final project -MMHA 6400-A city-based community hospital

A city-based community hospital is looking at adding an urgent care facility in a rural area. Urgent care is the delivery of ambulatory care in a facility dedicated to the delivery of unscheduled, walk-in care outside of a hospital emergency department. Development of the Rural Urgent Care (RUC) facility will facilitate access to care providers through extended service hours within closer geographic proximity to patients, families, and caregivers. RUC will act to alleviate demand for emergency department services by shifting lower acute patients to a less resource-intensive environment.

This project is in response to the shift from volume- to value-based health care. Payers and purchasers are interested in improving economic efficiency by shifting utilization from emergency department to lower cost settings, such as RUC. Several competing hospitals have hired emergency department physicians, as part of their integration strategy to participate in accountable care organizations (ACO) contracts. The hospital needs to respond to the competitive situation by making a sound investment in the RUC facility that addresses both financial and economic situations. The facility will be staffed with physicians and will include a radiology suite, laboratory suite, and other health-related ventures to help the hospital grow. You must help the board develop a business plan for this urgent care unit.

To prepare for this Final Project:

• Examine the provided scenario.
• Refer to the document “Executive Summary, Overview, and Financial Data for Investment in the Rural Urgent Care Center” providedhereand in this week’s Learning Resources. Analyze the background and financial data for the RUC facility.