Introduction
Quality improvement has to be a conscious process in any given organization. The reason for this argument is the fact that continuous quality improvement enables the organization to improve its productivity and service delivery. This is the case even in David HealthCare Center, a community center dedicated to the provision of expert services to its clients. The following report is a quality improvement plan for Davis HealthCare Center whereby the focus is on the development of staff members and the improvement of teams. As a health care organization, Davis HealthCare Center plays a critical role in maintaining good health within the society (Bercaw, 2016). Therefore, it has to provide top quality services to its clients to ensure maximum output from its efforts. In this regard, the paper evaluates some of the case issue improvements that Davis HealthCare Center can work on to improve their service delivery, such as staff development and team improvement.
Authority, Structure and Organization
In order to institute change in the health care center it has to be coordinated throughout all levels of the organization. As such, this is based on the notion that the lack of organizational support for any changes within the organization may lead to poor implementation of the quality improvement plans (Gustaform, 1998). The following is the authority, structure, and organization at the Davis HealthCare Center seeking to implement a quality improvement plan. The entire authority of the organization is focused on improving the output of the organization in the sense that the team involved includes board of directors, executive leadership, quality improvement committee, medical staff, middle management, and departmental staff. Each member of the team plays an instrumental role in ensuring staff development and team improvement within the organization.
The role of the board of directors is to formulate policies, which ensure that Davis HealthCare Center creates the right structures and environment to implement effectively the perceived staff development and team improvement. The executive leadership implements the formulated policies as ascribed by the board of directors within the organization. The implementation process includes allocating resources for the quality improvement plan, linking with all concerned stakeholders for their structural and moral support in the implementation of the plan, and coordinating all the involved staff members to work together towards the achievement of this quality plan (Johnson, McLaughlin & Sollecito, 2011). The quality improvement committee acts as the core for the implementation of the plan, as it creates all the structures and systems that the organization needs to put in place to facilitate staff development and team improvement.
The structures include training seminars, reading material, and quality support improvement. The medical staffs are the ones who should improve in their development and team performance, and as such, they are the main concern of the quality improvement plan. They take part in this arrangement by acting as willing participants ready to learn and improve from the training seminars provided by the organization (Meisenheimer, 1997). The middle management provides support and coordination with the medical staff to ensure that they are fully committed and aware of the quality improvement plan being implemented by the organization. The department staffs play the support role in this whole process, working as subordinates in the middle management and the medical staff.
Communication
It is imperative for all the concerned stakeholders to undertake effective communication plans for their staff members during the implementation session of the quality improvement plan. Effective communication enables the concerned stakeholders to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the quality improvement plan as it enables them to identify the success areas as well as the weakness areas to ensure that the quality improvement plan remains on track (Swansburg & Swansberg, 1995). For instance, Davis HealthCare Center needs to ensure that all the involved stakeholders are aware of what is going on with the organization regarding the quality improvement plan, especially in consideration of what to expect after implementation of the plan within the organization. As such, communication should be a two-way traffic, whereby information moves from the top of the organization, such as instructions and policy guidelines whilst reports flow from the bottom of the organization to the top echelons.
Effective communication equally ensures that all the concerned stakeholders are on board with the implementation of the quality improvement plan. In the same regard, effective communication ensures that everyone plays his or her role in the implementation of the quality improvement plan effectively for its successful implementation within the organization. Similarly, the board of directors and executive management are the ones who receive reports and outcomes of the performance activities to know whether the implementation program is on track (Bercaw, 2016). The quality improvement committee is the one in charge of fast tracking this communication because it monitors all the aspects of the quality improvement plan to ensure that everything works out as planned. The committee achieves this through overseeing all the activities involved in data collection as well as the preparation of data reports.
Education
The quality improvement committee, as mentioned earlier, is the one in charge of coordinating the implementation of the quality improvement plan within the organization. As such, its role is to coordinate its activities with all the concerned stakeholders in order to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the entire plan. For instance, for all the stakeholders to perform their roles in the implementation of the quality improvement plan effectively, they need to first know what is expected of them based on the requirements of the plan. In this regard, the quality improvement committee will have to ensure that all the concerned stakeholders know what they need to know about the plan (Gustaform, 1998). This is especially with regards to educating the staff members of the plan, such as the roles they are expected to play during implementation, as well as what effect the plan would have on their duties and the entire healthcare institution following its successful implementation.
As such, the quality improvement committee will play the leading role of an educator in this aspect, whereby it will ensure that it educates all he concerned stakeholders of their duties and responsibilities in the performance of the quality improvement plan. For instance, the committee can print and post memos on strategic billboards and other areas where the staff can easily read and familiarize themselves with the quality improvement plan. As such, the memos and billboards can provide outlines of the structured plan of their roles in the implementation of the quality improvement plan (Johnson, McLaughlin & Sollecito, 2011). In addition, the committee can also plan and hold meetings and other orientation classes for staff members at different levels of the organization to discuss their roles and duties during the implementation of the quality improvement plan. This will inform each employee on how well they fit into the quality improvement plan depending on their job roles and responsibilities in the healthcare organization.
Monitoring and Revising
For the organization to be sure it has achieved all the intended objectives of the quality improvement plan, it has to evaluate and review the implementation process to ensure it is on track. As such, it is imperative to undertake a monitoring and evaluation procedure in which it will check on the performance criteria of the quality improvement plan in all sectors. For instance, the management team will want to find out how successful the implementation plan was. In addition, the staff members will also constantly monitor the processes to ensure that they are as effective as was explained to them during the orientation plan (Meisenheimer, 1997). This therefore means that the staff members should be aware of their expectations after the implementation of the quality improvement plan, which in turn ensures effective management and improvement in all areas. If the committee discovers any defects in the quality improvement, it would speedily arrange for improvement and changes to keep the performance on tract.
Regulatory and Accreditation
The quality improvement plan needs to undergo consistent regulatory and accreditation measures to ensure that it is on track considering the expectations from the management team. For instance, the quality improvement plan needs to adhere to the expectations of the external entities involved in the accreditation of staff development and team improvement. These agencies include government agencies, health regulatory bodies, accrediting bodies, as well as other groups of professional interests that focus on quality and performance measures within the organization (Swansburg & Swansberg, 1995). As such, the organization needs to maintain a structured focus on the management and implementation of its QI plan in order to meet all the expectations and regulations set by management boards and agencies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that for Davis HealthCare Center to achieve all the objectives enshrined in its quality improvement plan, it needs to bring on board all the concerned stakeholders in such a way that every member of the team plays his or her role effectively in implementing the quality improvement plan. As such, the above case of instituting improvement within the members of staff, specifically on staff development and team improvement, it is apparent that all stakeholders need to participate fully towards the quality improvement plan, from the lowest member of the organization all the way up to the top echelons of the health care center.
References
Bercaw, R. (2016). Lean leadership for healthcare: Approaches to lean transformation. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Gustaform, D. (1998). Case studies from the quality improvement support system. Collingdale, PA: DIANE Publishing.
Johnson, J., McLaughlin, C. & Sollecito, W. (2011). Implementing continuous quality improvement in health care. Boston, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Meisenheimer, C. (1997). Improving quality: A guide to effective programs. Boston, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Swansburg, L. & Swansberg, R. (1995). Nursing staff development: A component of human resource development. Boston, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
