Introduction
All healthcare facilities must have an organizational structure. The structures range from complex, as in larger facilities, or simple, as in smaller facilities. Organizational structure encompasses a line of authority or chain of command. It should indicate areas of responsibility and lead to the most efficient operation of the facility. The organizational structure takes the form of a pyramid. That is, the leadership down to the workers in different departments’ workforce increases. is trying to put up organizational and quality assurance measures in order to rejuvenate its policies. This is because the hospital has been passing through different problems concerning quality and organizational structures.
Organization structure of VAMC
At the top are the hospital board and the hospital director, who are also medical staff. Other departments such as maintenance and housekeeping, central supply, business office, pharmacy, dietary, nursing, laboratory, radiology, therapy and volunteers follow. Under the business office is the administration, personnel, public relations, accounts, medical records, and social services departments. The therapy department has the physical, occupational, and recreational sub departments. Under the nursing department is the director who can also be referred to as the vice president of nursing who heads the nursing education, surgery, inpatient care, emergency room, and clinics. Under the inpatient care, we have the nursing supervisor who head or charge nurses. Under this department, there also the patients care technicians, the ward clerks and also the volunteers.
There are a number of methods that are used to organize the work of health professionals within this health facility. Each method is centered on a function which is a specialized work to be performed, or a program, which is an output to be achieved. A functional organization revolves around the work or services to be performed, such as nursing, radiation therapy, or environmental services. In this system, the medical professionals report to a specific supervisor for their specialty area. For instance, a respiratory therapist would report to the manager of respiratory therapy. One great advantage this organization form has is that it enhances relationships within a specialty area and can be cost-effective while promoting professional growth.
Organization by program in this healthcare facility divides up work for a particular service or disease process, such as diabetes, women’s services, or elderly services. This multidisciplinary approach is useful for integrating care. This method ensures that there are professional standards throughout the departments of the hospital. However, sometimes there is duplication of services in separate programs which brings about the aspect of redundancy (WHO. 2003). It is important to note that the nursing department is a reflection of the overall organizational structure of the hospital. The shape of this organizational structure may be influenced partially by the size and complexity of the institution. It is therefore not uncommon to find that the decision-making and power positions will be arranged in either a tall shape with many layers of managers between the chief executive officer of the hospital, the director of nurses, and the direct-care providers, or a flat shape with fewer levels between the director of the hospital and the care provider.
Quality assurance
A quality assurance program is a system that monitors and analyzes all aspects of a program. The main aim of this is to improve the standards of quality of a service or a project. The principles behind any quality assurance program are that it ensures that the products or services are actually suitable for the intended purpose, and that there must be elimination of the right first time. In health institutions, quality assurance is mainly focused on the services (GAO 2003). The hospital has raised its standards in a way that there is a maximum possible result for all the patients that come to visit. There is professionalism in every sector of the health facility. The hospital also makes sure that there is professional attention to the patients. This is actually done in a way that is also cost effective. Documentation of the hospital’s operations is also done meticulously for reference purposes.
It is important to note that VAMC is actually doing this to counter its recent problems that were associated with its surgery unit (Jaco 2011). Currently, the hospital is trying to deconstruct, renovate and rebuild some of the facilities within its mandate. This is after the issue had been debated by the congress. People were complaining that they would visit the hospital for treatment and go back home worse than before.
Conclusion
All healthcare facilities must have an organizational structure. The structures range from complex, as in larger facilities, or simple, as in smaller facilities. There are a number of methods that are used to organize the work of health professionals within this health facility. Each method is centered on a function which is a specialized work to be performed, or a program, which is an output to be achieved. A quality assurance program is a system that monitors and analyzes all aspects of a program. The main aim of this is to improve the standards of quality of a service or a project. The leadership of the organization is trying to rejuvenate its quality assurance program after a long period of redundancy.
Reference List
GAO. (2003). Report to the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Total Force, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office. Web.
Jaco, C. (2011). Veterans Call For Shutdown Of VA Medical Center In St. Louis. Web.
WHO. (2003).What are the best strategies for ensuring quality in hospitals? Web.