Introduction
Health care organizations of different types provide a wide range of services and programs aimed at a particular population. To perform successfully and achieve their primary goals, institutions have to organize the working process, manage facilities, technical resources, and professional staff to ensure the quality of care. It is essential to determine and analyze specific areas of an organization’s work to assess its performance from both, employees and clients.
Assessment of the Organization’s Programs and Services
The organization chosen for the assessment is Silverado Hospice in San Diego, CA. It is a unit of a multi-facility institution that provides supportive end-of-life care for patients with different types of dementia, pulmonary disease, and cardiac disease (“Hospice San Diego, 2019). The hospice presents a variety of services types including in-home care, at a hospital or “assisted living communities” satisfying the needs of the diverse population (“Hospice San Diego,” 2019, para. 4).
Silverado specifically develops such types of care services to ensure comfort and relief not only for the patients but their families as well. There are different programs available from the organization, which also depend on the particularities of the target population and their preferences. The main programs that function based on Silverado San Diego are We Honor Veterans, Memory Catchers, Essential Oils, Cardiac, Pulmonary, and Dementia and Neurological (“Hospice San Diego, 2019). The first three programs are available for patients with various health issues when the later three specialize in particular diseases and provide a specially designed set of care interventions.
Silverado partners with We Honor Veterans, the program initiated by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), providing compassionate care for seniors who participated in the army. Essential Oils is a set of complementary services for relaxation of the patients and reduction of medication usage. Memory Catchers program concentrates on capturing memorable moments about the patients’ lives to create CD or DVD format materials for the families to keep.
As for the specially designed programs such as Cardiac, Pulmonary, and Dementia and Neurological, they attract professionals from the particular fields of medicine to cure specific health issues and improve the quality of patients’ lives. The diversity of the services and the attentive attitude to the clients have gained Silverado several awards and placed it among the leaders of “the aging services industry” (“Silverado named one of the 2018 best workplaces,” 2018, p. 1). Thus, the orientation of the enlisted programs justifies the target population that embraces older adults with significant health issues ranging from heart and lung diseases to dementia.
The services goals include the provision of spiritual and physical support for the patients, “focusing on relieving and preventing suffering” while engaging in end-of-life care. The objectives of each particular program are to ease pain and provide comfort for a patient at the end of his or her life. The goals and objectives are evidence-informed and based on the primary needs of the population and the achievements that have been gained in the field of end-of-life care.
The services available from the programs are consistent with the goals and objectives because they primarily target the issues of pain and physical suffering, mental disorders, as well as overall anxiety and emotional discomfort patients, might experience under the circumstances. The workload expectations are reasonable due to the staff specialization and division according to the health issues of a particular patient. The number of professionals involved in the process is satisfactory to ensure adequate care for every client.
Adequacy of Technical Resources and Facilities
The facilities in Silverado San Diego obtain sufficient conditions for the comfortable work of the employees. The spatial characteristics are satisfactory and provide enough possibilities for the staff to perform their duties on the needed level (“Employee reviews,” n.d.). The employees experience no difficulties concerning space in their workplace at the hospice. The facilities’ accessibility and comfort have proven to be appreciated by the majority of employees and volunteers (“Silverado named one of the 2018 best workplaces,” 2018).
No problems with the facilities or equipment have been detected in the hospice. Also, the technical resources’ conditions do not impose any barriers to the overall productivity of each employee and the whole organization’s performance. The facilities are easily accessible to clients who may freely choose the type of care they wish, either home care or at the hospice.
Relationships with Regulatory Bodies, Professional Organizations, and the General Public
Silverado Hospice is an organization that is transparent about its performance, goals, and philosophy. The hospice is developing and growing adhering to the existing laws and regulatory implications. The state regulatory organization, NHPCO, oversees the programs and services of Silverado. All the interventions carried out at the institution are based on appropriate legislature and codes applicable to the medical sphere.
More specifically, Silverado offers end of life option which is regulated by the End of Life Option Act. While the legal considerations about the issues concerning the end of life act law, there are the opportunities for the patients and their families in Silverado to “obtain life-ending medications” legally (Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, 2018, para. 1). The hospice is accredited by NHPCO and the Joint Commission Accreditation of Health Organizations (JCAHO) (“Hospice San Diego,” 2019). Therefore, the organization’s performance is regulated on the national and state levels with close cooperation with the responsible bodies. Silverado employs professionals in the legal field to ensure the legitimacy of the procedures.
Due to the hospice’s transparent and highly professional policy of compassionate care, it has gained the general public’s recognition and positive perception. The nurses are described as compassionate, supportive, and proactive in their daily care and the management of Silverado as ready to meet the requirements of all the clients and their family’s preferences (“Silverado Hospice San Diego,” 2019).
Also, the organization’s end-of-life care initiatives find positive feedback in the general public. Such appreciative perception is amplified by the diverse awards the institution received over the time of its work. Elderly patients and their family members find comfort and emotional support here, and the employees and volunteers get a reliable place of work. The general attentive attitude to the relevant issues of the clients and the initiation of research in the field contribute to the national development of end-of-life care services.
Relationships with Clients and Referral Sources
Silverado Hospice strives to accommodate and provide care for as many clients as it can. However, the demand exceeds the available resources including staff members and funding. The field of service is actively used by American citizens due to the baby-boomers aging and the occurrence of diseases among them (“Hospice San Diego,” 2019). Numerous recruitment advertisements searching for volunteers and professionals in specific fields of medical care for Silverado signalize its understaffing and constant need for more people to be engaged in the service provision. Thus, there exist difficulties concerning funding and human resources that need to be addressed in the nearest future.
The agency’s services, facilities, and methods of communication are culturally acceptable for the patients and their families as the target population. The companionate care policy that is utilized by all the employees throughout the hierarchy of the organization guarantees timely delivery of high-quality services to all the clients (“Silverado employee reviews,” n.d.). The unprejudiced attitude toward every individual that is a place for residential care or that is provided with services at home meets the requirements of the culturally diverse community.
According to Silverado official website information, “patient services are provided without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability (mental or physical), communicable disease, or place of national origin” (“Hospice San Diego,” 2019, para. 3). The organization does not provide any services to healthy people.
The agency has a well-developed system of connections with partner organizations and scientific, educational institutions that contribute to the credibility and professionalism of the provided services. The hospice partnered with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) to launch the We Honor Veterans program (“Hospice San Diego,” 2019).
Also, Silverado establishes professional communication with such research affiliates as the Senate Special Committee on Aging University of California at San Diego, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and California State University Fullerton (“Hospice San Diego,” 2019). Such productive cooperation enriches the scope of research in the field of end-of-life services and establishes prospects for further development and better performance.
Issues and Recommendations
In conclusion, the assessment of Silverado Hospice San Diego, CA shows that the organization faces several problems that contradict its free provision of services for the target population. These difficulties concern funding, staff resources, and volunteers. Despite the overall high-quality of care the professionals at Silverado offer, there exist an increasing demand for end-of-life services. This issue imposes the need to attract more professionals from the appropriate fields of specialization to cope with the request and broaden the sphere of influence in the market. In addition to the lack of staff, there is a need for volunteers who might contribute to the support and care of the patients and their families. Consequently, the demand for services triggers a lack of funding.
The issues affecting the agency need to be addressed properly, thus, it is vital to develop a system of benefits for young professionals and volunteers to attract more workforces to the organization. It would be appropriate to spread advertisements with the description of the benefits of employment at Silverado in the educational organizations where students could easily access the information. As for funding, it is necessary to assess the areas which lack financing the most and attract supporters emphasizing the positive outcomes of the services provided.
The best way to inform the agency about the findings would be via personal communication with a representative of the organization. The implications for change can be demonstrated to the agency community by spreading the information about Silverado’s achievements and contributions to underline the importance of such facilities for the society and everyone’s ability to participate.
References
Coalition for Compassionate Care of California. (2018). End of Life Option Act. Web.
Employee reviews. (n.d.). Web.
Hospice San Diego. (2019). Web.
Silverado employee reviews in San Diego, CA. (n.d.). Web.
Silverado Hospice San Diego. (2019). Web.
Silverado named one of the 2018 best workplaces for aging services by Great Place to Work and Fortune. (2018). Web.