Nursing Leadership at Sanford Medical Center: Organizational Analysis
This paper presents an organizational analysis of Sanford Medical Center, a not-for-profit Level II trauma center and nationally recognized healthcare facility managed by Sanford Health. The paper examines the hospital's mission, administrative structure, and matrix reporting system, identifying both the strengths and limitations these structures create. It describes the team nursing care delivery model used at the facility, explaining how charge nurses, registered nurses, and nurse aides collaborate to provide patient care. Finally, the paper evaluates key patient outcome measures, including safety of care indicators, catheter-related infections, and nurse-sensitive clinical indicators such as patient falls, illustrating how measurement supports continuous quality improvement.
- Overview of Sanford Medical Center: Services, mission, and community health programs
- Organizational Structure and Mission: Mission, board governance, and matrix reporting
- Strengths and Limitations of the Organization: Advantages and challenges of large system management
- Team Nursing Care Delivery System: Team nursing model roles and workflow
- Patient Outcomes and Measurements: Safety indicators, infection rates, and fall prevention
- References: APA citations for sources used
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds abstract organizational concepts (such as matrix reporting) in concrete, facility-specific examples, making the analysis accessible and applied.
- Balances description with critical analysis by identifying both strengths and real limitations of the facility's structure, avoiding purely promotional framing.
- Connects care delivery theory to practice by explaining not only what team nursing is but precisely how it operates within this specific hospital setting.
- Uses measurable outcome indicators (falls per 1,000 patient days, infection rates) to demonstrate an understanding of evidence-based quality improvement.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied organizational analysis — the ability to map abstract management concepts (matrix structure, care delivery models, outcome measurement frameworks) onto a real healthcare institution. This technique requires moving between theory and specific institutional evidence, showing that the student can translate coursework into professional practice contexts.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a descriptive overview of the organization, then deepens into mission and administrative structure before moving to a balanced strengths-and-limitations assessment. The second half shifts from structure to practice, detailing the team nursing delivery model and then the measurement systems used to evaluate care quality. The paper closes with an APA reference list. This funnel structure — from institution-level description to unit-level practice to outcome metrics — is appropriate for a nursing management course paper.
Overview of Sanford Medical Center
Sanford Medical Center is a well-recognized hospital that has been named a top 100 Heart Hospital and a top 100 hospital nationally. The organization also has a nationally ranked children's hospital that provides newborn and pediatric intensive care services. Sanford Medical Center is a Level II trauma center supported by AirMed transport services covering a three-state area. The services offered within the facility include: 3D Mammography, Allergy and Immunology, Behavioral Health, Breast Health, Cancer/Oncology, Children's/Pediatrics, Dermatology and Cosmetic Services, Diabetes and Endocrinology, Ear/Nose and Throat, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Palliative Care, Laboratory and Pathology, Surgery, and Radiology.
Sanford Medical Center is a not-for-profit rural health facility that partners with the community to bring health and healing to the people living and working across its region. At the core of the facility is a commitment to ensuring that healthcare benefits reach the community's broad needs. The facility offers discounted or free medical services to patients who meet its eligibility requirements. The community care program was developed to ensure that healthcare services are available to all who need them, irrespective of financial position. Sanford Medical Center has partnered with local and national organizations to offer healthcare awareness, prevention, education, fundraising, and research for healthcare issues affecting the community.
Organizational Structure and Mission
The mission of Sanford Medical Center is a dedication to the work of health and healing, which builds upon its vision of improving the human condition through exceptional care, innovation, and discovery (Sanford Health, n.d.). The facility's philosophy is that healthcare services are a community asset (Sanford Health, n.d.). Therefore, there is a need to maintain long-term partnerships between the facility and the community. The administrative structure of Sanford Medical Center includes a Board of Trustees comprising community leaders who are all volunteers. Board members are selected for their expertise and experience in various areas of the healthcare system. The facility also has an executive committee responsible for patient care activities, and a hospital administrative unit comprising a chief administrator and numerous assistants.
The organization uses a matrix reporting structure in which each person reports to two managers, each with responsibility in a different area, ensuring there is no overlap in reporting and responsibility assignment (Goetsch & Davis, 2014). For example, Sanford Medical Center is managed by a CEO charged with the day-to-day running of the facility. The CEO reports to both the Executive Vice President and the President of Sanford Health. This clearly demonstrates that the organization uses a matrix reporting structure. In matrix reporting, staff members are not organized along purely functional, product, or geographic lines — they are aligned using both. This allows management to reap the benefits of multiple organizational systems. Matrix reporting is most commonly used by large organizations that operate across business groups or use working structures that do not follow the traditional vertical business unit model.
Strengths and Limitations of the Organization
Sanford Medical Center is managed by Sanford Health, which currently has 43 hospitals and approximately 250 clinics located in nine states and three countries, making it one of the largest rural health systems in the United States. This gives all employees of Sanford Medical Center access to a vast pool of organizational knowledge. The facility is a teaching hospital that has partnered with local universities to offer on-the-job training to nurses and doctors. This is an asset to the facility because there are numerous students willing to assist and provide services to patients within the community and the hospital, ensuring that the community continues to receive necessary healthcare assistance.
Sanford Medical Center's not-for-profit status allows it to subsidize some of its charges in order to deliver on its mission of health and healing. By partnering with the local community, the facility has been able to identify members who desperately need healthcare services but lack the financial means to cover hospital bills. Being part of a large parent company also ensures that the hospital can continue growing, with additional facilities added as the need arises. The facility is working toward becoming a Level I trauma center, which would boost its profile and demonstrate its capabilities to both the community and the nation.
Some limitations of the facility stem from the parent organization's large size, which makes it difficult to manage and address all employee grievances. In a large organization, management is often pressed to address only the issues most vital to the organization's success and image, meaning some employee concerns may go unresolved. The matrix reporting structure also places a heavy toll on employees, who must report to two different managers and balance two distinct areas of responsibility. This can create confusion about who an employee's primary supervisor is or when they should report to a particular manager.
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