Organizational Analysis: Baptist Health of South Florida

Baptist Health of South Florida (BHSF) is a health care provider to the Miami, Florida area. It is a substantial part of this area as an employer, medical resource and social partner of the community. In order to better understand BHSF as an organization, it is useful to utilize Nadler and Tushman’s Congruence Model for Organization Analysis. The model as described by Falletta (2013) indicates that organizations receive input through four categories: environment (external conditions), resources (internal conditions), history and strategy. Understanding these sources of input through the context of BHSF will provide clearer insights pertaining to Nadler and Tushman’s Congruence Model for Organization Analysis.

Some of the environmental inputs associated with BHSF fall into these categories: competition with other hospitals, increasing population, regulatory compliance, and the status of Medicare. BHSF faces serious competition in the Miami area as seven other hospitals are competing for patients. Miami’s population was estimated by the US Census Bureau to have increased by 94,578 from 2010 to 2012 (census.gov). This is a significant amount of potential patients. BHSF is subject to all national, state and local regulatory compliance. The status of Medicare is also an important environmental input relative to BHSF. “While prices for everything seem to go up every year, the good news for Medicare beneficiaries is that premiums for Medicare Part B will remain the same for 2014, holding steady at $104.90 a month. The Part B deductible also remains unchanged at $147 a year” (Pollack, 2014). BHSF is also affected by Resource inputs.

Some resource inputs for BHSF include the following: safety culture of the organization, income, recruiting and patient satisfaction level. The approach a hospital takes to patient safety, such as preventing in-patient falls, is an important resource input. BHSF needs to understand how the organizational safety culture measures up with regard to how “event classification is influenced by professional perspectives, perceived professional responsibility, event contingencies, and surveillance technology” (Tamuz and Thomas, 2006). With this in mind, BHSF should assess its ability to train staff. “Safety improvement requires that healthcare systems have ready access to information that supports learning from experience in order to promote systems that both prevent errors and mitigate the impact of errors that occur” (Nieva & Sorra, 2003). Understanding BHSF’s income is also a source of critical resource input. As of 2012, BHSF showed a net operating revenue of $2.32 billion (Baptist Health Staff). With regard to recruiting: how successfully is BHSF acquiring top talent? In 2012, BHSF recruited a board-certified surgeon for their cancer program (Baptist Health Staff). Patient satisfaction levels also need to be monitored internally to ensure quality patient care. Baptist Health has a higher patient experience rating (82.1) than the U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll hospitals average of 76.9 (Baptist Health Staff, 2014).

The third source of input is classified as history. Defined by Nadler and Tushman’s model as: “The patterns of past behavior, activity, and effectiveness that may affect current organizational functioning (Falletta, 2013). BHSF has a history of expansion and as a pioneer in the use of new equipment and techniques. BHSF formed in 1990 (Baptist Health Staff, 2014) as a union of several Miami hospitals. Every property affiliated with BHSF at its inception in 1990 has been expanded and upgraded. In 2011 BHSF opened the first new hospital in the Miami area in 35 years. BHSF’s historical source of input is in line with its fourth source of input: strategy.

Essentially, strategic input is the stream of how decisions regarding how to use the company’s resources are configured to meet its goals and overcome challenges (Falletta, 2013). BHSF’s mission states: “The mission of Baptist Health is to improve the health and well-being of individuals, and to promote the sanctity and preservation of life, in the communities we serve” (Baptist Health Staff, 2014).

The company has a significant presence as a philanthropic partner to the Miami community. “Each Baptist Health entity has fundraising staff and volunteers; together they comprise the Baptist Health South Florida Foundation” (Baptist Health Staff 2014). In 2012, BHSF raised $279 million. “We provided more charity care as a percentage of total patient revenue (4.76 percent) than any other private, non-tax-funded hospital or hospital group in Miami-Dade County” (Baptist Health Staff, 2014). Strategically, this positions the company to be able to promote its brand positively and increase its market share.

References

Baptist Health Staff (2014). Baptist Health South Florida 2012 Year in Review. http://baptisthealth.net March 3, 2014

Nieva, V F & Sorra, J. (2003). Safety culture assessment: a tool for improving patient safety in healthcare organizations. BMJ Quality and Safety: the International Journal for Health Care Improvement,12. Retrieved http://BMJ.com March 3, 2014

Pollack , Ron (January 1, 2014). Medicare in 2014: What you need to know. Retrieved http://CNN.com March 4, 2014.

Tamuz, Michal & Eric J. Thomas (2006). Classifying and interpreting threats to patient safety in hospitals: insights from aviation. Journal of Organizational Behavior Special Issue: Healthcare: The problems are organizational not clinical, 27, 919–940.