Prompt: For Milestone Two, you will submit a draft of your proposed needs assessment. You should include a statement of need that allows the reader to learn more about your selected issue, presents evidence that supports the need for your program, and demonstrates that your organization understands the need and can address the issue. If the issue involves a specific affected population(s), such as employees or patients, be sure to identify that population’s specific needs. Using what you learned about management theories in Module Two, discuss specific management theories that guided your identification of the issue. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: II. Proposal Needs Assessment Develop a statement of need that allows the reader to learn more about your selected issue, presents evidence that supports the need for your proposal, and demonstrates that your organization understands the need and can address the issue. If the issue involves a specific affected population(s), such as employees or patients, be sure to identify that population’s specific needs. Refer to the Module Two resources to discuss specific management theories that will be useful for solving the issue. Rubric Guidelines for Submission: The draft of your Needs Assessment must be submitted as a 2- to 3-page Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins, and any references cited in APA format. Use appropriate headings to identify each critical element.

The final project for this course is the creation of a comprehensive program proposal. Over the course of the term, you will immerse yourself in integrating what you have learned in your coursework and practice to create an authentic demonstration of your abilities as a healthcare administrator by developing a program proposal to address an identified healthcare issue. This artifact will serve as evidence of your professional identity and represent the knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions you can bring to a potential employer. Evaluation of Capstone This capstone will be assessed somewhat differently than other courses you have taken online at SNHU. Your final artifact will be evaluated in determining whether you have demonstrated proficiency in the outcomes listed below. Your instructor will guide you through this process, keeping a running narrative of your strengths and weaknesses in relation to the outcomes as you progress through the class. The project is divided into six milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submission. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Seven. The final comprehensive program proposal will be submitted in Module Nine. Your final submission will be a culmination of the work you complete for each milestone assignment. In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: • Demonstrate interpersonal skills, effective collaborative practices, and cultural competence through meaningful verbal and written communication in individual and group interactions • Assimilate management principles and functions to foster organizational development, promote effective use of human resources, enhance operations, and position the organization through application of market analysis • Integrate knowledge of microeconomic, macroeconomic, and financial principles to monitor, analyze, and interpret healthcare financial and economic data for decision making and strategic planning • Appraise the effectiveness, utilization, and integration of information-management systems within the organization’s microsystems and mesosystems • Translate the knowledge of the U.S. healthcare delivery system, healthcare reimbursement, health policy, governance, and ethical considerations to promote population health and strategic planning at the organizational level • Propose strategies that foster a dynamic organizational culture that clearly defines its strategic vision, identifies opportunities, and methodically engages in data analysis using epidemiologic and statistical principals to support strategic planning, operations management, and continuous quality improvement 2 Prompt You will develop a comprehensive, professional proposal that addresses an identified healthcare issue by interpreting the existing literature regarding the issue and developing a proposal that uses evidence-based resources throughout. Program Proposal For your capstone proposal, you should first conduct a preliminary search of literature to help you define a healthcare problem that health-service organizations face. Limit yourself to evidence-based sources only. Select a specific issue or problem confronting a health-service organization that you can effectively address through your capstone program proposal. Examples might include financial challenges, implementation/operationalization of new legislation (such as the No Surprises Act), patient safety and quality, improving internal cybersecurity, or improving the organizational culture. You will identify a target audience or governing body, such as the CEO or board of directors, who would review and approve implementation of your proposal. You will also identify who will be affected by implementation. You must include, but are not limited to including, the following sections in your program proposal. If certain elements of your program are important but not covered below, you should also include them in your proposal. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Introduction This should include a brief statement of the issue/problem, purpose of program, and its impact. Identify the issue to be addressed and include an accurate and detailed overview of the issue, including a discussion of the effect of your identified issue on your health-service organization and any affected population. You may consider negative patient outcomes, financial implications, cultural implications, etc. In general, include all information necessary to establish a comprehensive analysis and foundation for understanding your chosen issue and proposed program. This section should also describe the target audience to whom you would present your proposal for implementation (such as healthcare executives, administrators, and board of directors) in relation to this proposal and explain why your proposal would be relevant for this audience. For example, how might your proposal help hospital administrators make effective and ethical decisions surrounding patient safety and quality, culture, finance, etc.? II. Proposal Needs Assessment Develop a statement of need that allows the reader to learn more about your selected issue, presents evidence that supports the need for your proposal, and demonstrates that your organization understands the need and can address the issue. If the issue involves a specific affected population(s), such as employees or patients, be sure to identify that population’s specific needs. Refer to the Module Two resources to discuss specific management theories that will be useful for solving the issue. 3 III. Resource Allocation Provide an in-depth description of the resources required to implement your program, such as qualified staff, information-management systems, other technology and equipment, and financial resources, among others. Also describe your plan for accessing and assigning available resources in the most economical way to achieve your program’s future goals. In other words, how will you schedule activities and acquire the resources required for those activities while considering both resource availability and the project timeline? IV. Planning Provide a comprehensive program plan that includes its objectives (i.e., measurable improvements in behavior, performance, process, or a tangible item that will result from your program); ethical and legal considerations, including a review of the four ethical principles, ensuring appropriate legal and social responsibility of your proposal; financial considerations and their anticipated effect on internal policy and operations; anticipated issuerelated outcomes and your plan to address them; and a timeline for meeting program objectives. V. Implementation Provide a detailed description of the activities leading to achieving the objectives identified, including your rationale behind their selection, their sequence, and your reasoning behind why these methods may work. VI. Evaluation Methodologies Provide a comprehensive description of how your organization (and potential funders) will know the program is successful. Items to consider include methods for measuring success, who will be performing the evaluation, which two methods will be used (you must include one type of financial evaluation). You should also include your plan for gathering data, including the identification of the sources from where the data will be acquired (CMS, quality data, leapfrog, turnover rates, etc.), analyzing data, using evaluation for program improvements, and producing any specific evaluation reports. Your program proposal should be submitted in a professional format. The final product is suggested to be in the range of 15 to 20 pages; however, design and proper professional presentation are more important than page count because in the real world, there are usually not any page-length requirements. Therefore, the 15- to 20-page range is a suggestion, and you should use your best professional judgment regarding the length of your proposal. Milestones Milestone One: Introduction In Module Two, you will submit a draft of your introduction (Section I). Milestone One will encompass the introduction. You should first conduct a preliminary search of literature to help you define a healthcare problem health-service organizations face. Select a specific issue or problem confronting a health-service organization that you can effectively address through your capstone program proposal. Examples might include financial challenges, implementation/operationalization of new legislation (such as the No Surprises Act), patient safety and quality, improving internal cybersecurity, or improving the organizational culture. You will identify a target audience or a governing body, such as the CEO or board of directors who would review and approve 4 implementation of your proposal, and you will also identify who will be affected by implementation. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric. Milestone Two: Needs Assessment In Module Three, you will submit a draft of your proposal needs assessment (Section II). You should include a statement of need that allows the reader to learn more about your selected issue, presents evidence that supports the need for your program, and demonstrates that your organization understands the need and can address the issue. If the issue involves a specific affected population, be sure to identify that population’s specific needs. Using what you learned about management theories in Module Two, discuss specific management theories that guided your identification of the issue. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric. Milestone Three: Resource Allocation In Module Four, you will submit a draft of your resource allocation (Section III). Provide an in-depth description of the resources required to implement your program, such as qualified staff, information-management systems, other technology and equipment, and financial resources. Also explain your plan for accessing and assigning available resources in the most economical way to achieve your program’s future goals. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Three Rubric. Milestone Four: Planning In Module Five, you will submit a draft of your planning (Section IV). Provide a comprehensive program plan that includes its objectives (i.e., measurable improvements in behavior, performance, process, or a tangible item that will result from your program); ethical and legal considerations, including a review of the four ethical principles, ensuring appropriate legal and social responsibility of your proposal; financial considerations and their anticipated effect on internal policy and operations; anticipated issue-related outcomes and your plan to address them; and a timeline for meeting program objectives. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Four Rubric. Milestone Five: Implementation In Module Six, you will submit a draft of your implementation (Section V). Give a detailed description of the activities leading to achieving the objectives, including your rationale behind their selection, their sequence, and your reasoning behind why these methods may work. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Five Rubric. Milestone Six: Evaluation Methodologies In Module Seven, you will submit a draft of your evaluation methodologies (Section VI). Provide a comprehensive description of how your organization (and potential funders) will know the program is successful. Items to consider include methods for measuring success, who will perform the evaluation, and how the methods will be selected. You should also include your plan for gathering data, using test instruments, analyzing data, using evaluation for program improvements, and any specific evaluation reports that should be produced. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Six Rubric. 5 Capstone Final Submission: Comprehensive Program Proposal In Module Nine, you will submit your comprehensive program proposal. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded using the Final Project Rubric.