Section I

Part A

Personal Leadership Development – 2 pages and 2 references

You have now spent six weeks learning about evidence-based leadership and applied this knowledge to an organization experiencing a leadership issue or crisis. For this discussion, take a step back and consider your own leadership abilities and skill set.

• Provide a brief summary of your current leadership skills.
• Explain at least four steps you must take to improve your ability and skills as an evidence-based leader.
• Provide evidence to support the steps that you chose for your own leadership development.

Part B

Presentation Peer Review – 2 pages and 2 references

Peer review provides another scholar’s perspective. This discussion is an opportunity to give and receive feedback on the consulting work you and your colleagues have been doing for your selected organizations. Other perspectives on your work to date may offer valuable insight to improve the strategic plan you will be developing for your Unit 9 assignment.

Follow the guidelines in the Faculty Expectations message as you address the following for this discussion:

• Provide a brief overview of the organization and the issue or crisis you are addressing.
• Attach the evidence-based leadership presentation you developed in Unit 6.

Section II

Part A

Financing Health Care – 2 pages and 2 references

Your chapter readings for this unit discussed several ways health care is financed in the United States. A few methods are public assistance, private insurance, and self-pay.

Choose a health care finance method and address the following:

• How does this method address health care financing and payment for delivering health care?
• Why does this method of financing contribute to the issues surrounding overall health care expenditures?

Part B

Application of Health Care Policy Financing – 10–15 slides,3-5 peer references.

As a health care administrator or professional, it is essential that you not only recognize health care issues affecting the United States, but also that you are able to recognize how the health care system in the United States compares to those of other countries.

The purpose of this assignment is to continue researching the special population you identified in Unit 3, comparing the health care system of a country of your choice with that of the United States. Apply the concepts of access, cost, quality, and financing that you have studied over the past several weeks, as they relate to your special population in both countries.

You will prepare a PowerPoint presentation for a special audience of health care executives who represent Healthcare Executives for Special Populations (HCESP). The executives want to learn more and build a coalition to improve upon the current U.S. policy for your special population as compared to other countries.

In your presentation, be sure to address the following and include detailed speaking notes:

• Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the other country’s policies as they specifically relate to access, cost, quality, and financing or reimbursement for your special population. Is the United States ahead of the other country in terms of these policies? Why or why not? Note: You can look at admission rates, discharge rates, and competitors that serve the same population.
• Evaluate how your special population in another country is affected by health care laws and policies and compare this to the situation for a similar population in the United States.
• Examine what we can learn from the other country’s policies to apply these lessons to your special population in the United States.
• Develop a long-term organizational strategy in which the other country’s policies shape improvements to the current health care policy in the United States.

Writing Requirements

Your paper should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Your writing needs to communicate professionally with correct English usage. Your points need to be logical, substantive, and relevant based on the evidence presented. Your paper should clearly identify where each grading criteria or parts of the assignment are addressed by using APA-formatted headings and subheadings. In addition, your communication needs to be free of errors that detract from the overall message. Your presentation should include the following:

• Title slide.
• Slides that contain the main body of the presentation with APA-formatted headings and subheadings and speaking notes.
• Reference slides.
• APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting guidelines.
• Number of resources: 3–5 peer-reviewed resources.
• Length of presentation: 10–15 slides, not including the title and reference slides.

Section III

Part A

Health Care Policy and Ethics – 1,500–2,000 words, 3 – 5 peer references

Identify and research an ethical issue that was a previous challenge to your special population within the U.S. health care system. Examine the ethical issue and identify relevant health care laws that emerged as a result of this issue. Discuss the complexities of this ethical issue and the application of the health care law.

Address the following in your paper, as it relates to your special population:

• Explain the previously challenging ethical health care issue and how your special population was affected.
• Analyze how applicable health care policies have addressed or not addressed the ethical issue for your special population.
• Examine sound professional practices, ethics, and social accountability as it relates to the ethical issue and this population.
• Recommend how health care policies can be revised to address the ethical issue more effectively, noting how the revised policies would impact your special population.
• Evaluate previous implementation processes of health care policies regarding an ethical issue, noting how the implementation affected this population.
• Recommend ways future health care policy implementation processes could be improved to address the ethical issue for the population.

Writing Requirements

Your paper should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Your writing needs to communicate professionally with correct English usage. Your points need to be logical, substantive, and relevant based on the evidence presented. Your paper should clearly identify where each grading criteria or parts of the assignment are addressed by using APA-formatted headings and subheadings. In addition, your communication needs to be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting guidelines.
• Number of resources: 3–5 peer-reviewed resources.
• Length of paper: 1,500–2,000 words.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Part B

Health Care Ethics – 2 pages and 2 references

Review McCullough ‘s 2013 article, “Professional Responsibility to and for Patients and the Ethics of Health Policy,”.

Do you agree or disagree with the content of the article? Why? Defend your position by including one additional supporting peer-reviewed reference in your post.

Part C

Consumer and Community Engagement – 2 pages and 2 references.

From Table 1 of the Sarrami-Foroushani, Travaglia, Debono, and Braithwaite’s 2014 article, “Key Concepts in Consumer and Community Engagement: A Scoping Meta-Review,” choose one identified concept related to Consumer and Community Engagement (CCE).

For this discussion, complete the following:

• Provide an analysis of the concept and its impact to health promotion or prevention.
• Explain the reason you chose that specific concept.

Part D

Healthy Lifestyles and Health Policy – 2 pages and 2 references

Scientific studies have linked tobacco use, body weight, diet, and exercise to health outcomes. Evidence supports the promotion of healthy lifestyles, with the underlying assumption that a healthier lifestyle will lead to reduced cost and improved outcomes. However, many individuals find it difficult to quit smoking, lose weight, or exercise more.

Michelle Obama is actively promoting healthier choices, especially for children. As discussed in this unit’s introduction, President Obama issued an executive order to promote disease prevention.

For this discussion, address the following:

• What role do you think policy makers should play in promoting healthy lifestyles?
• Is the increased focus on a healthy lifestyle an intrusion on individual rights? Since society potentially pays the price of unhealthy lifestyles through uncompensated care, increased health insurance premiums, and decreased productivity in the workplace, do policy makers have the right to encourage consumers to change their lifestyle habits?

Part E

Access, Quality, and Cost – 3 pages and 2 references.

Imagine you are president of the United States and you are faced with addressing the current health care crisis. As your advisors brief you on the status of health care affairs in the United States, they inform you that your health care policies must increase access, increase quality, and reduce cost. You must begin preparing for your State of the Union address and you want to inform the people how you plan to fulfill your campaign promise of improving the health care system.

For this discussion, write your top three opportunities to reform health care as part of your State of the Union address. In your post, consider the following questions:

• How will your new health care policy address each of the issues of access, quality, and cost?
• Are there additional components that you feel need to be addressed?
• Is there any one area that is more important and must be addressed first?
• Who will benefit most from your new policy?
• Are there groups of individuals who will be disadvantaged by your new policy? If yes, which are these groups?

Part F

Strengths in the U.S. Health Care System – 2 pages and 2 references.

For this final discussion, consider what you knew and thought about health care policy in the United States and what you know now. With this in mind, respond to the following:

• An “ah-ha” moment is a moment of clarity. What has been your biggest ah-ha moment in this course? What idea, concept, definition, assignment, reading, policy, and so forth has made the biggest impression on you? Why?

Section IV

Part A

Organizational and Leadership Alignment – 2 pages and 2 references.

For this discussion, focus on your selected organization’s mission, vision, goals, and the metrics you have developed. Refer to the guidelines in the Faculty Expectations message (FEM) as you prepare your post:

• Evaluate the alignment of the organization’s leadership with the mission, vision, goals, and benchmarks.
• Provide evidence to suggest at least two ways that organizational leaders could improve this alignment within the organization. Your suggestions will become recommendations to the organization in your strategic plan.

Part B

Strategic Plan

Professional Context – 8–14 pages with 3 – 5 references

Strategic plans represent the culmination of fact gathering, analysis, and thoughtful deliberation. Strong leaders will determine the direction of their organizations through strategic planning. This assignment provides an opportunity for you to practice this critical skill and develop a strategic plan for implementing evidence-based leadership in an organization.

By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assignment criteria:

• Competency 1: Analyze contemporary health care issues from an evidence-based leadership perspective.

• Analyze external or competing forces within an organization that may have affected the organization when an issue or crisis arose.
• Competency 2: Apply evidence-based leadership principles to problem-solving in real-world health care organizations.

• Evaluate organizational leadership abilities or deficits.
• Analyze metrics for organizational success.
• Competency 3: Propose evidence-based leadership actions and strategic planning options that promote positive behavioral change, collaboration, workforce performance, and outcomes in contemporary health care organizations.

• Recommend specific, evidence-based, strategic steps that organizational leaders should take in implementing EBL to improve organizational performance and patient health outcomes.
• Assess the potential future of an organization.
• Competency 4: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.

• Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.

Scenario

You are wrapping up work with your chosen organization with the delivery of a strategic plan. The strategic plan will integrate all of your work to date and will provide your recommendations for implementing evidence-based leadership to improve organizational performance and patient health outcomes. You will also provide your assessment of the organization’s future.

As an evidence-based leadership consultant, you are committed to providing a forthright and honest assessment and carefully considered recommendations. Not all health care organizations in crisis can survive.

Instructions

Develop a strategic plan for implementing evidence-based leadership in the organization. Note: Be sure to complete it before completing your final submission.

Document Format and Length

Format your strategic plan using APA style.

• Use the APA Style Paper Template linked in Resources. An APA Style Paper Tutorial is also provided to help you in writing and formatting your plan. Be sure to include:

• A title page and references page. An abstract is not required.
• A running head on all pages.
• Appropriate section headings.
• Your strategic plan should be 8–14 pages of content plus title and references pages.

Supporting Evidence

Cite 3–5 credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications to support your recommendations and strategic plan.

Strategic Plan Requirements

The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the assignment scoring guide, so be sure to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.

• Evaluate organizational leadership abilities or deficits.

• Base your evaluation on the analysis of the organizational leadership structure and approach in place when the issue or crisis arose and current leadership.
• Use EBL terminology in your evaluation.
• Analyze external or competing forces within the organization that may have affected the organization when the issue or crisis arose.

• Identify specific external or competing forces.
• Explain the basis of your conclusions about their potential effects on the organization.
• Analyze at least three metrics for organizational success.

• Describe your rationale for choosing these particular benchmarks.
• Explain how these metrics or benchmarks align with organizational goals.
• Recommend specific, evidence-based, strategic steps that organizational leaders should take in implementing EBL to improve organizational performance and patient health outcomes.

• Include specific performance metrics or benchmarks.
• Be sure to explain how and why your recommendations should be implemented.
• Identify evidence that supports your recommendations.
• Provide your assessment of the potential future for this organization.

• Predict the likelihood of the organization’s survival and recovery from this crisis.
• Include recommendations: Do you recommend closure? Merger with another organization? New leadership?
• Identify what must change or be implemented to ensure a positive outcome for the organization.
• Write clearly and concisely in a logically coherent and appropriate form and style.

• Write with a specific purpose and audience in mind.
• Adhere to scholarly and disciplinary writing standards and APA formatting requirements.

Part C

Strategies for Success – 3 pages and 2 References

Remember a strategic plan for your selected organization. Describe at least three specific strategies that you plan to integrate into your strategic plan for the organization.

• What evidence supports your recommended strategies?
• How is each strategy quality driven?
• What potential problems do you see with your suggested strategies?

Part D

Driving Leadership – 2 pages with 2 References.

For this discussion:

• Reflect on what you have learned and synthesized in this course.
• Provide your own perspective on what the future will look like for health care leaders.

• How does your skill set align with future leadership needs?
• Analyze the work you have completed throughout the course as a hypothetical evidence-based leadership consultant.

• What leadership needs will your selected organization have in the future?