Background
Guardian Home Care Agency is a small, non-profit organization dedicated to delivering the best possible home care to individuals not residing in hospitals. Many of the organization’s customers are elderly individuals who, after hospital discharge, still require supervision and high-quality medical attention at home.
The company survived its three-year tenure, during which it established itself in the community and proved to be a diligent and trustworthy healthcare agent. Its efforts have attracted both state and non-state actors willing to work with the organization and support its growth. In place of these investitures, Guardian requires a 5-year strategic development plan. The proposed goals require the cooperation of the IT, HR, and nursing departments to implement the necessary changes and strive towards development goals.
Where We Are Now
The mission statement of Guardian Home Care Agency is “To deliver high-quality home care, any time, anywhere.” The organization’s guiding principles revolve around the ethical duty to provide care to those who need it most, when they need it most. In many areas of the country, particularly in rural locations, home care is in short supply and high demand. Our strategic goals include increasing the organization’s capacity to provide care, whether through long-distance care, emergency response, or enhanced patient self-care. All of these measures align with the overarching framework of medical ethics and organizational values (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2022).
In terms of beneficence, the advantages for patients are clear – they will have access to high-quality medical care at home, which will improve their health and prevent potential rehospitalization (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2022). The principle of patient autonomy is also being observed – if patients have access to care and instruction from home, they will not be required to visit the hospital every time, and can take their healthcare into their own hands. It would not only improve patient health in the long term but also reduce hospital workload and overall out-of-pocket health care expenses.
SWOT analysis for the organization, as it stands, is as follows (McKeown, 2019):
- Strengths. A well-established reputation in the community; a strong team of professionals capable of managing all necessary operations.
- Weaknesses. Small size of the organization – it is currently capable of servicing a limited number of clients, whereas the needs of the community are much larger.
- Opportunities. The organization has the opportunity to expand its operations in the community across all areas; successful investment realization would attract more in the future.
- Threats. The high turnover rate associated with the medical field can reduce the volume of care provided to patients. The inability of patients to perform self-care or telecare increases the risk of rehospitalization, thereby defeating the purpose of the organization’s demand (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2022).
Where We Are Going
The list of strategic goals is as follows (McKeown, 2019):
- Increase opportunities for patients to engage in tele-health. Customers should be able to contact their health professionals and receive instructions and a diagnosis from the comfort of their own home.
- Reduce the turnover among staff. Turnover is a significant issue for healthcare organizations. Although Guardian has a minimal skeleton crew of tried-and-true team members, expansion would require both increasing and retaining nurses to expand its services to the community.
- Increase the opportunities for patients to engage in self-care. Doing so and having access to the required materials would significantly reduce nurse workload while improving patients’ overall health (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2022).
From the perspective of sustainable competitive analysis, the situation is favorable. The organization’s strengths have already been outlined in the SWOT analysis above. The demands and requirements of customers and the population are clear: more communication channels and more accessible home care services. The competition is nearly non-existent, as the community in question is rural, and there are no other organizations in the business of providing home care.
The company’s vision statement is to become capable of providing all necessary home care to individuals who need it within the selected community. The statement is currently limited in scope, as the organization is young and relatively small. It is unlikely that the organization will further expand beyond its current vision in the foreseeable future, as it was founded to address the needs of this community.
How We Will Get There
- Increase nurse retention to be able to provide more patients with the help demanded (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2022):
- Enhance nurse scheduling by implementing a flexible hour system.
- Enhance nurse retention by fostering psychological resilience through improved work-life balance.
- Increase the organization’s telehealth capabilities demand (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2022):
- Create a site with video call capabilities, as well as a hotline for patients to contact doctors.
- Increase awareness of potential stakeholders towards the existence of these services.
- Increase patient capacity for performing prophylactic self-treatment demand (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2022):
- Disseminate information about common diseases and preventive strategies through the internet, leaflets, and other media.
- Hold biannual practical seminars for home-care recipients in the community.
Discussion
Strategies to achieve the announced objectives will vary depending on the specific objective. Improving nurse retention will be achieved through reducing burnout. According to research, burnout among nurses is associated with overwork and poor work-life balance (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2022). Improving scheduling and implementing measures to help individuals spend time with their families and pursue hobbies would greatly improve the situation.
The strategy regarding telehealth at this stage would include an information campaign, as well as training for both employees and patients to use the tools made publicly available to them (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2022). Finally, to increase patient capacity for self-care, the strategy involves building trust between patients and the organization, distributing relevant materials, and conveying the message that preventing a disease or an accident is more effective and cost-effective in the long term than suffering through it.
Short-term items and priorities would involve getting the tele-health site and hotline operational (McKeown, 2019). It is the easiest short-term goal to achieve and will serve as a springboard for other projects. Nurse retention and patient self-help goals will be overarching priorities, but not immediate concerns.
Action items for the project include creating a website for patients to visit when they need telehealth assistance, establishing a hotline for those unable to use the website, printing leaflets and distributing them regularly, and reformulating the scheduling process for nurses to enable more flexible hours. Success will be measured through several key indicators, including the number of cases addressed through telehealth, improvements in nurse happiness scores, and patient awareness scores obtained through questionnaires (Yoder-Wise & Sportsman, 2022).
These measurements would show how the strategic plan is progressing. The execution of the plan will rely on the organization’s own capabilities and third-party assistance, specifically in creating and setting up the telehealth site and establishing specialized hotlines. One major potential challenge to these goals is patients’ technological ineptitude (McKeown, 2019). A specialized guide will be designed, printed, and distributed to help them effectively use the site.
References
McKeown, M. (2019). The strategy book. Pearson UK.
Yoder-Wise, P. S., & Sportsman, S. (2022). Leading and managing in nursing e-book. Elsevier Health Sciences.