You are the newly hired chief knowledge officer (CKO) for a mid-sized hospital in a semiurban area of the country. Your first task is to develop the organization's strategic plan that will shape the development of a comprehensive network of services for their community.

The organization provides the usual array of inpatient services expected in a moderate-sized community hospital. A local nursing home and retirement community is for sale, and the organization is considering the purchase of that agency. Several physician practices are also interested in alliances with the hospital. There is a local county health department that provides some clinic services, primarily for the uninsured.

You've been asked to give a presentation to the board of directors on options to restructure the local delivery of healthcare services. The hospital's president has asked you to focus your presentation on the common elements a comprehensive delivery system attempts to accomplish and to highlight innovative methods of restructuring. The presentation will lay out the requirements of an integrated healthcare delivery system.