Reference no: EM1383750 , Length: 592 Words

You've taken a position with a consulting company. You are trying to act like you are worth what the company pays you and maybe even what they bill the client for your work. Your firm's engagement is to develop an evaluation of Forsaken Memorial Health System (FMH), a hospital trying to become a healthcare system. FMH is one of two hospitals serving a community of 300,000 in the Midwest. FMH wants to remain independent, but its record to date on strategy, planning, cost control, and even quality is only mediocre. The partner at your consulting company asks you to develop a list of questions or topics the firm must review about the governing board and the CEO. He says:

Put down everything we ought to check using interviews, bylaws, and minutes, in a way that we can organize a final report. This includes membership, relation to community, and ability to handle issues. Don't forget the possibility that we may have to tell FMH to find a strong partner, but if we do that we'll need to have a convincing justification. I think we'll list what they need in the way of capabilities, show what they've got, and let them wrestle with the gap.

The ‘needs' must be convincing-if they look too cookbook, the client won't believe them, and our rapport with them will be lost. The list I'm asking you to prepare isn't Mickey Mouse, so include a justification for the questions. You might want to summarize the questions on a one-page table. The justification should be four pages or less.

"Would it be smart to use the Well-Managed Health Care Organization as a guide?" you ask. "I guess so," he replies. "It's a well-regarded text, but remember this place is accredited. It meets the basics. No sense in asking, ‘Do they appoint a CEO?' because it's obvious. Focus in on the critical questions, the ones that are likely to make a difference. Like, ‘Is the executive staff prepared for the challenges ahead?' or ‘Do they have a board and CEO evaluation system that keeps them competitive?'

"Also," he says, "textbooks aren't very dynamic. If this place is going to make it, it will have to have its share of support from the community movers and shakers, including the medical staff leadership. We might think about who the heavy hitters are in the community, what they are thinking about, and how well the FMH board is linked in to that thinking."