Case Study: Let It Pour

Case Study: Let It Pour

Introduction

Faith Community Hospital is known throughout the community for its religious heritage and commitment to the public. This commitment to the public and Faith's value of religion among their staff has currently brought several issues to the Board of Directors attention that need to be addressed. The board has mentioned the issues that are causing confusion within the hospital as well as amongst patients and the media to the CEO who will be call an all-member meeting in two-weeks. In this meeting he plans to address these issues and propose possible solutions to the board and the staff as well as get input and ideas from all involved. In order to prepare for this meeting the CEO has asked that a case study be completed.

This case study will focus on the three major issues which include communication, organizational structure, and ethics. Each of these issues is accompanied by smaller more obvious problems. In this case study the issues will be discussed in more detail and possible solutions will be suggested. These issues must be addressed and resolved in order for Faith Hospital to continue to serve the community.

Problems at Hand

There were several issues mentioned by the CEO including Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) directives, counselors treating patient's pro-bono, pharmacists accepting installment payments for prescriptions and patients being turned away due to lack of insurance. The issues mentioned here however are all smaller sub-issues stemming from much larger problems. All the issues at hand are intertwined with the other causing confusion and disorder within the hospital.

First of all, the lack of communication between management, staff, patients and board members is the core of Faith Community's problems. Without communication people loss track of the mission, feel unappreciated, and make choices based on their individual ethics. The staff members do not feel comfortable discussing ideas or decisions with management and therefore make the decision they feel best fits with the companies mission statement. For instance, the issues with the counselors and pharmacists could have been avoided had a proper communication system been in place. With the proper communication system, the staff could have presented their ideas to management and possibly created successful programs for low-income patients.

The issue with Faith's organizational structure also stems from the lack of communication but that is not an excuse for violating policy and procedure. The staff members should understand that policy must be followed in order to avoid chaos. When staff members choose to make decisions based on their own ethics while ignoring company policy it should be unacceptable and addressed immediately. Each of the issues mentioned by the CEO is in violation of the hospitals policies and procedures which can cause major disruption.

The problems regarding ethics seem to be caused by a misunderstanding of the company's mission statement by the staff. The mission statement is as follows "With the foundation and commitment of our spiritual heritage and values, our mission is to promote the health and well-being of the people in the communities we serve through a comprehensive continuum of services provided in collaboration with the partners who share the same vision and values (UOP, 2004)." The confusion arises because management has not discussed this mission with all parties involved. Therefore, the staff members, low-level management, and stakeholders all have varied interpretations of the mission statement. These variations of understanding have sent staff members in countless different directions.

There are also difference in belief and understanding when it comes to the Hippocratic Oath amongst staff members which also causes ethical dilemmas. The Hippocratic Oath is an oath traditionally taken by physicians pertaining to the ethical practice of medicine (Wiki, Oath 2006). This oath however, has many variations including the original translated from Greek which forbade general practitioners from surgery, abortion, euthanasia, or abuse of the prescription pad. In addition, ethical issues associated with HMOs, living wills, and the morning-after pill are not included in the original or more modern versions of the oath. The things mentioned here are everyday encounters for the staff members at Faith. Therefore, the confusion is understandable but needs to be addressed so that everyone on staff is on the same page.

Solutions

There are several items that need to be addressed in order to come to a solution. The issues facing Faith Community Hospital are not going to be solved overnight. Therefore, first things first, at the all members meeting in two weeks the focus should be on opening the doors to communication, following hospital policy and understanding the hospitals mission.

Communication must be welcomed and encouraged by all members of management to their immediate staff. An open-door policy of communication should be introduced, management must be willing to listen to the staff and let them know that their input is appreciated and that their ideas are respected. If communication is encouraged issues like the ones faced today can be avoided in the future.

Faith Community prides itself on the commitment to spiritual heritage and values while promoting the health and well-being on the people of their community. However, at times there may be differences