Business Consulting
Background
A large, multi-facility public safety net hospital was faced with an increasingly diverse patient population in an extremely competitive environment. With the vision to expand access to quality care for a larger service area meeting the community’s needs, the hospital retained the services of COPE Health Solutions to carry out a six month assessment and strategic planning process to define and guide the expansion of the ambulatory care department.
The Solution
COPE Health Solutions recognized the need to develop a strategic plan that positioned the hospital for the dynamic realities of the market and community demographics. To do so, the project team conducted a broad assessment of services, current access and organizational realities to better understand the current needs and feasible solutions to address both community and leadership concerns. The project team employed a multi-tiered approach that encompassed:
- Engagement of external stakeholders (community health centers, local initiative health plan and physicians)
- Joint vision development, planning and project management
- Facilitation of inter- and intra-organization collaboration and improved communication
- Service line assessments and planning
- Evaluation of multiple, patient-level data sets and geo-spatial mapping of key services
Results
Following the completion of the strategic planning process, COPE Health Solutions’ team developed an implementation work plan that was immediately actionable with present resources and aligned with institutional level goals and initiatives. Implementation of key recommendations began shortly after the completion of the strategic plan, improving both coordination of care and access to critical services for the community.