Process of Change Management Within a Hospital

¶ … change plan at Appalachian Regional Healthcare

Change is once concept that has to be embraced by all organizations that are to survive the current global approaches that are relevant to almost all departments; it is the only permanent thing that will never go away from any organization.

In the context of Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH), it is important to understand the mission, vision and values that direct the hospital in order to comprehend the significance of the change suggested. The ARH mission is to improve health and promote well-being of all the people in Central Appalachia in partnership with our communities. The vision the guides all the operations of the hospital is to earn the confidence and trust of the diverse communities we serve by offering healthcare excellence, delivered with compassion in a timely manner. In a nutshell, the values that guide the hospital are Excellence, Compassion, Safety, Teamwork, Inclusion and Professionalism.

The second concept that needs to be understood within the society that the hospital is situated and within which the changes will be implemented is the demographics of the region. According to the Population Reference Bureau (2015) the Appalachian region holds a higher number of aged people and higher number of disabled people (16% o the working age) than any other region in the U.S. These disabilities ranged from problems with hearing, walking, vision, cognition or climbing. It was also established that the educational and income attainment was generally lower than that of the nation. Further, the statistical studies that were carried out in 2008 -2012 indicated that 10% of the adult population was military veterans as compared to the national average of 9%.

It is this demographic consistency that hence informs the change that is to be implemented within the ARH in order to take better care of the population that is greatly advantaged and in need of not only the physical support but also the psychological support in order to live a normal and comfortable life. The proposed change herein is the improvement of the general infrastructure of the ARH in such a manner that the access, operations and exit of the disabled people and the old age patients is significantly improved with the aim of making their lives much easier and enjoyable and comfortable while within the healthcare premises.

The regions that will be of particular interest will be the demarcation and customization of the parking lot section closest to the building such that it is suitable for the two category of citizens indicated above. There will also be reevaluation of the entrances and the exits to restructure them to not only meet the standards of the American Disability Act but to surpass the standards and make the provisions for extra comfort while accessing the premises, while within the premises and while exiting. The other section that will be targeted by the change is the toilets and bathrooms sections which will be targeted for extreme change to ensure they are user friend to the elderly and disabled population of Appalachia. There will also be particular attention that will be focused on the lighting as well as sound quality control within the buildings to ensure that the environment is comfortable for the patients with hearing and vision challenges of all kinds.

Since the mission of the hospital is to ensure a healthy community and also a vision to command the trust of the diverse community that lives within the region, the changes proposed above will go a great way to ensure the mission and vision of the hospital is realized. The values of compassion and safety will significantly be achieved through these infrastructural changes since the hospital shall have shown the community that it cared for the disadvantaged population and also takes into account the veterans without undue discrimination against them.

The change model that will be used herein is the Kurt Lewin change management model. This entails three significant steps outlined as the unfreeze, change/transition and freeze stages of change management. The unfreeze stage will entail the change team sensitizing the entire ARH fraternity of the significance of the change and the timeliness of such adjustments especially in the face of the latest statistics that are at hand. It is essential that the change team makes it clear the benefits that the changes will bring not only to the hospital but also to the community at large. The change/transition stage will involve the actual implementation of the changes indicated above and the mobilization of resources to make the changes a reality. The freeze stage in this case will involve the introducing of the general public to the changes such that they actually realize the change and it becomes part of the Appalachia community and they spread the word of changes made to others across the region. When these changes will have the effect of bringing in the patients into the hospital, especially those who would otherwise not come, then the freeze stage shall have been fully realized.