Brook Army Medical Center - Environment Analysis - Essay Example

Brook Army Medical Center: Environment Analysis Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC) is the part of the United s Army Medical Command and is situated at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. It contains the Army Burn Center, while at the same time being a University of Texas Health Science Center. Today, the hospital has a 450 bed JACHO accredited facility; and its size can be expanded to 653 beds in times of a catastrophe. The Brooke Army Medical Center provides ranges of services including ‘general medical and surgical care, 24 hour emergency services, clinical services, adult and pediatric primary care, veterinary care, wellness and prevention services, and environmental health services’ (“US Army”). BAMC’s current environment Various tools are used in strategic management planning process including SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, Scenario Planning, Competitive Analysis, and Chain Analysis. Firstly, it would be better to deploy SWOT analysis method to analyze the health care organization’s current environment. The organization has long years’ working experience and it seems to be the most potential competitive advantage of the BAMC (Murgo, Westerhof, Giolma, and Altobelli). This health care organization started its operations in 1879 as a small medical dispensary. Presently, it is the only Level I trauma center in the MEDCOM. Under BRAC 2005, the BAMC has decided to expand its inpatient services with intent to improve the health care quality. In addition, the organization offers nuclear medicine service, PET/CT, SPECT/CT, and molecular imaging and other therapy services; these distinctive services add to the BAMC’s potential strengths. In the opinion of Treasure, Rainer, and Sadler, medical readiness and training weaknesses are the most obvious limitations of the Brooke Army Medical Center. Since the medical readiness and training are the crucial elements in determining the degree of efficacy of a health care organization, those issues may adversely affect the growth of BAMC. The BAMC began the construction of its Consolidated Tower (CoTo) in 2009; this facility would meet the infrastructure requirements of administrative department, outpatient pediatric clinic, SICU, CCU, expanded Emergency and Trauma department, psychiatric nursing units, and USAISR Burn Unit (“US Army”). Hence, this addition would be a potential opportunity for the BAMC to get closer to its expansional objectives. However, it seems that staffing shortage especially; nurse shortage has been challenging the long term sustainability of the organization. Currently, the US president Barack Obama is planning immigration reform, which according to the critics, would worsen the current staffing shortage in the United States. A PEST analysis indicates that BAMC’s current environment promises a prosperous future to the organization. Although, employment laws (regarding employee retirement age and discrimination) and immigration regulations raise certain challenges to BAMC, US’s political stability and tax policies benefit the organization. Likewise, the United States maintains economic stability in terms of its GDP growth, interest rates, exchange rates, and inflation rate. The PEST analysis reveals that social and technological factors also contribute to the overall growth of BAMC. To illustrate, the US people are more concerned about their health and hence they are willing to pay regardless of their limited income. Similarly, the rate of technological development is higher in United States as compared to other developed countries. In total, the BAMC’s current environment does not raise any potential threat to the organization. Internal and external environment of BAMC The BAMC’s “current mission is to effectively and efficiently promote health, and provide quality health care to eligible patients, while preparing future health care leaders to do the same within the full spectrum of military medical operations” (“Internal Analysis”). This mission statement is concise and clear and it is adequate enough to motivate the staff, patients, and other stakeholders of the organization. To be more specific, this statement gives much emphasis on strategies that the hospital wishes to follow. The BAMC’s vision statement contains several aspects which are illustrated below in a bulleted format. Development and maintenance of patient trust by being available, accessible, and accountable. Maintenance of safety, quality, and result oriented health care system without compromising with health promotion and provider-patient partnerships Maintenance of a learning environment in order to add value to training, education, and research and leader development. Maintenance of a healthy work environment that best meets the interests of soldiers and their family members (Source: “Internal Analysis”). This set of guidelines specifically focuses on what BAMC really wants to accomplish. The most fascinating aspect of BAMC’s vision statement is that it fosters innovation and professional growth at all organizational levels. In my opinion, the hospital has to focus on some most crucial aspects and address those priorities so as to ensure the mission, vision, and value statement are aligned properly. However, the BAMC is already on the right track as it has recently implemented a community based clinic that effectively meets primary care needs by ensuring the participation of patients’ family members. In addition, the BAMC schedules and conducts monthly classes for the leadership development of staff. If the hospital continues to provide this type of care flawlessly, it can easily ensure proper alignment of its mission, vision, and values. Competitive forces Innovation is a structural feature of the BAMC and it is found to be the major force that governs the organization’s competitiveness. To describe, the organization always tends to explore market trends with intent to adopt them easily. The BAMC has recently undergone merger with the Air force. This horizontal integration is an adaptive strategy that enables the hospital to gain greater efficiency in the health care service delivery. At the same time, this strategy also assists the organization to minimize service duplication and to improve geographic dispersion. From a value chain analysis, it is clear that pre-service condition, point-of-service condition, and after-service considerations are other structural features of the organization that promotes competition. In order to effectively confront with market changes and thereby to enhance health care promotion, the executive committee at BAMC works on employee morale and creative thinking. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is obvious that BAMC’s current environment offers potential opportunities to the organization. The well organized operation of the hospital assists it to properly align its mission, vision, and values. Finally, innovation is an identified structural feature of the hospital that facilities effective health care promotion in the long run. Works Cited US Army Medical Department. Web 31 July 2011 Internal Analysis. Teresita Cutler. Web 31 July 2011 Murgo, J. P. Westerhof, N. Giolma, J. P and Altobelli, S. A. Aortic input impedance in normal man: relationship to pressure wave forms. Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. (1980), 62. 105-116. Treasure, Rainer, and Sadler. Intraoperative Left Ventricular Rupture Associated with Mitral Valve Replacement. Chest, (1974), 66: 511-514. Read More