Looking well into the future, even prior to the passage of the ACA, a highly regarded, 279-bed pediatric hospital wanted to redesign its ambulatory services to better meet the community’s needs. While the issue had been raised on several earlier occasions, it had been tabled for a variety of business reasons. When it surfaced this time, they reached out to Newpoint to help them develop a strategic plan that would provide a detailed road map for change and growth.
Our Approach
When we were first engaged, the hospital was in the early phases of a regional affiliation with a large academic medical center. The new partners also had a comprehensive ambulatory strategy to be considered in the planning process. The Newpoint team started the engagement with a deep dive into the unique circumstances impacting the situation. This was followed by a comprehensive data analysis, market research including the competitive FQHC landscape, HRSA grant opportunities, internal capabilities and risks, medical residency requirements, IT infrastructure and other critical assets and systems. Subsequent to the analysis and a collaborative strategic planning process, Newpoint’s Carol J. Geffner, Ph.D., facilitated problem-solving meetings with executive leadership from both the hospital and newly affiliated medical center to identify synergies and coalescing the partners around shared objectives.
The Solutions
Our process included informal surveys of clinical and administrative leadership, a data needs assessment, an operational evaluation, a market share analysis and a financial analysis. Our work focused on:
- Engaging leadership teams in the planning process to assure long-term acceptance of proposed changes.
- Designing and delivering a “train the trainer” approach to improving staff performance and customer service.
- Implementing a client-centered administrative and marketing approach to encourage client retention.
- Redesign of internal clinical and business processes to support an integrated, patient-centric system.
- Analyzing financial requirements for treating a defined population to support managed care negotiations.
The Result
All critical stakeholders were in support of the newly developed strategic plan. Hospital leaders were delighted with the product and recognized that they had a practical road map for delivering care in the community while maintaining the quality reputation for which the hospital was known.
