Suffolk County Community Health Centers SWOT Analysis (Research Paper Sample)

Suffolk County Community Health Centers SWOT Analysis
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Healthcare organizations all over the world must constantly make adjustments to sustain optimal function. Many different techniques can be applied to establish where changes need to be implemented. One important method includes analysis of an organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, usually referred to as SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis technique has been used broadly in other sectors but has not been commonly used in healthcare.
SWOT analysis is the basis for strategic planning and is done by a group of experts who can measure the business from a critical viewpoint. This panel of experts could include senior leaders, employees, patients, board members, medical staff, technical experts and community leaders.
Group members’ argue their valuations on financial status, utilization rates, patient satisfaction statistics, outcome measures and organizational performance measures. While established on data and facts, the assumptions from SWOT analysis are a professional opinion of the panel. An analysis at the Suffolk County Community Health Centers offers a good example of SWOT analysis. The community health center in the health system set-up had expressed interest in improving numbers of screening and quick detection of CRC. This essay intends to deliberate the strength, weakness; opportunities and threats (SWOT) of Suffolk County Community Health Centers.
Strengths
SWOT analysis observes strengths as present factors that have encouraged outstanding health care organizational perform well. In healthcare organizations, some good examples in a medical facility may include the use of state-of-the-art medical apparatus, financial investments in healthcare informatics, and emphasis on community healthcare development projects. Additionally, strengths might include very competent medical personnel, a proper understanding among medical employees of the health facility goals, and on quality improvement.
Staff and Health Service Delivery
Suffolk County Community Health Centers has employed devoted and motivated clinical personnel who are conversant about CRC. On the other hand, the Medical Staff in the health facility provided bilingual services. Strength is the center policy of carrying out a complete physical test. The new physical and history form, includes a reminder for the nurses to ask about CRC screening. At baseline, fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) is advised when patients are young adults screening is part of the hospital’s written protocol, which included digital rectal exam (DRE) and FOBT cards.
Availability and Accessibility
Suffolk County Community Health Centers provide FOBT and flexible sigmoidoscopies on site. The health center has easy access to DCBE as a backup hospital, and utilizes this screening practice. The hospital centers strength in their protocols for starting the transfer process for colonoscopy. The availability and accessibility of the health center to a bigger patient population is among the strengths at the hospital. In the financial matters, the center has a policy that does not turn away patients who are unable to pay medical bills.
Weaknesses
Weaknesses are organizational issues that are likely increase health care high costs or cut down healthcare quality. For example, defects include aging healthcare services and a lack of continuousness in clinical to find out the underlying causes. For instance, interruptions in the permanency of care often originate from inadequate forms of communication. Weaknesses also have been a crucial factor to breed other shortcomings. Poor communication structures interrupt the continuity of care, and then this disintegration results to ineffectiveness in the whole system. Incompetence, in turn, diminishes financial and other resources.
Lack of Knowledge
Most patients lack knowledge of the importance of screening. Others are unaware of the significance of preparing sufficiently for the examination and follow-up appointments. Additionally, some non-clinical staff at the centers is not entirely informed about CRC, the meaning of CRC screening, and the different CRC screening approaches.
Language and Cultural Barriers
Staff at the center experience significant barriers to screening among patient’s population. Language is one barrier and a weakness because some of them speak Portuguese, French, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Russian, Manteca and are not fluent in English. Cultural barriers involve attitudes about invasive procedures such as obtaining stool for tests. Many patients view a FOBT culturally unacceptable.
Lack of Resources
Financial problems are one of the issues experienced by health facilities. Some of them identified include lack of insurance and the cost of tests. Another cited problem as barriers to screening for CRC is lack of compliance since the cost of tests and logistics are very high.
Circumstances at the community health centers are other major problems. There is a need for flexible sigmoidoscopies with, lack of enough equipment, low availability and unavailability of colonoscopy that is essential in screening and for positive findings on FOBT or sigmoidoscopy.
Opportunities
SWOT perceives opportunities for a significant new business initiative accessible to healthcare companies. Examples of opportunities include collaboration among healthcare institutions by the development of healthcare distribution networks. The health organization can get additional funding for healthcare equipment, community cooperation to develop modern healthcare programs. There is a chance to creation of clinical protocols to expand quality and competence opportunities.
There is a significant new health care business advantage available to a healthcare organization. For instance, the collaboration among different healthcare organizations through the improvement of healthcare distribution networks. Increased aid for healthcare informatics, public partnering to create new healthcare programs, and the creation of clinical practices to improve quality and efficiency. Incorporated healthcare distribution networks have a prospect to impact positively on health care policy at the national, state and local levels. They also have a chance to increase patient satisfaction by supporting public involvement and making sure that there is patient representation on boards and committees.
Patient Education and Outreach
Community health center staffs have put in place many ways to advance screening and quick detection of CRC. Staffs also obtain patient education materials incorrect languages with traditionally appropriate words for the health center patients. The Community health center has created opportunities for outreach. Such centers help the staff and patients to visualize demonstrations at libraries and senior centers and the hospitals make announcements to the public in English and Spanish. According to the hospital’s policies, written patient resources include the checklists of symptoms of CRC and statistics about vital lifestyle modifications. In regards to Katie Couric and her drive to increase screening might be an actual way to spread to other patients of the target population. Some staff members in collaboration also conduct outreach by talking with younger adult family members dur...