Can someone help me understand this assignment? I$\text{'}$m having trouble conceptualizing this hospitals administrative alignment.

The Case Study

Polk Memorial Hospital $($PMH$)($a fictitious name$)$ is a general medical$/$surgical hospital of $350$ beds with full occupancy. PMH is a community$-$based, not$-$for$-$profit institution with a service area population of $500,000$ people. There are two other smaller, for$-$profit hospitals in the area. The medical staff of PMH is comprised of $250$ physicians and surgeons on the active medical staff. About half the medical staff belong to a large multi$-$specialty group practice which operates independently and is a for$-$profit entity. Of the remaining medical staff, about $20$ are employed by PMH $($Radiology$,$ Anesthesiology and Pathology$)$ with the remainder being independently practicing physicians in solo or small single$-$specialty practices.

After a national search to replace the retiring CEO of the hospital after serving $27$ years in his position, a new CEO, Jane Smith, started at the hospital some three months prior. One of her first duties as incoming CEO was to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, its operations and its management team. Her preliminary findings were:

I. Strengths:

a$.$ Experienced management team with average tenure of $20+$ years at PMH$.$

b$.$ Governing Board with average of $15$ years of service to the hospital.

c$.$ A very high occupancy rate, with the hospital remaining at full capacity $($beds$)$ most of the time.

d$.$ The hospitals finances seemed to be in order, with good cash flow and margins.

e$.$ An extremely busy $($over capacity$)$ Emergency Room.

f$.$ A reputation in the community as $$the hospital to go to$,$ however this reputation had begun to decline due to overcrowding conditions, overworked staff and competition from the other two hospitals.

$2.$ Weaknesses:

a$.$ The management team has been with and loyal to the previous CEO for a long time.

b$.$ The board members had been in place too long, with little change$-$over to new members of the board.

c$.$ Insufficient financial reserves to undertake new capital improvements $($facilities and equipment$).$

d$.$ Complaints from patients and staff regarding overcrowded conditions, overworked staff, long hours of waiting time in the ER$,$ and formal complaints about medical errors and medical liability claims were on the rise.

e$.$ Medical staff complaints about old equipment and the need for upgrading high tech equipment, replacing old beds, and upgrading facilities to state of the art.

$3.$ CEO's Objective:

The new CEO had recently received word that a nurses union had made initial inquiries regarding nursing staff dissatisfaction with wages and working conditions. Ms Smith has determined that certain actions and priorities should be established in order to:

a$.$ Position the hospital for the future

b$.$ Address management team issues

c$.$ Address governance issues

d$.$ Address liability issues $($financial$,$ clinical and facilities$/$grounds$)$

e$.$ Address staffing issues

f$.$ Address facilities, equipment and new technology issues

g$.$ Address patient satisfaction and quality of service issues

Student Assignment:

CEO, Jane Smith, has engaged you as a consultant, to analyze the problems and recommend solutions to her, based upon the Scenario described above. Follow the Case Study Guidelines $($above$)$ carefully, and present your case study as though you were this consultant, reporting in written form, back to the new CEO of PMH$.$