ASCENSION HEALTH Strategic Plan

INTRODUCTION  Was founded in 1999 and developed from a catholic ministry.  One of the leading healthcare organizations in the United States with its facilities well distributed over 25 states.  It has a significant administrative capabilities and a large patient database.  Mission is to commit themselves to serving all persons with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable (Ascension, 2016).  Its vision is to create a vibrant Catholic health ministry in the United States that leads healthcare’s transformation (Ascension, 2016).

RELEVANCE OF A STRATEGIC PLAN TO ASCENSION HEALTH  It ensure that vulnerable individuals in the society are equally placed in the reception of care.  It ensures the provision of healthcare that works, that is safe and leaves no one behind.  It provides an overall strategic direction to the management of the organization.  Gives a specific direction to areas like financial strategy, marketing strategy.

SWOT ANALYSIS Opportunities  Expansion to other states  Diversification of health services in great demand  Utilizing technology and innovation Threats  Intensive competition  Complex government policies Strengths  Has a large chain of hospitals in various states in America  Employs highly professional health practitioners  Highly effective management programs  Has support from the Catholic Ministry Weaknesses  Ties to religious ministry hinders exploration of other health objectives  Only limited to the United States Healthcare industry  Weak branding

THE STEPS THAT PROFILES THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROCESS  Establishing the relevance to the current mission, vision, and values.  Environmental scanning for competitive advantages.  Strategic goals.  Internal dynamic and resource considerations for strategy implementation, including key budget information (Pryor, Hendrich, Henkel, Beckmann, & Tersigni, 2011).  Measurement guidelines.  Feedback considerations, and mechanisms the organization should put into place to ensure the success of the company.

RELEVANCE TO THE CURRENT MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES.  Dedication to a spiritually-centered, holistic care which will sustains and improves the health of individuals and communities (Ascension, 2016).  Each facility is dedicated in propagating the mission and vision of the organization through guidance from its values.  Offers each member facility a common objective that unites their regional efforts as members of a single organization with a single objective.  The organization visualizes itself as a significant Catholic health ministry that will provide the required transformation in the health industry.  The values help the organization and its member facilities to uphold the stipulations of the Catholic ministry and its health service provision extension

ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES  The use of strategic resources strengthens the corporate strategy.  The organization has specific programs and services tailored to the health needs of the target population.  The organizations must have a maintained, well updated record of their performance on consumer satisfaction.

INTERNAL DYNAMIC AND RESOURCE CONSIDERATIONS FOR STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION, INCLUDING KEY BUDGET INFORMATION.  Organization utilizes a systems theory approach from which each facility is given some level of independence.  Each facility has its own management and its own organizational structure.  The organization chooses a particular change management model based on the type of transition.  Organization utilizes strategies to maintain the integrity of its Catholic ministries and as well serve well in the health industry (Lancaster, et al., 2007)

MEASUREMENT GUIDELINES  Ascension must evaluate the performance of this strategic plan from each point.  Verifying the effectiveness of the strategy.  Efforts in improving quality in all its facilities must be established through an active and reliable statistic.  The establishment of a new facility.  It is very important to define a tolerance range beyond which such a corrective action can be engaged.

FEEDBACK CONSIDERATIONS, AND MECHANISMS THE ORGANIZATION SHOULD PUT INTO PLACE TO ENSURE THE SUCCESS OF THE COMPANY  Organizations must have maintained a well updated record of their performance on consumer satisfaction.  Interviews and questionnaires can be supplied to selected patient groups in each facility to establish the level of satisfaction they have on the facility’s product.  This information will be compared with records to establish if the strategy implemented has performed as expected.  If the strategy fails to show the performance anticipated. Organization to roll back the changes.

STRATEGIC FINANCIAL PLAN  The organization avails its financial reports and analysis to the public and its partners for better understanding of its operations.  To establish a platform from which the organization’s financial status can be explored and re-established with respect to implementing its strategic plan.  The organization classifies its financial information on the basis of strategies driving growth, results of consolidated operations and liquidity and capital resources.  The organization’s financial plans and recurrent expenditure must fit within any one of these classifications.

CONT.  Explore the financial strategies the organization has utilized to gain financial strength in the industry.  The organization can develop a consolidated financial statement.  The budget must also highlight the expected number of workers in the new facility and how compensation will be distributed within this framework.  The organization must exhibit good capital expenditure planning in its effort to improve the quality of its services a notch higher.  Ascension Health must ensure a contingency plans and budgeting for unexpected events.

CONCLUSION  To explicitly service specific and specialized needs of the population, the organization has specific programs and services tailored to the health needs of the target population.  As quality is a significant element in the health industry, the organization has a follow-up process through which the quality of their services are traced and improved.  The use of strategic resources strengthens the corporate strategy and offers the organization a competitive advantage within the market.

REFERENCES Ascension. (2016, 5 22). Mission, Vision and Values. Retrieved from Ascension Health Organization: Lancaster, A. D., Ayers, A., Belbot, B., Goldner, V. K., Stanton, D., & Sparkman, L. (2007). Preventing falls and eliminating injury at Ascension Health. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 33(7), Pryor, D., Hendrich, A., Henkel, R. J., Beckmann, J. K., & Tersigni, A. R. (2011). The quality ‘journey’at Ascension Health: how we’ve prevented at least 1,500 avoidable deaths a year—and aim to do even better. Health Affairs, 30(4),