaper when the facility obtains on lease. The money saved from such unnecessary spending can benefit the institution in other areas especially when its financial reserves run low. To reduce the costs of insurance, Roswell Health Center should advise employees to contribute more towards Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which has proved to be of help when. The culture of Roswell Health Center dictates that employees work within professional guidelines. With this in mind, the strategic plan should formulate specific regulations workers should obey in service delivery. The structure of this facility is of sound management and equally flexible employees. If the two levels of management work in cohesion to aid in firm sustainability then the strategic plan would achieve its mandate.
Conclusion
Roswell Health Center faces financial challenges because of the reducing income donors and well-wishers previously donated as well as the reimbursements from insurance firms. With plans to enhance the technology power of the facility, the health institution will be able increase efficiency in service delivery as well reduce costs of operations (Ginter & Duncan, 2012). The enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aimed at ensuring increased quality and affordability of health insurance. This has led to the increase in demand for service. With the employment of new strategies in service delivery, Roswell Health Center will experience a reduction in operational costs, improved service delivery, and efficiency in task handling that will propel its quest to become the best in the market. For all these strategies to succeed, the implementation of SWOT analysis proves beneficial if the health center adequately manipulates its substance.
References
Blair, J. (2000). Advances in health care management. New York: JAI.
Fottler, M. (2010). Strategic human resource management in health care. Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Geisler, E. (2003). Technology, health care, and management in the hospital of the future. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Ginter, P., & Duncan, W. (2012). Strategic management of health care organizations (Seventh ed.). New York.
Savage, G. (2002). Advances in health care management. Amsterdam: JAI.
Shi, L. (2007). Managing human resources in health care organizations. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett.