Discussion indicate the value of planning. Whether it is planning your classwork, planning dinner for your family, planning for a major purchase, or planning to run a health care organization, the main point is the same.

Post a comprehensive response to the following: Using specific examples and support from your Learning Resources, identify the benefits and challenges of strategic planning in health care for each of the following:

• Patient
• Managers
• Providers (physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals)
• ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
• ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ASSIGNMENT DUE SUNDAY BY 11:59PM- 2 OR 3 PAPERS NOT INCLUDING THE REFERENCE PAGE (ALL REFERENCE HAS TO BE CITED IN ASSIGNMENT) To prepare for this Assignment, select one Strategic Plan from the two listed below and find another plan online or through the Walden University Library”s Gale Virtual Reference Library. Feel free to use the optional links to other Strategic Plans listed below or find your own. Be sure you include the link to the second Strategic Plan in your Assignment. If you work in a health care setting, you can ask for a copy of the Strategic Plan from your organization. Strategic Plans Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs MN Veterans Homes Strategic Plan 2008″2013 Home Again Assisted Living Links to Other Strategic Plans (optional) Seattle Children’s Hospital: Laying the Foundation for the Next 100 Years http://www.seattlechildrens.org/about/strategic-plan/ Trillium Health Centre’s Strategic Plan 2009/10-2011/12 http://trilliumhealthpartners.ca/strategy/public/Pages/Strategic-Plan-2013-2018.aspx Nevada Strategic Health Care Plan http://www.lyon-county.org/DocumentCenter/View/6294 The Michigan Prisoner Health Care Improvement Project http://www.michigan.gov/documents/corrections/Health_Care_Strategic_Plan_222384_7.pdf UC Davis Health System Strategic Plan http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/aboutus/pdf/strategic_plan_web.pdf

Write a 2- to 3-page paper to compare and evaluate the two Strategic Plans you select. Address the following:

• How are the strategies different?
• What are the key elements of each Strategic Plan?
• Compare the goals and strategies identified in each one. Which plan is likely to be more successful and why?
• Put yourself in the role of a manager at one or both facilities. What are your responsibilities in ensuring one or both are successful?
• What barriers are there to successful implementation of the strategies, and how could the manager overcome these barriers?

Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are correct. _____________________________________________________________________________ RESOURCES

Course Text: Introduction to Healthcare Management Chapter 1, “Strategic Planning” In this chapter, you will be introduced to the strategic planning process within health care settings. The author provides insight into the process of identifying a desired future state for a health care organization and planning a means to achieve it. Chapter 5, “Planning” Planning is a fundamental task for health care managers. This chapter addresses the role of planning in an organization’s mission and vision, goals and objectives.

Article: Zuckerman, A. (2006). Advancing the state of the art in healthcare strategic planning.Frontiers of Health Services Management, 23(2), 30-15. Retrieved from http://auth.waldenulibrary.org/ezpws.exe?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mnh&AN=17310806&site=ehost-live&scope=site The author identifies the steps that health care organizations should take to increase the rigor and degree of sophistication of their strategic planning practices to be on par with non-health-related organizations. Current best practices are identified.

Article: Bartling, A. (1997). 25 pitfalls of strategic planning. Healthcare Executive, 12(5), 20-23. Retrieved from  http://auth.waldenulibrary.org/ezpws.exe?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mnh&AN=10170078&site=ehost-live&scope=site This article identifies 25 pitfalls health care managers can avoid to make strategic planning a stronger tool for their organizations.

Article:  Begun, J., & Kaissi, A. (2005). An exploratory study of healthcare strategic planning in two metropolitan areas. Journal of Healthcare Management / American College of Healthcare Executives, 50(4), 264-274. Retrieved from  http://auth.waldenulibrary.org/ezpws.exe?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mnh&AN=16130809&site=ehost-live&scope=site Interviews of leaders in 20 health care organizations in two major metropolitan areas provide insight into the value of strategic planning in health care.

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