Introduction
Vanguard Health was founded in 1997. It is one of the long-term care providers in the United States of America. Vanguard Health has many facilities that provide rehabilitation and nursing services to patients who are recovering from injuries, surgeries, and other illnesses. The current headquarters for the health system in Brentwood, Tennessee. Just like the other health networks, Vanguard boasts of many branches across the various states in the U.S. For instance, it is in more than 28 locations and has over 36,000 employees. It has a unique model that ensures the delivery of community healthcare. For example, it can provide diagnostic and elective services through its system of Health Portability. As such, it has extensive presence and flexibility that align with the organizational passion for excellence in the delivery of healthcare and its mission to ensure the dignity of life for the population it serves. The key to the mandate of the organization is to ensure excellent clinical practice in long-term healthcare. Also, it aims at delivering health services that reflect the needs of patients (Vanguard Health, n.d.). To continue with its mandate, there is a need for strategies that will ensure continued service delivery. As a result, the following paper describes the key strategies that Vanguard Health should employ.
Strategic Plan and Network Growth
Strategic Plan
Vanguard Health plays an integral role in the delivery of care in the various regions it operates. This is based on the understanding that one of the areas of specialization is in long-term care. With the increase of senior citizens number in the U.S., suffering from different chronic diseases, and other people with long-term ailments, the organization has become an essential component in their lives (Harris-Kojetin, Sengupta, Park-Lee, & Valverde, 2013). A case in point, the majority of the people who require long-term care services do not have access to them due to the design of the U.S. care system. As a result, Vanguard Health has invested in complementary facilities and acute care centers to offer services. The model applied in the operation of the network is based on principals of running non-profit health organizations which are integrated with the business strategies for privately owned healthcare facilities (Vanguard Health, n.d.). This has resulted in a hybrid operating system that has increased efficiency and effectiveness in its health care delivery endeavors.
Network Growth
Vanguard Health has been expanding its network due to the increasing demand for long-term health care. It has hospitals that deliver care in urban centers. Examples of the healthcare facilities include Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, and Metropolitan Detroit, and Michigan. The organization has also introduced the Health Portability Program which targets smaller providers. This is an innovation that offers a range of clinical services that were previously not available in the community. It entails the use of fully equipped mobile healthcare units. The key features are the ‘dock unit’ which makes it easy to be easily installed in different sites, quality mobile healthcare units, and pre-fabricated units.
Another key strategy for building its network has been through acquisitions of other health facilities. However, this approach faces challenges of low pace implementation due to financial issues affecting some of the targeted facilities. It is worth noting that Vanguard is not a charitable organization and hence shareholders are concerned about deals that may negatively affect its growth and the returns on investment. In general, the health system has been able to expand its network to 28 hospitals. The exponential expansion has been attributed to the lack of other players who specialize in long-term care. As a result, with the increasing number of aging Americans, their services have been in high demand across the country. This denotes that the long-term services will continue to be in high demand. However, Vanguard Health needs to devise innovative measures to ensure that it reaches the Americans in rural areas who have no access to long-term care. For example, the capacity of portability health should be expanded. Finally, it needs to devise financial systems that can cushion it from monetary breakdown during the acquisition process.
Human Resource Staffing
Professional nursing practice plays a critical role in the provision of excellent healthcare to patients in a safe environment (Frith, Anderson, Tseng, & Fong, 2012). It is due to their pivotal role that it has invested in many nurses and other health professionals such as speech and occupational therapists. In addition to professional qualifications, health care providers undergo specialized training on how to interact with clients in order to provide patient-centered care. Also, they work as a team to ensure holistic healthcare to the patients. In order to continue delivering quality care, Vanguard Health should ensure that there are adequate health professionals. This will avoid instances of workload that affect service delivery. In addition to the training, the professionals should be well motivated by remunerations and good work-life balance.
Resource Management
Resource management entails control of the human capital and the facilities within the system. For example, Vanguard Health has invested in technology and over 36,000 employees. The core mandate of the health system is to ensure excellent health care delivery. As a result, there is a need to come up with strategies that will guarantee efficiency in all the sectors of operation. For example, by adopting the hybrid model, it has been able to deliver value to both the patients and the employees. Currently, the management of the organization has been able to strike a balance on how it utilizes resources. A case in point is the continued expansion and yet remaining profitable. However, it is imperative to note that many elderly Americans are covered through Medicaid. This is a critical area that Vanguard Health has experienced challenges that relate to delayed payments. As a result, there is a need to devise a system that will ensure that such problems are addressed to avoid compromising the care delivery to the elderly.
Satisfaction of Patients
In modern society, the satisfaction of patients is a critical component of any successful health system (Mehta, 2015). This is based on the fact that healthcare for patients includes healing the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the body. Vanguard has ensured that its healthcare providers are highly trained to understand and address the needs of the patients. Besides, the facilities are equipped with modern technologies that provide the desired hospital healing environments.
Conclusion
To ensure continued delivery of the excellent services, good planning, resource management processes, patient satisfaction, and right staffing should be the key strategies that Vanguard Health should invest in to meet its goals in the coming ten years. The organization should put emphasis on the innovations that will lead to improved efficiencies and at the same time reduce the cost of operations.
References
Frith, K. H., Anderson, E. F., Tseng, F., & Fong, E. A. (2012). Nurse staffing is an important strategy to prevent medication errors in community hospitals. Nursing Economics, 30(5), 288-291.
Harris-Kojetin, L., Sengupta, M., Park-Lee, E., & Valverde, R. (2013). Long-term care services in the United States: 2013 overview. U.S. Department. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 1(37), 1-107.
Mehta, S. J. (2015). Patient satisfaction reporting and its implications for patient care. AMA Journal of Ethics, 17(7), 616.
Vanguard Health. (n.d.). Vanguard healthcare. Web.