Research Assigment

You are the director of the emergency department of Baptist Hospital. Baptist Hospital is a not-for-profit 350-bed acute care hospital serving Yorkshire Metropolitan community* (in the state where you are currently located). The hospital is located close to a busy interstate highway. Baptist Hospital has a level III trauma center, certified chest center, cardiac cath lab, and intensive care unit (neonatal, surgical and medical). The hospital admits 11,000 patients each year and treats more than 33,000 patients in the emergency department every year. Baptist Hospital consistently received higher quality and patient satisfaction scores among other hospitals in Yorkshire Metro Area.

*Yorkshire is a second populous metro area in your state. The estimated population in the year 2014 was 312,00, and Yorkshire Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029 (estimated for the year 2014).

Your state has recently passed the regulation to expand Medicaid under Affordable Care Act. The Medicaid expansion will be implemented starting next year. In the monthly meeting with hospital executive, Charles Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of Baptist Hospital, requested you to prepare a report on the impact of Medicaid expansion on Baptist Hospital regarding ED services. The report prepared by you will be used by Charles to present the information in the Yearly Strategic Planning Meeting with Board of Directors next month. Please make standard assumptions about Baptist Hospital and hospital environment based on the state where you reside.

Please address the following points in your report:

Policy (Impact of Medicaid expansion, and its impact on emergency care)

Financial impact on Baptist Hospital (Revenues, price, patient volume, and reimbursement)

Impact on quality of clinical care to patients of Baptist Hospital. And, impact on access to clinical care by community served by Baptist Hospital.

Provide your conclusion on how Baptist Hospital should prepare in advance to address the changes in the hospital environment that will be caused by Medicaid expansion.

Guidelines: The report should not exceed four pages (excluding title page, and references). The title of the file should be ‘firstname_lastname' and should not be submitted as pdf file.

The grades will be based on:

• the presentation of thoughts and observation in the form of well structured, logical argument.

• presenting clear background information.

• demonstrating a clear understanding of the ideas and issues relating to them.

• the use of a broad range of information to build and support arguments.

• providing strong, clear, convincing statements that relate your thoughts and observations to the issues about which you are writing.