Project Management Plan to Upgrade Hospital Equipment

1. INTRODUCTION

This project plan is for a hypothetical struggling hospital in the NY Metropolitan area. The hospital is on the verge of bankruptcy but is the only pediatric hospital in the area. It also boasts of some of the most innovative researchers and physicians in the country. The walls are peeling, some of the equipment is outdated, and staff morale is low. As the consultant project manager, I intend to focus on identifying and replacing the outdated equipment, raising the required funds using appropriate strategies.

1.1 Purpose of Project Management Plan

The purpose of the Hospital Equipment Upgrade (HEU) PMP is to identify all outdated equipment in the target hospital, develop a plan of how this equipment will be replaced, and identify the source of the funds required for this purpose.

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF PROJECT CHARTER

Hospitals in the U.S. lose a total of $8.3 billion a year because of older and outdated communication methods and technology, according to a recent study published by the Ponemon Institute and Imperva (Healthcare Business, 2013). The primary cause for those losses was decreased productivity of doctors and nurses, as well as longer patient stays. These days, healthcare providers have access to more electronic patient information, and that means it should be easier to share data within and outside the hospital to improve the quality of care and speed up care delivery. Among the clinicians surveyed, each wastes an average of 45 minutes per day because of outdated communication technology. These were the biggest time wasters identified in the poll. This problem goes beyond only communication equipment and affects all kinds of outdated equipment used in the hospital. Outdated technology supposedly causes as much as 35% waste in healthcare. This waste occurs in areas such as increased downtime, maintenance costs, reduced productivity, etc. (Lee, 2016).

The objective of this project is to identify, systematically, the equipment in the hospital environment that can be changed to have the most impact on patient outcome at the least cost to the hospital. Hence, the goals are to improve patient outcome, increase productivity, and boost staff morale, while maintaining or reducing current expenses. The key stakeholders include the hospital MD, the project manager, members of staff, and the general public that receive care in the hospital.

2.1 Assumptions/constraints

The primary constraint is funding for the project. Because of the current financial distress, the funding structure that will be adopted will have a significant impact on the level of success achieved. Also, low staff morale might have some impact on the project as staff members have a central role in identifying all the equipment with the potential to improve patient outcome.

3. SCOPE MANAGEMENT

To ensure this project does not overlap with other ongoing projects in the hospital, it will only address the following:

1. Identification of all outdated equipment.

2. Determination of the ones with the most impact on patient care as determined by the hospital staff and assigning order of importance to them.

3. Development of a funding plan and determination of the total amount available for this project.

4. Determination of which of the outdated equipment will be changed, and the order in which they will be changed.

5. Purchase, installation, and testing of the new equipment. 

3.2 Deployment Plan

Project deployment will involve the process of replacing the equipment with minimal disruption to normal hospital activity and testing to ensure they work as intended and achieve the desired outcome. 

3.3 Change Control Management

To address changes in project definition, scope or approach, all requested changes will have to pass through, and be approved by, both the project manager and project owner for all changes that will cause up to a 15% increase in time or cost of the original plan. For changes that will cause less than 15% increase in time and cost, either the project owner or manager can provide approval. In the event a consensus cannot be achieved between the project owner and manager, a third party (high-level member of staff or senior consultant) will be consulted for their vote on the ideas put forward by the first two parties.

Any of the stakeholders previously identified can request for a change to the project. 

4. Schedule/Time Management

A baseline will be established within the first two weeks of the project; project progress will be monitored against the baseline on a weekly basis. The Project Manager will be responsible for ensuring the project schedule is updated with the latest information, and is never more than three business days out of date. For variances on executive milestones greater than 10%, guidance specified by CPIC will be used. 

5.COST/BUDGET MANAGEMENT

Cost and funding management will address sourcing for funds, as well as how funds will be allocated towards the project. This is a major factor in the project, as insufficient funds will hamper project execution and success. 

5.1 Funding Sources

The following sources of funding have been selected for the following reasons:

• How quickly the funds can be raised and put to use - Because of the short time frame to complete the project, fundraising has been selected as the preferred approach as it can be planned, organized and concluded in a short timeframe. Also, it can continue even after the completion of the project.

• Tax-free funds - Because the hospital is already close to bankruptcy, every dollar is important. Hence, it is necessary to find tax-exempt funding sources. The majority of the funds are from developmental sources and, thus, tax-free.

5.1.1 Grateful Patient Solicitation

Grateful patients are one of the primary sources of charitable support for most hospitals. However, these individuals hold more potential for some hospitals than for others (for instance, hospitals that serve inner city areas may primarily be visited by patients with limited income and assets). All approaches must comply with HIPAA regulations concerning privacy. The following approaches will be adopted for identifying, cultivating and soliciting grateful patients:

• Regular visits to hospitalized donors to show the hospital's appreciation for their support and to express concern for their care (no solicitation takes place while the donor is hospitalized).

• Building relationships with key physicians and nurses who refer grateful patients to the Foundation when they express gratitude and the desire to give back. Many doctors and nurses are uncomfortable in this role, but the few who are not can be key advocates for the Foundation.

• Regular direct mail solicitation of discharged patients for purposes of donor acquisition.

• Tours of the hospital for major gift donors/prospects.

• Social and informative gatherings sponsored by the Foundation for major gift donors/prospects.

• Approaching grateful patients to “honor” a favorite physician or nurse.

• Approaching grateful patients to memorialize family and other loved ones.

Target Amount: $1,000,000

5.1.2 Solicitation of Physicians

Like other individuals, physicians are more responsive if the fundraising project hits a “hot button” of interest. So fundraising directed towards individual departmental needs and other projects that appeal to their self-interest are often more attractive to physicians. Getting physicians involved on the Foundation committee of the project and in other volunteer activities will strengthen relationships with this key stakeholder group. Many will not be interested but those that are will be key advocates in motivating others to support the Foundation (Moran, 2019).

Target Amount: $100,000

5.1.3 Solicitation of Hospital Employees

Employee giving is important, not only for the dollars raised, but also for raising awareness regarding the dire need of the hospital. This makes them ambassadors as they come into contact with grateful patients. Successful employee giving programs may include the following:

• Organization of a monthly employee giving drive for the duration of this project.

• Establishment of an employee fundraising committee with broad representation from a number of different departments.

• Making payroll deduction the primary giving avenue.

• Providing a variety of giving options that appeal to employee interests.

• Use of premiums (such as t-shirts) to encourage and recognize giving.

• Organization of “fun” events such as a lunchtime “picnic” sponsored by the project fund raising committee.

• Educating new employees about the Foundation during employee orientation.

Target Amount: $100,000

5.1.4 Federal Grant Program and low interest loans

Due to the anticipated high capital requirements of the project, the options listed above will not suffice. Hence, grant programs and loans will play an important part in achieving the monetary goal. While healthcare facilities are eligible for many grant programs, the majority of grants available are for programmatic costs and do not allow for purchases of major equipment, construction, renovation, or expansion. It is important to look for programs that specifically state that they will fund capital projects.                                               

6.Quality Management

It has been noted that senior management can positively influence quality in a healthcare setting (Parand, Dopson, Anna, & Vincent, 2014). To this end, quality management will be handled by senior managers in the hospital and will be integrated into the existing strategy of the hospital. A clear alignment between control measures in place at the hospital and in the project will greatly motivate the staff to push for smooth integration of their daily work and the project activity (Pohjola, Suhonen, Mattila, & Meretoja, 2016). The quality management will be handled thus;

Quality Focus Area Minimum Grade Responsibility

Outdated but critical equipment that cannot be changed until replacement is in place Chief nurse, Hospital MD, Project manager Identify and secure this equipment to prevent un-scheduled removal before replacement is in place. This is necessary to prevent a critical failure.