Review the details of your assessment including the rubric. You will have the ability to submit the assessment once you submit your required pre-assessments and engage with your Faculty Subject Matter Expert (SME) in a substantive way about the competency.

Overview

For this Performance Task Assessment, you will apply the concepts of process improvement and quality to the “Piney Woods Hospital Emergency Department Case Study” provided. There are four parts to this Assessment. Your responses to each part will be evaluated based on your ability to synthesize the concepts of process improvement and quality, and the information in the case study.

To complete this Assessment:

• Download the Academic Writing Expectations Checklist to use as a guide when completing your Assessment. Responses that do not meet the expectations of scholarly writing will be returned without scoring. Properly formatted APA citations and references must be provided, where appropriate.
• Be sure to use scholarly academic resources as specified in the rubric. This means using Walden Library databases to obtain peer reviewed articles. Additionally, .gov (government expert sources) are a quality resource option. Note: Internet and .com sources do not meet this requirement. Contact your coach or SME for guidance on using Library Databases.
• Carefully review the rubric for the Assessment as part of your preparation to complete your Assessment work.

This Assessment requires submission of one (1) file. Save your file as OM006_firstinitial_lastname (for example, OM006_J_Smith).

You may submit a draft of your assignment to the Turnitin Draft Check area to check for authenticity. When you are ready to upload your completed Assessment, use the Assessment tab on the top navigation menu.

Instructions

Before submitting your Assessment, carefully review the rubric. This is the same rubric the SME will use to evaluate your submission and it provides detailed criteria describing how to achieve or master the Competency. Many students find that understanding the requirements of the Assessment and the rubric criteria help them direct their focus and use their time most productively.

Rubric

Access the following to complete this Assessment:

• Piney Woods Hospital Emergency Department Case Study
  • Anstine, J., Dorsey, K., & Schmidt, N., et al. (2009). The Piney Woods Hospital emergency department. In Kovner, A., McAlearney, A. S., & Neuhauser, D. (Eds.), Health Services Management: Cases, Readings, and Commentary (9th ed., pp. 329 – 340). Health Administration Press & Association of University Programs in Health Administration.
• Academic Writing Expectations Checklist

To begin this Assessment, read the “Piney Woods Hospital Emergency Department Case Study.” Imagine you are the summer resident referred to in the case study and will be providing Zach Porter, the CEO, with recommendations for improving processes and quality in the Emergency Department of Piney Woods Hospital.

For the Assessment, complete the following:

To gather more information, you have a meeting with Zach Porter where you will discuss the issues in the emergency department and provide recommendations for improvements. Prepare a slide presentation to guide the discussion with Zach. Be sure to address all of following in your presentation:

Opportunities for Improvement (minimum of 2 slides)

• Identify and describe three to five opportunities for process improvement and cost reduction in the Piney Woods Emergency Department.
• Quantify the size of the three to five opportunities and describe the impact they have on the emergency department and on quality.

Stretch Goals (minimum of 2 slides including the chart/table slide)

• Recommend three to five measurable stretch goals, one for each of the opportunities you identified at Piney Woods. The goals should be designed to improve process and quality, and to reduce risk, waste, and cost.
  • Create a table or chart to be included within your presentation that captures the following information:
    • The three to five stretch goals. Use the presenter notes area to explain and cite relevant research that underpins your recommendations.
    • How the goals will improve processes and lower costs for the Piney Woods emergency department.
    • How progress and achievement of each stretch goal will be measured.

Continuum of Care (minimum of 2 slides)

• Analyze the continuum of care across the Piney Woods Hospital organization and provide recommendations to eliminate redundancy and decrease quality risk.
  • Identify three opportunities to improve the continuum of care, eliminate redundancy, and decrease quality risks. Provide a rationale for targeting these areas in the speaker’s notes.
  • Recommend methods for improvement of each opportunity you identified. Explain how each recommendation would achieve desired results in the speaker’s notes.

Culture of Accountability and Quality Excellence (4 slides)

• Using academic resources to support your thinking, address the following:
  • Define a culture of accountability and quality excellence.
  • Explain why a culture of accountability and quality excellence will improve the patient experience and the work environment at Piney Woods Hospital.
  • Recommend how Zach and the leadership team can foster a culture of accountability and quality excellence in the emergency department.
  • Describe the challenges of fostering a culture of accountability and quality excellence in the emergency department.