Green Medical Services (GMS; hypothetical organization) is a healthcare facility located in rural Kentucky. The organization has a medical staff comprising of 34 personnel, a number that includes nurses, public health professionals, mental health experts, and physicians. The mission of the organization, which was set up about ten years ago is somehow too general; to improve the health outcomes of the Appalachian people. The Appalachian people, who mainly live in rural areas, and in terms of quality of life, occupy much of Kentucky; the region seems to have been isolated from the rest of the country. Most of the people in the region are poor, have low literacy levels, and generally suffer from many health conditions. According to Moody, Satterwhite, & Bickel (2017), the Appalachian people living in rural Kentucky suffer from numerous mental conditions and are likely to abuse drugs in an attempt to cope with depression and anxiety. Therefore, GMS decided to establish a health facility deep in the rural areas to help treat and manage the various health problems faced by the locals.
Problem Statement
Although GMS has tried to address the health issues faced by the local people, one significant problem has always emerged, which has subsequently affected service delivery to the locals. The problem is that the staff members are not aware of the cultural issues of the Appalachian people, and most times, they have been insensitive to the locals. For instance, the Appalachian people believe in cultural medicine, mostly derived from herbs and leaves. Secondly, the Appalachian people seem to a socially congruent group, which means that people value family relationships and bonds. On many occasions, it is not a surprise to find groups of people accompanying their sick relatives to the healthcare centers. While the Appalachian people value accompanying their relatives as a sign of solidarity, the staff members at GMS often see the practice as a nuisance. Some healthcare workers at the facility directly tell the locals to get out of the facility, and locals usually do not take the orders kindly. Some view the health center as well as the professionals with suspicion, while others sometimes confront the healthcare workers. On some occasions, some locals have withdrawn their sick relatives from the facility.
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Evidently, the biggest problem relates to not serving the needs of the population. If the healthcare professionals do not have the right attitude towards their clients, then they will not address all their healthcare problems. To be specific, the healthcare professionals at GMS lack cultural-sensitive approaches in attaining the healthcare outcomes of the target population. Currently, the senior management staff at the facility has been trying to look at how best the attitudes of the professionals can be changed following the numerous complaints from the locals. Although the senior management has always tried to hold meetings to address the problem, it still seems to persist.
One of the best ways to solve the problem and foster quality improvement is to form a team that will be tasked with the responsibility of addressing the issue. Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality (2013) mentions that such a team should comprise of people with the requisite skills to address it. In this case, the team should comprise of a senior staff member, a human resources manager, and a public relations officer. The quality improvement team should state clear goals regarding what needs to be achieved in the process (Liebler, & McConnell, 2020). In this case, the team needs to state clearly that the attitudes of the various healthcare workers within the facility need to change within a specified period. Therefore, the problem with staff attitudes towards the target population can be addressed by setting up a quality improvement team that has people with the necessary skills and knowledge to investigate and address the problem.
References
Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality. (2013). Practice Facilitation Handbook. https://www.ahrq.gov/ncepcr/tools/pf-handbook/mod14.html
Liebler, J. G., & McConnell, C. R. (2020). Management principles for health professionals . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Moody, L. N., Satterwhite, E., & Bickel, W. K. (2017). Substance use in rural Central Appalachia: Current status and treatment considerations. Journal of Rural Mental Health , 41 (2), 123.
