The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Research Paper Example

Introduction

This essay reflects on the team works of a consulting firm, “BABHN”. The firm’s customers are mainly pediatric health services inclusive of hospitals and primary care practices. “BABHN’ is an acronym meaning ‘Build a Better Health Network’ with a target population of, “Babies Health Networks.” In this discourse as consultant hired by CHOP an analysis of BABHN’s current strategies will be evaluated and presented. Significantly, the organizations’ approaches to the population’s health would be a serious matter of concern.

Ultimately, recommendations will be made to the CEO and Board of Trustees offering techniques, which could be adopted to improve their services to this population of clients. It is hoped that these recommendations would strengthen CHOP’s marketing profile within the national jurisdiction and externally across the globe. This presentation will specifically, describe and analyze steps taken by CHOP in developing an integrated delivery system. Next the major conclusions of the CHNA will be identified with the goal of exploring the extent to which their implementation plan effectively addresses major health needs

Description and analysis of steps taken by CHOP in Developing an integrated delivery system.

CHOP is one the largest most power integrated pediatric services nationally and, perhaps, internationally too. Steps being taken by CHOP to develop an integrated delivery system are  continuous. They encompass pediatric care focused on establishing health and well-being of children from birth through to adolescence. This is very important because World Health Organization (WHO) perceives these features of a child’s environment as the right of the child. Importantly, CHOP does not limit its program to hospitals and clinical settings, but expands it to the child’s home and school. In this way the program becomes integrated into every aspect of the child’s life encompassing states of wellness as well as when health levels change drastically. There are impressive outpatient programs, with a specialty model that is exclusive to CHOP. The inpatient integrated branch of health care delivery is unique to CHOP’s philosophy of collaborative care and unified approaches to child centered interventions (Porter, Daily, & Dervan, 2011).

Besides, children are seen by a primary care physician and specialist every month depending on their health condition. Healthcare practice in America is unique. It is not free and in many situations inaccessible to adults. Therefore, many children could be deprived of quality care if organizations such as CHOP did not offer these services. Also, taking into considering insurance coverage requirements specifying type of care each person receives, these steps towards   advancing an integrated delivery system is very valuable to this society. Further, CHOP integrates after hospitalization of pediatric acute cardiac intervention with follow up home care (Porter et.al, 2011).

Outpatient pediatric care is a step that has been taken towards integrated health care delivery. Initially, a child was given a single pediatrician from birth until adolescence. With integrated care delivery implementation, the child’s parent now has options of selecting alternative pediatric services. Currently, pediatricians see some 4,500 children per year. This is above the average specification as it pertains to pediatrician per child ratio. Therefore, attempts at more integrative healthcare delivery are aimed at reducing this ratio. It was evident that pediatricians have been struggling with giving adequate care due to staff shortages and large amounts of patients (Porter et. al, 2011).

Consequently, opening specialty outpatient clinics is a further approach towards closing gaps between adequate and inadequate care due to patient overload. These clinics cater for patients beyond the general practitioner’s scope of practice. They could be referred by a general pediatric practitioner. The advantage of this service is reducing the amount of patients who are seen by the general pediatrician. At the same time children who require special medical attention due to no general health issue are serviced in a location compatible with their needs (Porter et. al, 2011)

Another strength in adapting this strategy as part of the integrated delivery care service is its appropriateness in allowing children access to specialty care outside of the hospital setting. These clinics offer care for cases which would have never been seen in the general practice. They include developmental pediatrics, otolaryngology and surgeries for which there is an insufficient supply of physicians. Further, this unique integrated approach allowed specialist to treat throughout the patient’s childhood while still maintain contact  for periodic  follow up evaluation with their primary care pediatrician in a collaborative approach ( Porter et.al, 2011)

This collaborative structure enhancing the integrated delivery care approach, offers a type of patient security, which is exceptional. For example, in many healths care models, especially, in this age of electronic health record (EHR) systems there is a disjointment in accessing patient’s records if they are seeing a number of specialists. Also if the rcords have to be transferred for continual care much privacy boundaries have to be crossed in providing access. In this system established by CHOP communication is established among specialist through telephone calls and letters. This strategy ensures that integrated care is maintained throughout the facility. In services outside of CHOP a developmental psychologist specialist treating a child has access to no other information about the client except as it pertains to that condition. CHOP is way ahead in its collaborative/integrative approach to health care delivery. Specialist, along with the primary care pediatrician, link skills to treat patients from a combined holistic paradigm (Porter et.al, 2011)

Outline of major conclusions of the CHNA

Based on the Community health needs assessment (CHNA) decisions were made, on May14th, 2015 by the board of directors that the current president, Madeline Bell will, succeed the CEO Steven Altschuler. In the interim she will function as COO President and CEO of the hospital. She is the first woman to hold such a position in the company. In the meantime conclusion regarding expansion of services geographically and technically has been made after reviewing conclusions given by the CHNA. Currently, the conclusive projection for 2015 -2017 is erecting a three 26-story towers complex expanding the current provisions. This complex will be erected on Schuylkill Avenue and is expected to be conducted in phases to finish by 2017 (Major $650-Million, Five-Year Expansion, 2015).

The plan is aimed at removing the JFK vocational school and Springfield Beer Distributor located in the same geographical area for which project managers are desirous of occupying. Currently a consultant has been hired by the hospital particularly to design traffic opportunities to the location because as it is presently traffic access difficulties are evident.  There is a very high traffic volume in this vicinity due to important business occupying the same space. Reasons for this extensive expansion are to increase accessibility of children to quality specialized care offered by the organization for over thirty years (30) (Major $650-Million, Five-Year Expansion, 2015).

Specifically, the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) report concluded that CHOP was providing an efficient service to the community, but were limited in the geographic location it served regarding equitable access to care.  Infant mortality rates were still high in the community. Importantly, there is an  acute ethnic imbalance to the service whereby 63% of the population serviced were white, 22% blacks, 8% Latino, 5% Asian and 2% other. The community’s health needs show where with 14% of children living in poverty while excellent health is available due to poverty it is still inaccessible to every child irrespective of ethnicity backgrouopeorporationnd (Public health Management Corporation, 2013).

How well does the implementation plan address major health needs?

There are 51,000 births annually at CHOP hospitals throughout the state. Women 15-44 years old give birth. Latino women have the highest birth rate while white the lowest. Also the teenage adolescent birthrate is highest among Latinos and lowest among white. Prematurity and low birth weight still plagues the community and CHOP services only 10% of these cases within the current locations. Besides, black infants are most likely to be born premature and low birth weight. Asthma is a health concern in the community and poor children are more likely to have contracted the disease than those of the wealthier sections of the community (Public Health Management Corporation, 2013).

Obesity falls within a similar category to asthma. Blacks and Latinos top the list of obese children (Public Health Management Corporation, 2013).  In my opinion the preceding plans as establishes regarding the geographic expansions does not fully meet the needs of minorities in the community. Currently as in many cases across America facilities are established, but not to meet health needs of the majority of poor people, but majority of rich ones. This has been an American health care tradition.

Conclusion

My recommendations to the CEO and Board of Trustees relates to while CHOP has gained international regognition for it s magnificent integrated health care  delivery to children, services are not accessible to the greater community. As such, measures ought to be taken to provide   more includise health care. There is no plan to include minorities and children suffering with obesity through comprehensive programs. People who benefit the most from these expansion programs are the rich that have exclusive health insurances to afford such care.

References

Major $650-Million, Five-Year Expansion at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Will Support Growth of Patient Care, Research and Teaching (2015). PR Newwire. Retrieved on 9^th July, 2015 from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/major-650- million-five-year-expansion-at-the-childrens-hospital-of-philadelphia-will-support-growth-of-patient-care-research-and-teaching-71915812.html

Porter, M. Daily, C., & Dervan, A. (2011). The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: Network Strategy. Harvard Business School.

Public Health Management Corporation (2013). The children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: Community Health Needs Assessment. Retrieved on July 9^th, 2015 from http://media.chop.edu/data/files/pdfs/chop-chna-june-2013.pdf