Community Hospital’s Stakeholder Analysis

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Table of Contents

Key Stakeholders
Stakeholder Analysis
Effective Communication
Gaining Support and Reducing Opposition
Conclusion
References

Since healthcare organizations operate in complex environments, they should pursue strategies and models that resonate with the unique demands of all employees, targeted patients, government agencies, and community members. This means that there are stakeholder groups that leaders in the field should take seriously. Such an approach can make it possible for all medical facilities to remain relevant, achieve their goals, and transform the experiences of their respective patients. This paper gives a detailed stakeholder analysis for a community hospital planning to hire a hospitalist physician.

Key Stakeholders

The ultimate objective of every health organization is to improve the medical experiences and outcomes of all the people it serves. This fact explains why there is always a need for facilities to consider evidence-based models for achieving this objective. Burns, Bradley, and Weiner (2011) indicate that a hospitalist approach is essential since it ensures that there is a physician who uses his or her professional competencies to provide generalized medical services and care to all hospitalized individuals. The selected community hospital has decided to embrace this model of care since the physician will provide high-quality teaching, leadership, research, and patient services to more people.

As the hospital’s senior executive, there are several individuals or groups I have to include in a stakeholder analysis before evaluating the appropriateness of the hospitalist care approach. The first group will be comprised of internal stakeholders whose insights, proposals, and expectations should be taken into consideration.

Some of them will include the institution’s board committee members, trustees, researchers and scientists, public health professionals, human resource department, director of health, communications officer, nurse practitioners, and physicians (Stelfox et al., 2015). Additionally, there are external stakeholders whose efforts and demands will dictate the next course of action before hiring the identified expert. Some of them will include suppliers, customers, patients, providers, special interest groups, media, health visitors, government agencies, and funders or sponsors.

Stakeholder Analysis

Managers in health facilities and institutions should conduct a detailed stakeholder analysis in an attempt to understand the expectations of different individuals and groups. This means that different stakeholders will have specific interests since they can influence the operations of a given organization or benefit from its operations. Esmail, Moore, and Rein (2015) indicate that the amount they stand to lose or gain from a given institution will dictate the strength of their interests. The table presented below gives a summary of the unique interests of different stakeholder groups.

Table 1: Stakeholders’ Interests.

Interests	Stakeholders
Good working conditions and flexible time	Researchers, scientists, physicians, and nurse practitioners
Improved working procedures and health outcomes	Nurse practitioners, physicians, patients, and community members
Transformed strategies and models	Board committee members, trustees, scientists and researchers, government agencies, and director of health
Improved care delivery processes	Government agencies, funders, public health professionals, health visitors, sponsors, media, researchers, and customers
Work: improved decision-making processes	Board committee members, physicians, and practitioners
Patient safety	Community members, patients, customers,
Improved working conditions	Human resources department, board committee members, and all health professionals
Conflicts of interest	Existing physicians, leaders, researchers, scientists, and practitioners

From the above stakeholder interests, it is evident that the outlined groups will be keen to follow the decision to recruit a hospitalist physician. This means that the move will ensure that the quality of medical services improve significantly, transform existing care delivery models, and improve patients’ experiences. At the same time, the employees working in the facility might be concerned that the proposal to hire a new professional might result in conflicts of interest (Esmail et al., 2015). This kind of development explains why there is a need to involve all stakeholders and consider their insights and expectations. Similarly, researchers, leaders, and scientists in the organization might be concerned since the decision might affect their goals.

In terms of stakes, it is evident that all groups and individuals will present their insights and expectations from the proposed action plan. The introduction of a new hospitalist means that the current care delivery models and experiences of different patients will change significantly. External stakeholders will monitor the move carefully because each group has a specific stake (Reed, 2017). For example, suppliers will be interested since the decision will ensure that they deliver adequate resources to support this professional goal.

Patients, customers, community members, and special interest groups will be keen to monitor the change since they expect to receive exemplary medical services (see Table 1). Health visitors, government agencies, and funders will follow the idea carefully in order to support it and eventually make sure that high-quality services are available to the greatest number of community members.

Internal stakeholders will be concerned with this new decision due to a number of reasons. For instance, board committee members will consider the move since it will transform the performance and image of the community hospital. Researchers, scientists, caregivers, physicians, and nurse practitioners have a unique stake in this decision (Esmail et al., 2015). This is true since the approach might either support or affect their experiences and work schedules.

The manager in the institution should, therefore, consider their expectations and communicate effectively before implementing the idea. The human resource department has a unique stake since it will have to hire the right person who possesses evidence-based competencies and skills to take the hospital to the next level. The communications officer and the director of health will also be involved in order to support the change process while at the same time advocating for high quality medical services in the community organization.

Effective Communication

As described above, the current proposal is for the community hospital to hire a hospitalist physician. One of the most appropriate approaches to ensure that the institution benefits from this new change is putting in place effective communication strategies. Such a plan should be informed by the organization’s future objectives and the demands or expectations of all stakeholders (Ulrich & Kear, 2014). This means that an elaborate plan is essential if all groups are to be part of the change process.

Before developing the model, it would be appropriate to complete a number of steps to come up with the most appropriate document. The first one is interviewing the above stakeholders in an attempt to understand their needs and expectations. The next stage is to identify areas of conflict and issues that managers should take seriously to deliver positive results (Reed, 2017). The third one is to examine the issues secondary stakeholders raise and their unique expectations. This knowledge will ensure that the institution develops the most appropriate strategy for communication.

The best plan for this kind of initiative requires that the executive director appoints a communications manager. This individual will be expected to gather information in a timely manner and share it with different stakeholders inside and outside the organization (Morton et al., 2017). The proposed plan for this project is presented below.

Table 2: Communication Plan.

Target Audience	Intended Information	Communication Method	Frequency	Responsibility
HR department	Change status	Emails/phone calls	Weekly	Communications manager
Care delivery team	Proposed idea	E-mails/phone calls	Weekly	Communications manager
Researchers and scientists	Proposed idea	Meetings, memos	Weekly	Communications manager
Hospital leadership	Approval	Emails, phone calls, brochures, memos	Weekly	Communications manager
Board committee members	Proposal status	Meeting	On demand	Communications manager
Suppliers	Progress status	Emails, memos, text messages	Weekly	Communications manager
Community members	Collaboration	Emails, notices	On demand	Communications manager and other stakeholders

Using the above model, the communication manager will have to share updates and information to different stakeholders. The plan also requires different stakeholders to liaise and coordinate with each other in an attempt to record positive results. The professional should also communicate with the organization’s leaders, collaborate with external stakeholders, and present the collected data to the human resource department.

Emails, phones calls, short text messages, memos, brochures, and notices will be essential to support the plan (see Table 2). This approach will ensure that all stakeholders’ needs and interests are pursued diligently in order to inform the hiring process. Additionally, the approach will make sure that all workers, patients, and community members benefit from the new proposal.

Gaining Support and Reducing Opposition

Every new initiative in a given organization can transform operations and drive performance. The involvement of different stakeholders is something essential if they are to provide adequate support and reduce chances of opposition. Ulrich and Kear (2014) acknowledge that many people tend to resist different forms of change since they tend to disorient their expectations, working processes, needs, and achievements. This scenario explains why organizational managers should be aware of all emerging issues and address them using evidence-based strategies. For this community hospital, there is a need for all those involved to consider various approaches to gain support from all stakeholders.

The first proposal is for the institution to support the power of an effectiveness communication plan. Such an effort will involve all stakeholders, identify the concerns they raise, solve emerging conflicts, and maximize collaboration. The approach will ensure that all participants are aware of the importance of hiring a hospitalist physician and how the professional will transform patients’ health outcomes without affecting their working processes. The above stakeholder analysis should dictate the most appropriate initiatives to communicate with different individuals or groups and encourage them to be part of the entire process.

Another issue to take seriously is that of opposition to the proposal to hire a hospitalist who can provide exemplary services to more community members. Since this will be an organizational change process, it can be necessary to consider the power of Kurt Lewin’s theory. This is an evidence-based model that guides leaders to implement new initiatives successfully and minimize chances of opposition. The first stage of this model is called refreezing.

During this phase, the leader will combine the above communication plan and the suggested change strategy to inform more stakeholders about the hospital’s decision. The unique benefits, advantages, gains, and conflict of interests that might emerge will be analyzed during this stage. Those in charge will have to listen to the responses and views different individuals and stakeholder groups present.

Such a move will encourage all stakeholders and community members to be part of the process and ensure that their complaints are taken seriously (Ulrich & Kear, 2014). With this stage of the identified theory, chances are high that the level of resistance to change will reduce significantly. The stakeholders will appreciate the fact that the new hospitalist will empower them, support leadership practices, be part of the research and science fraternity, and implement evidence-based initiatives for transforming this organization’s care delivery models.

After achieving these results, leaders will go further to liaise with the HR department to identify and hire the right person who fulfills the outlined minimum requirements. This approach will ensure that the hospital hires a professional who can add value to its strategy and eventually make it successful. These actions amount to the second phase of Lewin’s change model. The final stage is called freezing and will ensure that the hired employee is able to support the community hospital’s goals, provide exemplary medical services, and make it a leading player in health research and policy implementation. Without any form of resistance, the organization will emerge successful and continue to fulfill the changing needs of its key external and internal stakeholders.

Conclusion

Stakeholders can either support or affect the performance of a healthcare facility. The above discussion has presented powerful approaches and ideas for engaging such groups or individuals in order to ensure that the targeted community hospital hires a hospitalist physician successfully. This form of engagement will streamline communication processes and ensure that the introduced change model minimizes resistance. Consequently, all stakeholders’ needs will be met, thereby making the institution a leading provider of high-quality medical services.

References

Burns, L., Bradley, E., & Weiner, B. (2011). Shortell and Kaluzny’s healthcare management: Organization design and behavior (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Esmail, L., Moore, E., & Rein, A. (2015). Evaluating patient and stakeholder engagement in research: Moving from theory to practice. Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research, 4(2), 133-145. Web.

Morton, K. L., Atkin, A. J., Corder, K., Suhrcke, M., Turner, D., & van Sluijs, E. M. (2017). Engaging stakeholders and target groups in prioritizing a public health intervention: The Creating Active School Environments (CASE) online Delphi study. BMJ Open, 7(1), e013340. Web.

Reed, P. (2017). Translating nursing philosophy for practice and healthcare policy. Nursing Science Quarterly, 30(3), 1-12. Web.

Stelfox, H. T., Niven, D. J., Clement, F. M., Bagshaw, S. M., Cook, D. J., McKenzie E.,… Zygun, D. (2015). Stakeholder engagement to identify priorities for improving the quality and value of critical care. PLoS One, 10(10), e0140141. Web.

Ulrich, B., & Kear, T. (2014). Patient safety and patient safety culture: Foundations of excellent health care delivery. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 41(5), 447-456.

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