Health Management 101

In health care organizations, it is important to not only care about patient satisfaction, but employee satisfaction as well. It is vital for employees to feel wanted, needed, and valued in their organization. After reading an article titled Best Ways to Improve Employee Satisfaction and Engagement, I was able to learn how engaging employees in the work place, is able to improve employee satisfaction.  According to the article on The Balance, a survey was taken in order to indicate the overall satisfaction of employees. From this survey, it showed that the most important parts of employee satisfaction and engagement, is having a positive relationship with coworkers in the work place, and the ability to use skills that relate to an employees work. The third most important factor of employee satisfaction, is the meaningfulness of the job. The work itself falls to fourth place in the list of important factors.   The list goes on and the factors vary for each organizat...

Success. How is it measured? Can success be measured in healthcare organizations? If it can be, what is the best way to measure it? Is it a tangible measurement, or is it abstract? According to an article written by  HealthCatalyst , the main goal for healthcare facilities is to follow a known trifecta, which is otherwise known as the Triple Aim of Healthcare, which includes improving the patient experience, improving the health of populations, and reducing costs ( HealthCatalyst ). Although the Triple Aim of Healthcare is important, it is also important to recognize specifically how these healthcare goals can be measured and how it is tied to an organizations overall success. According to the article, things known as outcome measures are used to define how progress is being measured within a healthcare organization ( HealthCatalyst ). These outcome measures are "motivated" by the triple aim of healthcare and are able to measure the success of an organization by revealing w...

On Friday, a group of health management and policy students attended the NNEAHE Annual Meeting. At the beginning of the day, public speaker Dr. Josh Luke spoke to everyone about healthcare and prominent issues in the business. A large portion of his talk was focused on generational change and the issues that arise in healthcare regarding the subject. Because of my age, I am known to fall under the “millennial generation”. During his speech, Dr. Luke referenced how millennials don’t just “do”, but instead, ask “why”. According to Dr. Luke, older generations are known to simply do what they are told, with no questions. But, millennials are different. They tend to search for new and improved ways to do things. They tend to be innovative. They are the future of healthcare according to Josh Luke. So, how does an organization stay up to date? How do they thrive in the changing times? According to Dr. Luke, if an organization does not make the switch to the millennial thinking, the b...

Long-Term Care facilities, although are part of the healthcare world, have different issues than places such as hospitals. Hospitals struggle with keeping patients safe for a small extended amount of time, while long-term care facilities must focus on patients well-being for months, and in most cases, years. It is a known fact that the population is becoming older each year. In the year 2050, 88 million Americans will be older than sixty five, which means there will be an even larger demand for long-term care facilities across the country ( Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ). Although long-term care facilities are necessary, they are also expensive and require a great deal of upkeep. In 2011, the total amount spent on long-term care was around $210.9 billion dollars ( Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ). Although the government currently pays for the cost of long-term care facilities, what will happen in the future? Since the aging population is growing, this can only mean that the cost...

In this day and age, technology is at the core of healthcare innovation. It stores everything from patient data, to the updated cafeteria menu, all the way to the most important medical devices used by each specific unit. In most cases, people view technology as a way to communicate. Although administration and management practically run off of technology, there are issues that occur more often than one thinks. On a day to day basis, administration and management use technology to do simple day to day tasks. Cell phones are not only personal tools but they are also used to update schedules, check emails, contact physicians, and speak between other coworkers. But, could technology influence management and administration in a negative way? Is it possible for technology to be a barrier as opposed to a support tool? In my opinion, I feel as though technology, although can be destructive in some cases, it is more positive than negative when it comes to healthcare. When a patient leaves ...

When it comes to managing healthcare facilities such hospitals, or long term care facilities, I feel as though it can be common for coworkers to disagree. As an employee of a hospital and a dementia unit, I have experienced conflict with coworkers. But, from a perspective of an administrator, how does one help to fix issues between coworkers and mend conflict? As a twenty year old college student, I've never managed anything but a group project. Most of the time, everyone is in agreement with the plan of attack, and usually when there is a potential issue, it immediately gets fixed by one person in the group deciding to take control to correct the issue. But, how does an administrator take control of an issue? What is the best method of attack when it comes to mending conflict? Is there a secret to avoiding conflict, or is it inevitable when working in large healthcare organizations?   I read an article online about resolving conflict situations between coworkers, and ...

Behavioral health has been a controversial topic in not only healthcare, but other industries as well. There is a certain stigma attached to behavioral health that seems to draw people to negative conclusions about the topic. In my opinion, behavioral health issues seem to be more prevalent now, than they were before. In 2015, $3.2 trillion dollars were spent on healthcare in the United States ( National Health Expenditures 2015 ). Of that, $163.3 billion dollars were spent on personal care services, which include "residential mental health" facilities ( National Health Expenditures 2015 ). With all of the money in healthcare, why isn't there more being done for those struggling with mental health issues?  I often hear peers talk about the lack of resources for those with mental health issues. When it comes to behavioral health, there are not many options for people.  In New Hampshire, there are only ten active mental health centers ( New Hampshire Department of H...