Memorial Hermann Health Care System in Houston - Essay Example

"Memorial Hermann Health Care System in Houston" is a controversial example of a paper on the health system. 
The Memorial Hermann health care system in Houston is the largest non-profit healthcare system in Texas. Its main market is the Houston community and this healthcare system covers this market through its hospitals equipped with numerous special services and programs and a large network of affiliated physicians (e-Korn/Ferry, 2011). Since it started, Memorial Hermann's health care system has been expanding and as for now, it has 11 hospitals, 9 of which offer acute care. The main strength of this healthcare system is its vast network of affiliated physicians. This has enabled the system to offer quality healthcare services and in 2009, it received many awards for clinical excellence. The system hires highly qualified personnel and this forms the basis of its high-quality services (Sheila Greco Associates, 2011).

Memorial Hermann experiences the lowest employee turnover rate and this has enabled it to attain a high level of customer confidence as the best healthcare system. Statistics from  GlobalData (2011) indicates that for the past five years, employees have voted this healthcare system as the best place to work. The system has numerous special facilities and special services for example 3 premier heart and vascular institutes, 8 comprehensive cancer centers, 10 surgery centers, and many more. This reduces the number of external referrals.

The large network of Memorial Hermann presents a challenge in its management and this is one of its weaknesses. Currently, there is an increased need for acute care and the trend is expected to increase in the future. This presents an opportunity for the system to expand its existing services (e-Korn/Ferry, 2011). The main threat to the memorial Hermann is other specialized treatment centers. This has caused the admissions in some of its hospitals like the Southwest Hospital to decline over the past few years (O'HARE, 2009)

The Veteran Affairs (VA) hospital of Houston offers various veteran services ranging from addictions, general practice, homeless outreach, and intensive care, to special services and surgical services. These services are specially designed for veteran families and this group of people forms its main market. The VA Houston hospital has the best surgical team compared to other VA centers. This has made the center record the lowest mortality rates in all non-cardiac surgery, all surgery, and general surgery (US DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN AFFAIRS, 2010 a). VA hospital of Houston has a culturally diverse workforce and this enables it to accommodate customers from varied cultural backgrounds.

Evidence-based practice is the hospital’s policy and this has enabled the hospital to record a continuous improvement in its services (US DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN AFFAIRS, 2010 b). One weakness that is observable in Houston VA hospital is limited services as compared to those offered by its main competitors. There is an increased interest among veterans for services offered by the hospital and this presents an opportunity for the hospital to increase the services it offers. The main threat to this hospital is the competition from other more advanced and specialized systems like the memorial Hermann.