Introduction
Miami Hospital is currently facing a financial management issue that deals with failure to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards on infections. Even though the majority of healthcare facilities in South Florida reveal good performance, a lot of them still require improvement so that they receive an opportunity to stop infections in patients. In order to deepen into this situation, the interview with two representatives of Miami Hospital was conducted. In order to ensure their anonymity, their names will not be mentioned. Still, Interviewee 1 usually deals with day-to-day financial operations. He manages reporting and analysis as well as plans finance management strategies. Interviewee 2 manages the staff and copes with administrative duties. She delegates patient assignments, interacts with physicians to discuss treatment options, and responds to those issues that are faced by staff or families.
Main Body
Both professionals admit that the hospital faced the problem with infections in patients in 2013. Realizing that it was a great drawback of care provided by the facility, the seniors developed a plan of actions aimed at improvement immediately. Thus, they handle this issue for three years already. Interviewee 2 underlined that they have already achieved enormous improvement and the critical point was resolved (personal communication, November 15, 2016). Still, she believes that they can enhance the situation even more.
Previous Measures
To meet benchmarks for stopping infections, Miami Hospital implemented regular staff training, which required additional funding to this sector (+65% of all sum allocated for issue resolution). The necessity of hand-washing was emphasized, and new soaps were bought during the next procurement (+15%). The patients were constantly assessed regarding risks of infections and those who had high changes were washed with an antimicrobial liquid soap. Thus, chlorhexidine was bought, which also increased expenses (+20%). Patients with intravenous and urinary catheters were also included in this group (Interviewee 1, personal communication, November 15, 2016).
Future Measures
In the future, the hospital is going to continue using chlorhexidine for surgery patients and those in the intensive care unit. In addition to that, new antibiotic-coated intravenous catheters are going to be bought soon. Still, professionals believe that the most advantage can be obtained not from technique improvement but from education. That is why, Miami Hospital encourages its staff to visit training and various conferences on infections (Interviewee 1, personal communication, November 15, 2016).
Blocks
The main blocks that prevent this healthcare organization from addressing the issue deal with finances, as it lacks additional sources of investment. What is more, high personnel turnover reduces the quality of care and makes the issue more difficult to cope with because experienced professionals do not work for a long on their positions. As a result, one in 25 patients faces hospital-acquired infections, which is a critical number (Nehamas, 2015). Reed and Keemerly (2009) indicate that the mean costs attributed to hospital-acquired infections directly are rather high: “surgical site – $25, 546; vascular catheter-associated infection – $36,441; ventilator-associated pneumonia – $9669; and catheter-associated urinary tract infections – $1006” (p. 29). Thus, Miami Hospital requires substantial funding continuously o be able to avoid hospital-acquired infections in its patients. In addition to that, it can benefit if it pays more attention to its staff members. It should implement hiring process and strategic employee recognition, provide better compensation package, ensure effective communication and morale, and create a positive work environment, in the framework of which all employees follow their organizational culture and values.
References
Nehamas, Nicholas. (2015). Nearly half of South Florida hospitals below CDC standards on infections. Web.
Reed, D., & Kemmerly, S. (2009). Infection control and prevention: A review of hospital-acquired infections and the economic implications. Ochsner Journal, 9(1), 27–31.