North Carolina has the fourth largest military population in the US and the 8th largest veteran population. According to the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) (2015), North Carolina has a population of 773,884 veterans as of 2015. The VA also noted that 30 percent of the states veteran population lives in five counties of which 50,010 lived in Cumberland (VA, 2015). The VA notes that veterans experience health challenges ranging from disabilities to mental health disorders. Eighteen to 22 American veterans commit suicide every day and youthful veterans aged 18-44 are at most risk (VA, 2015). This is attributed to traumatic limb amputation, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), chronic pain among other disorders and conditions. The need for a health care facility to cater to veterans is well informed.
Name and Location
The facility will be named the Cumberland Foxhole Nursing Bench (CFNB). The name signifies a retreat from the harsh battlefield. The facility will be located Fairfield since it is a quiet and serene neighborhood. The town has a significant number of veterans in the county as well as a supportive VA department.
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A SWOT Analysis
Strength
The health care facility will build on innovation emphasizing on adequate provision of healthcare, quality of care and lower costs. The state, as well as the county, has the highest number of veterans. With most veterans being older than 65, this means that the demand for medical attention is high. Consequently, the monthly enrolment will be high and that would lead to higher revenues. The focus should, therefore, be on providing quality and cost-effective care that will attract more patients.
Weakness
The facility will be in competition with other veteran and mental health care facilities in the county. It is important that we compete with the quality and of care and affordability which might prove to be difficult in the initial phase of operation. Weaknesses that need to be overcome are clinical labor expenses which are costly. Moreover, the miscalculation of utilization rate is a common weakness in most health care facilities. This ought to be addressed alongside the budget plans.
Opportunity
The existence of quality improvement programs such as the STRIDE program is critical in increasing the percentage of patients who were discharged. The use of the STRIDE program in our facility will ensure that there is no congestion. Since we operate in a less urban background, improvement in technology and data analysis technique can help improve quality of care. The fact that nearly two-thirds of Americans own a smartphone and the huge investment by VA on the mobile application will be helpful (VA, 2015). Mobile apps will address some of the high priority conditions such as PTSD, Insomnia, depression as well as anger management. The VA is helpful of education and evidence-based practices. The Evidence-based Synthesis Program will be essential in providing synthesis research evidence that will support our practices and clinical decision making.
Threats
The pay scale for the VA health care facilities is normally lower than the private sector, minimizing the qualified applicants for key applicants. Moreover, the fact that some of the qualified applicants may be young poses a threat to the facility staffing since, this group of professionals prefer urban settings. Leadership and staffing have been identified as key factors that determine the quality of care (Havig et al., 2011).
Funding
The funding for the healthcare facility will come from private equity fund. A report by Pazanowski, (2018) notes that private equity investments are growing at a higher rate with healthcare being one of the “in” targets for investors. The report notes that roughly $10 billion was capitalized in health care deals. Moreover, there is a growing investment particularly in behavioral health program which is mainly related to veteran healthcare needs. The project will tap into private equity funds. If the option proves difficult the project will seek funding from the local government at an agreed stake. Other options at our disposable include community-based funding or seeking out angel investors.
Healthcare Services Offered and Hours of Operation
The health care facility will offer mental health and trauma-related needs. These include depression, mental health problems like bipolar disorder, PTSD, and suicide prevention and substance use problems. The facility will also take care of conditions such as vision and hearing loss as well as offering dental care. A military operation involves a lot of contact with hazardous materials. From this realization, the facility will offer care to illnesses and injuries such as cancer. Other injuries that will be handled include spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injury (TBI). The facility will operate from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. excluding federal holidays. The days and hours are consistent with other healthcare providers and federal government work-related policies.
Insurance
The health care facility will accept Medicare. Most veterans are covered under insurance. Moreover, the VA system is entirely separate from the Medicare which means there will be less interference from the VA on health issues. The VA identity card which also provides insurance to veterans will also be accepted. Though there is no coordination between the card and Medicare, the advantageous aspect is that there will no mix-up in insurance covers. The coverage by VA identity card will be accepted because certain groups of VA rely heavily on VA for healthcare and Medicare is more expensive. Such groups include lower income veterans, veterans in the rural area and veterans with no other sources of coverage.
Management structure
The organizational structure of the hospital will consist of the board, executives, department administrators, patient care staff and service providers. The board will be responsible for making advanced decisions about the facility. The executives will be responsible for managing the facility, making commercial decisions, and overseeing the business strategies. Department administrators will oversee the operations of the departments while patient care personnel will consist of the nurse supervisors and managing physicians who will oversee the doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and laundry therapists. Since the facility targets to treat about 30-40 patients in the initial period, it will hire initially hire two physicians and their assistants, seven nurses (three of whom will be licensed practices and four will be registered nurses), a telehealth technician and four health technicians.
The facility will need to hire a manager to run the facility. Candidates who will be shortlisted for an interview will be asked several questions. Five strategic questions that will be asked to learn more about their management style and motivation include;
1. Have you ever had a challenging or upset by your staff? How did you overcome?
2. Are you comfortable working independently?
3. How would you handle medical disciplinary cases beyond your understanding?
4. How do you handle difficult staff members?
5. What is your biggest weakness as a leader?
Marketing
The facility’s marketing strategy will involve consistent branding and organizing veteran free health checkup clinics. The clinics will be sued to raise awareness about our clinics. The facility will also have a responsive website from which we can interact with patients.
References
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). (2015, November 10). NC in Focus: Veteran Population, 2015. Retrieved from https://demography.cpc.unc.edu/2015/11/11/nc-in-focus-veteran-population-2015/
Havig, A., Skogstad, A., Kjekshus, L., & Romøren, T. (2011). Leadership, staffing and quality of care in nursing homes. BMC Health Services Research , 11 (327). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-11-327
Pazanowski, M. (2018, September 21). Private Equity Investment in Health Care Stays Strong (Corrected). Retrieved from https://www.bna.com/private-equity-investment-n73014482737/
