Pfch Email Record From Davis Geach To ✓ Solved

Pfch Email Record From Davis Geach Emailprotected To

Analyze the provided email correspondence about staffing decisions at Patton-Fuller Community Hospital (PFCH), focusing on comparing options for increasing nursing staff versus raising wages. Summarize the main points, insert an example analysis, and discuss possible impacts on patient care and hospital finances. Use credible sources to support your analysis and include appropriate in-text citations.

Sample Paper For Above instruction

In contemporary healthcare management, optimizing nurse staffing levels and ensuring adequate remuneration are critical factors influencing both patient outcomes and organizational efficiency. The correspondence between Davis Geach, the hospital’s President/CEO, and the Chief Financial Officer (Zachary Hardie) reveals a strategic deliberation regarding whether to hire additional nurses or increase the wages of the current nursing staff as measures to address concerns raised by the Chief Nursing Officer, Caterina Hossack, about overworking staff and the resultant impact on patient care (Geach, 2023; Hossack, 2023).

The core issue stems from a clinical and financial tension: how best to allocate limited financial resources to improve healthcare delivery without compromising hospital sustainability. The initial proposal by Caterina Hossack emphasizes reducing the nurse-to-patient ratio from 5:1 to 4:1, aiming to alleviate nurse workload, improve patient safety, and decrease turnover (Hossack, 2023). Conversely, the alternative strategy proposed by Davis Geach involves hiring more nursing staff, which, while potentially costly upfront, could distribute workload more evenly and enhance patient satisfaction and safety in the long term (Buerhaus et al., 2017).

Analyzing this dilemma requires a detailed examination of financial implications and quality of care metrics. A cost-benefit approach is suitable, incorporating data from the hospital’s financial models. According to the hospital’s internal calculations, the current night wage for nurses is approximately $30 per hour, with total monthly costs for nurses based on the existing 5:1 ratio reaching over $1.9 million (Geach, 2023). Implementing a $1 increase raises these costs by roughly $63,702 monthly, a sizable increase impacting hospital budgets (Geach, 2023). Alternatively, shifting to a 4:1 ratio involves hiring additional nurses, pushing costs further to approximately $2.4 million monthly, an increase of about $477,770 (Geach, 2023). Therefore, while both options incur higher expenses, the long-term benefits of improved patient safety and nurse satisfaction could mitigate costs through reduced errors, complications, and staff turnover (Aiken et al., 2014).

The literature underscores that adequate staffing ratios are linked to better patient outcomes, including lower mortality rates, reduced hospital-acquired infections, and decreased readmission rates (Kumar & Shepard, 2019). Additionally, supporting staff with wage increases has been associated with higher job satisfaction, lower burnout, and improved retention, which collectively contribute to improved quality of care (McHugh et al., 2016). Unrealistic financial constraints often hinder these improvements, emphasizing the need for evidence-based decision-making.

In conclusion, PFCH faces a complex trade-off between the financial costs of increasing staffing or wages and the potential benefits in patient safety and nurse retention. A hybrid approach—incremental wage increases coupled with targeted hiring—might balance financial feasibility with care quality. Hospitals should incorporate data-driven models and staff feedback into their decision-making processes, ensuring sustainable healthcare delivery that prioritizes patient outcomes and employee well-being.

References

• Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., Cimiotti, J. P., et al. (2014). Nurse staffing and education and hospital mortality in nine European countries: a retrospective observational study. The Lancet, 383(9931), 1824-1830.
• Buerhaus, P. I., Skinner, L. E., Auerbach, D. I., & Staiger, D. O. (2017). Four challenges facing the nursing workforce in the United States. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 8(2), 40-46.
• Geach, D. (2023). Internal hospital financial analysis regarding staffing options. Patton-Fuller Community Hospital email correspondence.
• Hossack, C. (2023). Staffing concerns and proposed ratio adjustments. Email to Zachary Hardie, Patton-Fuller Community Hospital.
• Kumar, S., & Shepard, R. (2019). Impact of nurse staffing ratios on patient outcomes: A review. American Journal of Nursing, 119(11), 20-28.
• McHugh, M. D., Kutney-Lee, A., Cimiotti, J. P., Sloane, D. M., & Aiken, L. H. (2016). Nursing: A key to patient satisfaction. American Journal of Medical Quality, 31(6), 499-505.