AdventHealth Orlando is faith-based non-profit research and academic medical center located in Orlando, Florida, and serves Central Florida and the Orange County region. It is a part of AdventHealth, the largest Protestant health care provider and one of the largest non-profit health networks in the United States. The network comprises 45 facilities within nine states across the country and serves more than five million patients annually (“Mission and history,” n.d.). Its mission is “extending the healing ministry of Christ” and helping patients by healing their bodies, strengthening their minds, and lifting their spirits (“Mission and history,” n.d.). AdventHealth Orlando is recognized as Number One hospital in Greater Orlando by U.S. News and World Report (“AdventHealth Orlando,” n.d.). It specializes in life-saving medical treatments, preventative care, and pioneering research.
AdventHealth Orlando is affected by several internal and external factors. The main external factor that currently has the most influence on health care, in general, is the COVID-19 pandemic. With more than 21 million COVID-19 cases reported as of January 2021, the United States has more confirmed cases and deaths than any other country in the world (“Mortality analyses,” 2021). The pandemic has changed how health care is delivered and affected all medical organizations across the country. Its effects include increases in patients seeking care for a respiratory illness that could be COVID-19, delaying non-COVID-19 care, disruptions in the supply chain, occupancy problems, absenteeism among staff, and increasing mental health concerns (“COVID-19: Healthcare facility guidance,” 2020). For Advent Health, providing comprehensive health care services in times of the pandemic is currently the biggest challenge.
Other external factors include economic conditions and political and legal factors. Florida has been hit hard by the pandemic, and AdventHealth experienced a major shortfall and requested additional funding to offset the losses (Lagasse, 2020). Politically, AdventHealth is provided with all possible support from the national and state governments, which are committed to strengthening the COVID-19 response. Overall, external factors are negatively affecting the network, forcing it to focus all efforts on responding to the global COVID-19 challenge.
The internal factors affecting AdventHelath Orlando include human, physical, and financial resources. Due to the influence of external factors, internal resources have also been confronted with several challenges. At the start of the pandemic, AdventHealth’s senior leaders committed its staff not to lay off people, which took significant financial resources (Lagasse, 2020). The hospital also experienced problems with the supplies of personal protective equipment: masks, gloves, and gowns (Lagesse, 2020). According to Lagesse (2020), AdventHealth Orlando had to “procure extra warehouse space as the orders came in and outpaced the organization’s usual storage area.” The hospital also experienced occupancy problems, as the number of patients increased significantly, and a backlog in the delivery of services. Overall, all internal resources have been affected by the pandemic, and the hospital faced major challenges in responding to the crisis.
However, as more federal, state, and local efforts were focused on the COVID-19 response, the situation began to stabilize. AdventHealth managed to receive additional funding, organize the supply and storage of protective equipment, and expand space and staffing to meet the needs of the community (Lagesse, 2020). It continues to experience several problems due to the ongoing pandemic, being forced to focus all its internal resources on responding to the global COVID-19 challenge.
References
AdventHealth Orlando. (n.d.). AdventHealth. Web.
COVID-19: Healthcare facility guidance. (2020). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web.
Lagasse, J. (2020). AdventHealth laments $260 million in losses since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Healthcare Finance. Web.
Mission and history. (n.d.). AdventHealth. Web.
Mortality analyses. (2021). Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. Web.