As a health services administrator, you have been tasked with helping in the set up of a new primary care outpatient clinic in a small suburban community. The clinic will be set up in an existing single level building that currently has a patient waiting area with restroom facilities, a front office, small conference room, five patient exam rooms, a centrally located nursing station, three administrative office spaces, and an employee break room and restroom. The clinic space was recently rennovated and is furnished with office and exam room furniture; however, there are no medical supplies or specialized equipment. Within a 30 mile radius of the clinic there are the following health services: • 260 bed community hospital
• Three outpatient laboratory service centers offerring specimen collections and testing
• Multispeciality provider group that includes podiatry, surgical, cardiology, and gynecology & obstetric services
• Two ambulatory surgical centers
• Three quick/immediate care clinics
• County Health Department that offers mental health services, drug counseling programs, immunizations, and community health services that include a communicable disease program, reproductive health services, breast and cervical cancer program, school based wellness program, and Women Infants and Childrens Program (WIC)

The current population of the city in which the clinic is located is 41,000 and the surrounding County population is 103,000. In the last 10 years the community has experienced growing racial and ethnic diversity, increasing immigration of non-english speaking workers, and rising numbers of older adults.

The purpose of developing this portfolio project is for you to demonstrate your leadership skills and knowledge as a healthcare administrator in the areas of: recognizing and responding to legal and ethical concepts relating to the management of healthcare organizations; exploring how healthcare organizations develop; implementing long term planning and identifying outcome measures; identifying issues surrounding corporate strategic alliances, mergers, and affiliations; and analyzing future trends and challenges in healthcare.

The intended audience for your project are the Corporate executives whose office is located 175 miles away in an urban city. Before the clinic can begin seeing patients your implementation plan and set up procedures must be approved by the Corporate executives which includes the chief medical officer, the CEO, chief financial officer, and the director of human resources.
Your project will discuss issues and solutions in the scenario relating to:
• Hiring a qualified diverse workforce
• Addressing legal and ethical issues related to a diverse employee and patient population
• Risk management in an outpatient healthcare environment
• Creating strategic alliances, mergers and affiliations with surrounding health delivery services
• Implementing strategies for success and proposing effective processes for long-term success of the clinic
• Identifying outcomes measures to monitor key performance indicators
• Future trends and challenges in healthcare that may affect your clinic

Directions
In a written proposal to the corporate executives you will address the following: As a health care administrator, what would be your first steps in setting up the outpatient clinic? What other individuals or organizations might you collaborate with during the implementation? Then include in your portfolio project the steps and/or processes that address the following in the scenario: hiring a diverse and qualified staff; determining the number and types of employees needed to effectively staff the clinic; developing policies and procedures to ensure legal and ethical compliance with all accrediting agencies; implementing strategic processes for long term financial success; identifying outcome measures for quality, productivity, and patient satisfaction; creating community alliances or mergers, developing referral sources, collaborating with other local and state healthcare affiliations; and, analyzing the future trends and challenges your clinic might face