Kaiser Permanente is an integrated health care organization that was established in 1945. It is based in Oakland, California, USA. It consists of three entities. These are Kaiser Foundation hospitals, Kaiser Foundation health plan and its groups, and regional Permanente medical group. Kaiser Permanente vision is to be a leader in catering for total health, which is essential in making people’s lives better.
Organization’s strategies for future growth
Business growth has been one of the most important strategies of Kaiser Permanente. Geographic expansion is an important future strategy for the organization because it will ensure that its services reach as many people as possible. Through a growth strategy, the organization expects to hire new employees and physicians who are capable of expanding the existing skills thus adding value to the services offered (Adler, Hecksher,&Prusak,2011).
The partnership has been essential in enhancing Kaiser Permanente growth capability. In collaboration with its partners, Kaiser Permanente has established joint growth efforts that have assisted customers in understanding the function of unit-based teams in improving the affordability of health plans, enhancing quality, and offering diverse services.
This partnership has assisted in opening up new markets for the organization. For example, partnership employee liaisons, operating together with account and sales managers, are working to expand, retain and win key accounts throughout the country (Kane, Gallaugher &Glasner, 2009).
The strategic plan involving resource management
For many years, the organization has been making numerous flaws as a result of inadequate resource management measures. It has been discovered that medical personnel especially physicians can manage the cost and quality of health care on a sustainable basis. The organization is developing a network model that aims at integrating elements of self-governance, coordination of care, self-management, and group responsibility in managing the organization’s resources (Swayne &Ginter, 2002).
The Resource Management program is composed of physicians, health plan partners, and nurses who are devoted to offering health care based on the necessity of service and care. In this strategic plan, physicians have the duty of developing and making decisions involving resource management. In this decision, they consider individual needs of the members, safety needs of patients, appropriate care, assessment of local delivery system, and benefit coverage (Adler, Hecksher, &Prusak, 2011).
Wise and appropriate use of guidelines involved in resource management requires judgment of a medical professional. Application of management decision making principles involving pre-service, concurrent, and retrospective processes rely on the necessity of care and service and availability of medical coverage benefits (Huber, 2010).
Strategic plan involving Nurse staffing
Generally, health organizations are facing a shortage of nurses. This is attributed to lack of placement programs for newly trained nurses, low number of students enrolling for nursing, and inadequate incentives to retain nurses. This problem has also affected Kaiser Permanente and this has called for innovative measures to combat the situation. The innovative plan hatched by Kaiser Permanente involves fostering career growth, improving work environment and offering nurses a flexible schedule that would enable them to balance personal and professional lives (Retecki &Schimidit, 2007).
The organization’s plan is to develop a 1:4 nurse staffing ratio in medical and surgical units and establish a no-cancellation policy for nurses. These approaches are aimed at offering professional opportunity for nurses within the organization and improving the condition of work. The pilot project involving this strategy increased the number of nurses hired in Kaiser Permanente-Northern California Region by 71% and minimized the voluntary resignations by 46% by december 2011(Huber, 2010).
This strategy is a milestone towards achieving an optimal staffing of nurses in the hospital, a process that would enhance provision of quality services to the clients. When this strategy is implemented, it would set new standards that would improve working condition for nurses and enhance provision of high quality services to the patients (Glaser,Heffner &Kastor,2007).
Strategic plan related to patient’s satisfaction
Patients are the major clients of any given health care institution and so their satisfaction leads to good business prospects, increased growth, and high profitability. Kaiser Permanente’s team is composed of highly qualified physicians and other qualified and experienced healthcare professions. These professionals have access to innovative technology and advanced research that offer informed and safe health care and services to the patients (Brown, 2008).
The organization enrolls the services of high qualified physicians who act as leaders, innovators, healers and educators in relation to patient care. Advanced research is aimed at developing innovative ways of dealing with challenges encountered in provision of health care. Innovative technology will assist in developing high tech record keeping methods and treatment options that are relevant in the high technology environment (Adler, Hecksher, &Prusak, 2011).
In conclusion, Kaiser Permanente has a bright future in health care services because of its sound strategic plan aimed at improving customers through technological innovation, high qualified staff and research, good strategies for future growth through partnership, sound resource management, and developing good working environment for nurses in order to guarantee high quality services to clients.
References
Adler, P., Hecksher, C., & Prusak, L. (2011). Building a Collaborative Enterprise. Harvard Business Review, 89(7/8), 94-101.
Brown, T. (2008). Design Thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 84-92.
Glaser, J. P., Heffner, R., & Kastor, J. A. (2007). Too Far Ahead of the IT Curve?. Harvard Business Review, 85(7/8), 29-39
Huber, D. (2010). Leadership and nursing care management (4th ed.), Maryland Heights, MO: Saunders Elsevier
Kane, G. C., Gallaugher, J., & Glaser, J. (2009). Community Relations 2.0. Harvard Business Review, 87(11), 45-50.
Retecki,S &Schmidit,D. (2007). “MyChart—A New Mode of Care Delivery: 2005 Personal Health Link Research Report,” Permanente Journal,11(2),14-20.
Swayne,L &Ginter,P. (2002). Strategic Management of Health Care Organizations. New York:Wiley-Blackwell.