MHA FPX 5040 Assessment 2 Case Study Analysis: Part 1 MHA-FPX 5040 Health Administration Change Leadership Case Study Analysis on South Central Foundation

The South-Central Foundation (SCF) had 1,750 staff members as of June 2014 and recently expanded to include the Anchorage Native Primary Care Center and other local community health centers. The congruence model suggests examining the organization’s people, structure, work, and culture and analyzing the relationship between these categories. It is critical to acknowledge Katherine Gottlieb, who began with SCF in 1987 as a receptionist, worked her way up in the organization, and became the Chief Executive Officer. Katherine’s goal from the start was to better serve the AIAN people by creating a welcoming and safe environment. Her experience with the existing health system inspired her to challenge the status quo at SCF.

Katherine Gottlieb noted that the system management was very bureaucratic and government-driven when she began her journey as a patient. The entry point for all medical issues was through the emergency department, resulting in long wait times for all patients, regardless of the reason for their visit. The average wait time at SCF was 7-9 hours, with patients, including sick babies, waiting in long lines and feeling like numbers in a cattle prod. Katherine moved up the ranks at SCF due to her leadership tenure, concern for the overall well-being of the community, and her ability to develop relationships and partnerships. Her leadership and focus on improving the local healthcare system led to significant improvements and her rise to CEO and president.

Elements of The Problem

In 1998, the Alaska Area Indian Health Service (IHS) transferred ownership of the Alaska Native Medical Center to SCF and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). At this time, SCF lacked a vision and mission, leading to dysfunction and disorganization within the hospital. Consequently, patient wait times were 7-9 hours, regardless of medical need, causing dissatisfaction and a negative reputation for the healthcare organization. SCF had grumpy patients, extremely long waiting times, no vision, no mission, and an inability to deliver optimal healthcare in the community. Disorganized healthcare facilities often result in high readmission rates, medical errors, poor patient management, low-quality healthcare, and increased infection rates. The condition of SCF was poor due to the lack of organization, poor quality of care, poor outcomes, and overall dissatisfaction within the community. Katherine’s vision was to improve SCF’s culture, quality, and logistics, even as a receptionist (Visionary Leadership, Visionary Goals: NPHW@25, 2020).

Needs of the Community

Based on the problem elements, the need for better healthcare at SCF is paramount. Patients in the community endured long wait times to be seen, regardless of their healthcare needs, and had limited healthcare choices due to being in a rural area. Additionally, all patients were filtered through the emergency room for medical attention at SCF. The community desperately needed more facilities, better healthcare quality, and quicker medical attention. Many people in the community likely went without proper healthcare due to the long wait times at SCF, putting more people at risk of developing diseases and increasing mortality rates among the immune-suppressed population.

Need for Change

Katherine Gottlieb identified the need for change early on through her SCF patient experience. She quickly recognized the need for improvement by observing long wait times for multiple sick patients in the waiting room, including babies. Once hired, Katherine improved the organization by creating a friendly and approachable atmosphere. Over the next four years, she built partnerships across Alaska, investing 25% of her time with constituents and stakeholders to build community relationships. Katherine identified the gap between the current and desired state of SCF and worked to mitigate this gap throughout her career as CEO and President (Cooper, 2023).

Katherine enhanced her relationships with stakeholders through communication and collaboration. Through transparency and continuous meetings with stakeholders, political leaders, and healthcare leaders, she presented the issues at SCF and her vision for improvement. Katherine initiated the core concepts movement at SCF to train employees in empathy, relationship-building skills, and compassion. One hundred program directors and managers piloted the core concepts program to achieve buy-in for the concept of change.

MHA FPX 5040 Assessment 2 Case Study Analysis: Part 1

Once the majority of the workforce was trained through the core concepts program, training sessions were offered three to four times annually. The core concepts program increased community wellness and improved SCF’s reputation. Through her networking and relationships, Katherine developed a solid executive team to r