Bay State Medical Center’s mission statement is to improve the health of the people in our communities every day with quality and compassion. This mission statement is very clear and I am sure that every hospital has this very same mission in mind for just being in the system of health care. Bay State Medical Center also has forecasts for the future of Health Care and look at themselves with a vision for the Hospital of the Future.
This vision is named “Vision 2025” according to their online website and they look to the future of the hospital with goals of having surgical precision, robotics and patient simulation and how medical students will be trained. Currently every health system is looking at a value system to the consumers of health care and how they can operate with a lean method of performance as well. With health care becoming so costly due to medicine costs and advanced technologies with cutting edge procedures there is no other choice but to adopt lean principles and values.
The best doctors need to be compensated accordingly as well. Organizational Strengths Bay State Medical Center already has in place a Level I trauma center in the region located in Hampden County. The location is central to many communities where the services are needed most. The city of Springfield and Holyoke have higher crime rates and pregnancies than some of the surrounding smaller communities and Bay State Medical Center is available to handle the results of the health injuries that may result or ensue from the violence and crime in these communities.
On the local news in the area as well there usually is unfortunately a shooting we hear about nightly in the community closest to the Bay State Medical Centers trauma center. Besides the exceptional trauma center Bay State Medical Center also houses the only neonatal and pediatric intensive care units in the Western Massachusetts are. This is a big asset to the community as well as there are many other local hospitals in the surrounding area who may need to outsource to Bay State Medical Center when a child is too ill and may then have to be transported to them.
Just in the past year in 2013 Bay State incorporated a strong focus on hand hygiene for all their existing employees. There is proven evidence that proper hand hygiene can significantly reduce risks of health care infections that will ultimately keep patients and staff safe. Sicknesses and deaths from health care infections in the past have caused 100,000 deaths and have cost annually 2 million dollars. Patient care costs have risen from 4. 5 to 5. 7 billion just from poor hand hygiene alone.
With a goal even of 1/3 more of a prevention rate of good hand hygiene can result in less transmission of bacteria and viruses through the contaminated hands of health care workers passed on to patients improving the overall health and cutting costs from health related transmissions and infections.
Organizational Weaknesses Through a coalition of Western Massachusetts Hospitals trying to come together to assess community health needs and identify and address the most pressing public health needs in the Pioneer Valley the health system may be able to provide a more effective and efficient hospital system to all consumers.
Of course this is a big undertaking. Health officials have posted online a needs assessment survey questionnaire to evaluate what the community expects and wants from their local hospitals. The survey had a limited time constraint to complete and then would be assessed. I myself wonder what portion of the population would take the survey though and what income status do they come from. This survey may not account for the needy and poor population as they may not even have access to the internet or a computer.
If only financially stable people answer and complete the survey, I feel that the system will be in the same place as far as efficiency and effectiveness go. A financially stable population is probably already using the health care system to full capacity and thus taking up much of the health care dollars. The population that may not do the survey may still need health care and still depend upon the health care system using the emergency rooms when and if they need to.
The middle class population may still go to their primary care physician for most care but then seek to cure themselves with over the counter supplies and some still choose not to get extensive health care because they know they cannot afford the costs of inpatient care due to their health care coverage or for other reasons, even some cultural.
With many living in poverty and on unemployment whether by choice or due to lack of insurance, the crime rates rise also leading to risky behaviors. These risky behaviors sometimes end up leading to the emergency room settings.
This increases the cost of health care with no primary care physician available. Nurses sometimes are overworked and put on mandatory overtime schedules. This also leads to nurses sometimes demanding more pay for their time and contracts being looked over and renewed for more pay.
This adds to the health care cost system as well. In western Massachusetts we tend to spend more per patient than the national average in Medicare costs. This leads to the health care system costs as well but if consumer demand is there, we must supply and meet that demand and find a way to be efficient and effective at the same time.
With efficiency and effectiveness in mind, should nurses be paid more or should there be temporary nurses or more part time nurses without benefits would all have to be looked at if cost is a problem in paying for the best care.
The nurses association along with the hospitals could be battling each other over pay schedules and hours and so forth for everyone to be happy. However, if the majority of Western Massachusetts residents want the best care all of the population has to pitch in and pay for proper care but it is becoming harder for many to contribute with all the other costs of living.
The same method applies to choosing other products or services we purchase so the health care being a service essentially has to be paid for as well. The problem seems to be over what is the true and fair cost for all consumers.
With Bay State Medical System already having a simulation lab in place it should be encouraged to be used as much as possible. A surgical residency review committee has placed work hour restrictions for residents in using the simulation lab. If resources are available they should probably be available for use for anyone willing to learn to their full capacity.
If not available when one needs to use it some fear that a result might be for a risk in newly independent surgeons beginning in practice with a lower than average competence level. Financial Stability The financial condition of Bay State Medical Center is stable and operating effectively. The Board of Trustees includes the President and other Presidents and realtors, bankers, a Chief Financial officer, retirees, members from financial and insurance services, doctors, volunteers, a Chief Medical officer and other advisees.
With a good mix of many backgrounds and careers this definitely helps the whole system stay focused on challenges and opportunities. The different views from a financial side and a doctor side give separate visions while trying to accomplish the overall mission for the hospital and goals to meet.
Currently the trend is to create transparency in the non-profit system and to show overall sources for data to prove an organizations’ strength. Accountability to the public is enhanced by showing board leadership practices which can incorporate possibly more donors as well to the overall health care system.