Health and wellness is paramount in the life of every individual. When people enjoy good health they can carry out their chores and daily routines effectively. Many health settings in every community ensure patients receive quality treatment when the need arises. Healthcare organizations offer direct and non-direct services to their clients. A case in point is a hospital and a rehabilitation center that operate in my community. These two institutions provide direct and non-direct health services, respectively. Although there are some similarities in the services offered in both institutions, there are many other structural, administrative, and managerial differences.
Hospital organizational structure
Many hospitals prefer to adopt the vertical organizational structure in the management of their facilities (Cowen et al., 2008). Such facilities have a board of directors comprised of many stakeholders, mostly from the community and the healthcare sector. The composition of these boards provides a balance between the expert service offered and the needs of the recipients. The board makes vital decisions that determine the overall operation of the organization. These decisions are passed down to the executive to implement (Cowen et al., 2008).
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The executive comprises the chief executive who is supported by other directors such as the chief medical and nursing officers as well as other operations chiefs (Cowen et al., 2008). This includes the finance and operations officers who all oversee the daily operations of the hospital. The directors oversee the operations of the various departments in the healthcare institution (Cowen et al., 2008). The department is categorized into patient care and non-patient care departments that offer treatment services and other support services, respectively. Administrators, followed by managers, support the executives, and then the patient service providers (Cowen et al., 2008).
The organizational structure of a rehabilitation center
Some organizational structures of a rehabilitation center are similar to that of a hospital but are leaner (Cowen et al., 2008). This is because unlike hospitals that offer a variety of medical services, the rehabilitation centers are centered on rehabilitation treatment and the treatment of any other underlying issues. Like the hospitals, they have an advisory board, an executive officer, an administrator, support professionals, and the customer (Cowen et al., 2008).
The role of an administrator in a hospital and rehabilitation facility
There are many similarities in the role of an administrator in a hospital and rehabilitation facility. However, many hospitals provide several treatment services, and therefore the volume of work of a hospital admin is bound to be more than that of a rehab admin. They ensure that policies, roles, and regulations are followed (Wolper, 2004). An administrator is entrusted with ensuring that the healthcare laws, regulations, and guidelines that have been set by the government, local authorities and health bodies have been followed to the letter (Wolper, 2004). The administrator also ensures that the policies and interest of the board members is actualized in the day-to-day running of the facility (Wolper, 2004).
The administrator is equally in charge of the personnel and hence is involved in the recruitment process. The admin ensures that only qualified, diligent, and trustworthy employees are recruited to the institution. He or she ensures that the members of staff maintain a sound daily reporting system (Wolper, 2004). The admin equally prepares his or her reports regularly.
The administrator ensures that the daily operations of the institution run smoothly. He or she ensures that there is adequate stock and supplies. They also ensure that the organization is operated within the parameter of the set budget (Wolper, 2004). Another vital role of the administrator is to oversee service delivery and quality assurance. This entails proper documentation, admissions, and treatment of patients. This is done by ensuring there is timely service delivery. He or she oversees departmental activities and public relations (Wolper, 2004).
Nature of services offered in hospitals
There are different kinds of hospitals that provide general or specialized healthcare services. Equally, profit and non-profit hospital organizations are operated diversely and hence offer various services (LaPierre and Zimmerman, 2012). Nonetheless, many similarities occur in the type of services that a patient should expect from a hospital. Hospitals offer medical as well as surgical healthcare services to their respective patients. These services are further supported by specialized equipment, laboratories, and expert personnel that help in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of the various patient health issues (LaPierre, and Zimmerman, 2012).
Hospital is usually divided into departments better to manage general, specialized, and emergency healthcare issues. The emergency departments are the first respondents to the patient urgent treatment needs. They attend to the patient by stabilizing them or carrying out emergency operations to save their lives. After that, the patient can be discharged or admitted to the general or specialized sections for further treatment (LaPierre and Zimmerman, 2012). Hospitals also offer to teach facilities to train the future medical personnel on the job. These facilities are also used to carry out research on different medical challenges and look for possible solutions to health challenges.
Nature of services offered in rehabilitation centers
Rehabilitation can be described as interventions that help improve the physical and mental function of the body. The affected person has to volunteer to participate in such a program (LaPierre, and Zimmerman, 2012). Some disabilities may cause a person to be alienated from society. The treatment program set to rehabilitate the affected persons so that they can regain their independence, social inclusion, and participation in their routine daily functions (LaPierre and Zimmerman, 2012). The rehabilitation process is achieved through peer support, therapeutic support, medical intervention, and the treatment of any underlying issues or disorders.
Career advancement and managerial opportunities and challenges in hospital settings
Persons aspiring for managerial positions in hospitals have a variety of setting to choose. This may include government facilities or privately owned facilities. Some of the setting that a manager in the healthcare sector can work in is the emergency medical care facilities, health care clinics, hospitals, hospice, healthcare association and health care facilities (LaPierre, and Zimmerman, 2012). The opportunities available for managers in such institutions include health care consultancy services, health care managers, associate manager, and health care administrator.
As the managers dispense their duties in the various hospitals and healthcare facilities, they should expect to encounter challenges related to their jobs. One of the significant challenges in leaders in this space face is changes in regulations. Different political administration comes up with various regulations that affect the health sector adversely (James and Musch, 2012). Leaders in this field have to adjust to adhere to new regulations to protect the integrity of the facility, its workers, and patients quickly. It is worth noting that change in policy is one of the factors that increase the cost of providing services (James and Musch, 2012).
Raising cost in healthcare service provision is a challenge for most patients who cannot afford it as well as the service provider. When patients cannot afford healthcare, their health conditions deteriorate, and they rush to hospitals when it is too late (James and Musch, 2012). When healthcare is out of reach for most patients, offering services becomes a challenge, and the service provider has to incur more cost to follow up debts from the patients (James and Musch, 2012).
Another challenge that personnel in a managerial position will have to deal with is ethical issues. Managers have to ensure that staff under them adheres to policy and laid down ethical rules and regulation (LaPierre, and Zimmerman, 2012). Failure to adhere to ethical provision compromises patient service delivery brings up the need for disciplinary action and can cause the facility to face legal action.
Career advancement and managerial opportunities and challenges in rehab settings
Individuals who are pursuing a managerial position in the rehabilitation setting equally have numerous career advancement and job opportunities in this space. Such individuals can work with government agencies, drug rehab centers, mental and physical rehabilitation facilities (James and Musch, 2012). In this field, they can work as rehabilitation service managers or health care managers.
Some of the challenges experienced explicitly by leaders in the rehab setting are financially related. Some institutions absorb budgets but fail to address patient issues. Patients are poorly advised, get inappropriate therapy and counseling, and end up relapsing (James and Musch, 2012). Such facilities also fail to refer the patient to secondary facilities to receive more specialized treatment (James and Musch, 2012).
Conclusion
The healthcare sector is integral as it addresses a wide range of health issues affecting different patients. Many direct and non-direct organizations offer a variety of healthcare services to the public. Such facilities should be run structurally and systematically to ensure proper service delivery and quality assurance for the patients. One way of ensuring that the facilities are properly managed is to provide leadership opportunities to qualified and certified personnel. This includes the administrators and managers of several healthcare facilities.
References
Cowen, M. E., Halasyamani, L. K., McMurtrie, D., Hoffman, D., & Polley, T. (2008). Organizational Structure for Addressing the Attributes of the Ideal Healthcare Delivery System/PRACTITIONER APPLICATION. Journal of Healthcare Management , 53 (6), 407.
James. A. Johnson, Musch. S. (2012) Multi-Sector Casebook in Health Administration, Leadership, and Management . Cengage Learning.
LaPierre, T. A., & Zimmerman, M. K. (2012). Career advancement and gender equity in healthcare management. Gender in Management: An International Journal .
Wolper, L. F. (2004). Health care administration: Planning, implementing, and managing organized systems . Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publichers
