Simulation Review

Simulation Review

Celletta Tate

HCS/405

Health Care Financial Accounting

6/10/13

Todd A. Brown

In this simulation review, Elijah Heart Center is facing a potential working shortfall. They have given out huge discounts to managed care companies. EHC has also placed unused equipment in the rooms of the patients, which are not billed. And because of acute nursing shortage, the hospital has given out higher wages to contracted nurses. EHC will have to make some difficult decisions in order to stay afloat in their industry. Decision making will be a huge part of the process of improving the cash flow problem at EHC. The costs are to great to make a mistake, even a simple one; so all the data from previous years will have to be reviewed as well as current situations. It is possible that there may be layoffs, cut backs, or even increases somewhere in order to handle this problem. Issues such as cost cutting options, loan options, cost effective equipment selections, and a source of funding will all have to be decided upon.

During the simulation I had to select two cost-cutting options and the first one I chose was reducing agency staff. By reducing the agency staff, EHC will be able to cut costs dramatically and they will be able to later to determine if the position is still needed. All in all, agency contracted people are paid twice as much as other hospital staff and having too many of them can hurt the budget (University of Phoenix, 2013). The next cost-cutting option I chose was changing the skill mix. This will help the organization cut costs in the long run. Unlicensed assistive personnel are sometimes called nursing assistants and patient care technicians. These assistants usually have less hospital based training hours and can help registered nurses with undemanding tasks like moving patients and feeding them (University of Phoenix, 2013). Along with choosing cost-cutting options, there is a loan option that must be chosen as...