Banner Health Network Growth Strategy - Essay Example

Banner Health Banner Health Banner Health is a non-profit making healthcare organization in the country. The organization provides medical care to citizens in seven states. The organization was formed from a merger of two health care organizations; Samaritan HealthCare from Phoenix and Lutheran Health system from Dakota (Wickramasinghe & Gupta, 2005). The organization currently employs more than 35000 workers. The number of workers is likely to increase due to the growth strategies proposed by the organization. Network Growth Strategy As noted, the company has operations in 7 states namely Arizona, California, Nevada, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and Alaska. The organization has expansive plans to increase the state coverage as well as the concentration of its services in the seven states. In this regard, the organization has set up new hospitals in the states and also has plans to set up more health facilities. An example is a proposal to construct a modern health facility at Fort Collins. The move is aimed at increasing Banner Health presence and also bringing quality healthcare closer to the people. Banner Health has partnered with institutions of higher learning to expand its services on cancer treatment (Banner Health, n.d). Specifically, Banner has engaged University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to increase accessibility to cancer treatment for its patient. Under this partnership, Banner has built its cancer treatment center in Arizona. The organization has plans to increase its cancer treatment centers across the states where it has operations. The growth plan of Banner Health also includes opening of new health clinics in the country. The ANA anticipates that the demand for health care will increase significantly in the next decade. As such, bigger health institutions are likely to be overstretched. As such, clinics that are closer to the population are will be ideal for early detection and commencement of treatment. Also, clinics are important in primary care. The efforts to consider and address future needs makes Banner Health more prepared for future health needs. Nurse Staffing The American Nursing Organization has stipulated that the country will experience nurse shortage by 2020. The reason for the shortage includes lack of admission slots for new nursing students and nurse turnover. Banner health is cognizant of this issue. As a result, the Banner Center for Health Careers provides a long-term strategy of gathering details of qualified nurses and other medical professionals. The organization can then replace nurses from the pool or recruit new nurses whose details are captured in the system. The organization has also set aside a $5 million budget for training of future nurses and physicians. The aim is to ensure that it reduces reliance on institutions of higher learning or the government. The move is meant to assure the citizens of high-quality care despite the looming nurse shortage. In the same node, the organization has devised methods to retain its workforce. As noted, turnover is one of the causes of the nurse shortage. To avert turnover, the organization offers competitive remuneration packages, conducive work environment for career growth and development and also good employee and management relations. Resource Management Banner health is a non-profit making organization. The situation implies that the organization must utilize its resources prudently for optimum performance. The organization emphasizes on delivering high-quality care at the lowest possible costs. The company puts cost-cutting strategies on aspects such as supplies. In fact, the organization saved $41.5 million from cost cutting strategies on supplies. The saving arose as a result of improvement in utilization of resources supplied by the suppliers. Banner health is implementing a physician preference contracting strategy to reduce wastage. Under this strategy, the organization order supplies that are required by physicians. The strategy is meant to avoid ordering of services or equipment that may never be used or are not preferred by the employees. Ordering the needed equipment reduces wastage and reduces the amount of resources spent on supplies. To reduce the cost of human resources, the organization has introduced telehealth service to enable caregivers monitor patients in critical conditions remotely (Banner Health, n.d). The innovation has rendered the organization a leader in clinical innovation. The technology enables a caregiver to monitor several patients at the same time. As such, the need for caregivers besides the patients all the time is diminished. The consequence is that the organization will require a leaner workforce or accord its workers fewer work hours. This will reduce the instances of burnout and also turnover. Patient Satisfaction The success of Banner Health is anchored on is ability to provide quality care for all its patients. In fact, the mission statement of the organization stipulates the organization’s commitment to offering quality care and a healing environment for its patients. To enhance quality in service delivery, Banner Health adheres strictly to the ANA code of practice. The adherence is meant to assure patients of standard care and hence satisfaction. The organization has introduced surgical robotics to enhance surgical operations. Surgical robotics assists the physicians with precision in surgery. Robotics enables surgeons make accurate and smaller incisions (Banner Health, n.d). As such, the surgeons can handle complicated surgeries with ease since the chances of locating and rectification of the problems are high. The investment in surgical robotics is consistent with the organization commitment to patient-centered care. The healthcare places the health interests of the patients first in all decisions on investment and innovation. Banner health uses a simulation program to train its workforce on various concepts within the work environment. The goal is to increase the quality of services offered at its facilities in all seven states. The decisions to support its employees with training at all levels ensures that they are up to date with medical technology and new processes. In fact, Banner is one of the leading health institution offering learning and education support to its caregivers (Banner Health, n.d). Conclusion As discussed, Banner Health is one of the leading non-profit making health institutions in the country. The organization is operational in seven states with expansion plans. The organization is taken brave measures to ensure that it retains its status and commitment to serve patients despite the looming turbulence in the health sector. The organization has devised growth strategies to enable it to serve more patients as well strategizing on future staffing needs, given the anticipated nurse shortage. The strategies will ensure that the Banner Health remains the leading health institution in terms of patient satisfaction and readiness to face future healthcare challenges. References Banner Health. (n.d.). Medical Excellence. Retrieved June 26, 2015, from https://www.bannerhealth.com/About+Us/Medical+Excellence/_Medical+Excellence.htm Wickramasinghe, N., & Gupta, J. N. D. (2005). Creating knowledge-based healthcare organizations. Hershey PA: Idea Group Pub. Read More