Reasons supporting the implementation of the policy
An analysis of the situation at Orlando Health (not its real name) revealed that there was dire need to address the high rates of hospital related infections at the facility. A strategy was formed that was aligned with the mission, vision and goals of Orlando Health. The short-term goal was to achieve a reduction by 25% in the hospital related infections within the first six months. The long-term goal was to have a 90% reduction within five years upon implementation of the formulated strategy.
The situation at Orlando Health was dire. After evaluation of the predicament, it was clear that there were priority areas that needed to be addressed in the implementation of the plan. The Priority areas were: The surveillance sectors, response to infections sectors, and the preventive standards and practices sector. The implementation of the reforms policy was expected to impact the organization and reduce the nosocomial infections at the facility.
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The Necessary Actions in line with the Patient Safety Formulated Policy
The necessary actions for aligning the structures, systems, values and management, including the staff and the available skills to acclimatize with the strategic goals were as follows:
The first action was communication. This was followed by ensuring there is accountability in all relevant departments. Thirdly, the implementation focused on specific items areas and encourage action on these areas. Lastly, progress was to be tracked as time progresses to evaluate the impact of strategies. These actions required the cooperation of everyone and all departments at Orlando Health.
Implementation
The leaders at Orlando Health were to clearly communicate the objectives of the strategy and how they aligned with the organizations mission and values. The mission of Orlando Health is to promote the prevention and control of health-related infections using evidence-based prevention, surveillance methods, and control strategies through the collaboration of senior-level, middle level, and lower-level workers. Similarly, the current vision of the organization is to reduce health-related infections at Orlando Health.
From this analysis, it is clear that the implementation of policies requires cooperation from all centers within the institution. Surveillance of the policies that address the health-related infections showed that these policies were weak (Vermon, 2010). If these policies are formulated and weakly communicated, they will have no benefit to realizing the goals as stated. Communication was implemented in the forms of education and training. Orlando Health formulated the policies on surveillance and outbreak response to health care related infections and infection prevention standards and practices. Secondly, it educated and trained the healthcare workers on these policies. The implementation of these policies required an organizational culture shift within Orlando Health.
Positives of the Implementation Process
The greatest merit of the implementation process was that its enhanced accountability. Accountability is the expectation of responsibility when executing any task. Orlando Health had many departments that worked together to ensure that the long- and short-term goals were achieved. Accountability was demanded from the nurses, the data and surveillance team and the management. The interconnectedness of these departments demanded that they must work together (Bryson, 2010). The failure of the management, for example, to lead by example in the following of the day-to-day routines set up to limit the spread of HAIs is a failure that will trickle down to the nurses and affect their ability to keep order as they are expected.
Creating the goals that need to be realized is the job of management. However, their implementation is a collective effort that demands that these goals are shared, and each department upholds their expectations. For example, to limit the spread of the HAIs, the nurses must frequently disinfect their hands and instruments. However, if the management fails to provide the hospital with the disinfectants or hand washing points, then the entire process will be frustrated.
Negatives
The demerit to the process is that it distracted focus from dedication to addressing other health problems within the facility and concentrated on reducing HAIs only. Focus is important as it directs attention towards a particular goal. Research has suggested that the more the goals being pursued at a time, the lower the probability of their achievement (Bryson, 2010). Therefore, during the implementation phase, each stage was to focus on a particular objective. This means that other issues at the facility were given secondary attention in the long run, they would affect the delivery of services to other sectors.
Furthermore, in order for the nurses (and other professional) and the management at the facility to focus, each strategy was to be handled at a particular time. The strategies aligned in the manner in which they follow each other chronologically. However, other processes like surveillance and data processing could not run concurrently with other strategies.
The Challenges
The major challenge was tracking the progress of the effectiveness of the policy . Tracking progress demanded that the facility held regular meetings with each team. During these meetings, each team was to address the extent of their progress. These progresses were then communicated to other teams so that each team notes the contribution that they are making towards realizing the set objectives (Vermon, 2010). The interconnectedness of these procedures was challenging to track and if any department missed the briefings, they placed the whole facility in jeopardy.
All teams will be expected to be judged on the extent of their delivery. Achieving success is a long journey, and in this situation, it is important for every team member to show that they are contributing positively towards achieving this success.
Conclusion
In summary, the strategic plan set by Orlando Health focused on reducing HAIs from the status that it was by over 90%. Leadership was instrumental in the realization of these goals. The strategy formed focused on communication, policy development, training, and surveillance. The leaders in charge were transformative, visionary and optimistic so that everyone contributed to the realization of these goals.
References
Bryson, J., & Alston, F. (2010). Creating and implementing your strategic plan (8th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Vernon, H., & Wortzel, L. (2010). Strategic management in the global economy (12th ed.). John Wiley.
