Pocahontas County Market Analysis
Portrait of Pocahontas County
Pocahontas County is a rural area located in the southeast region of West Virginia, spanning 942 square miles. The scenic area serves as the site of the head waters for eight rivers: Cherry River, Cranberry River, Elk River, Ganley River, Greenbriar River, Tygart Valley River, Williams River, and Shaver Fork of the Cheat River and consists of 10 scattered small towns. As with other rural communities across the United States, Pocahontas Country suffers from a depressed local economy, substantial barriers to health care access, and difficulty in attracting health professionals. A market analysis of both the rural community and some options that may be used to attract health professionals to Pocahontas Memorial Hospital offers some proposed relief to the dampened healthcare outlook.
Market Analyses
Pocahontas County’s Population
Gorchels indicated that to begin a market analysis, one must use segmentation factors most appropriate for the industry. In particular, consumer product companies, in this case Pocahontas Memorial Hospital, must use demographic variables such as age, family status, or lifestyle (Gorchels, 2000, p. 74). As of the 2010 Census there are 9,131 people residing in Pocahontas County. The racial makeup is 98% Caucasian, .78% African American, .43% Hispanic, .14% Asian, and .07% Native American with a median income for a household within the county of $26,401 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013).
An organization such as the Pocahontas Memorial Hospital (PMH) is established to be a primary care source for a rural community, serving 5% of the state’s population (Pocahontas Memorial Hospital, 2013). PMH wishes to deliver compassionate care and promote healthy lifestyles through working collaboratively with other healthcare facilities, and delivering adequate patient education, while sustaining financial viability (Pocahontas Memorial Hospital, 2016). This organization would like to offer a comprehensive satellite health clinic within Pocahontas County, as the strategy to intervene existing weaknesses and threats to the health of the community of Pocahontas County.
Pocahontas Memorial Hospital is a rural county hospital located in Buckeye, West Virginia meant to be the first choice in integrated healthcare for the community they are serving (Pocahontas Memorial Hospital, 2014). Due to the limited amount of hospital beds and rural status of the community that it is serving, a market analysis is needed to determine the true needs of the community. Therefore, the market analysis will ensure that the small amount of money they have will go to the correct products, services, and ventures that are truly needed.
One area where access to care is a problem is in the rural communities. Healthcare professionals including physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses all affect the quality and cost of care (Derksen, & Whelan, 2009). Going forward importance needs to be placed on using recourses more efficiently and effectively; these resources include but are not limited to tests, prescriptions,
As of 2014, North Carolina ranks as the 8th worst state for infant mortality in the United States with a slight improvement from holding the number one position in 1988. (Health Start Foundation, 2014) As infant mortality rate is broken down by demographics and ethnicity a clearer picture opens the doors of perception and explores preventative measures for this at risk population. African Americans represent 22% of North
The strategies that can be used are an increase in Chief Executive Officer (CEO) involvement, compelling marketing material, technology, financial incentives, and the execution of the job offer (Cohn & Harlow, 2009). CEO involvement is a large component to recruiting and retaining the physicians that will be employed within the Pocahontas community. This is because the physicians that are being recruited see the accountability of the leadership team to ensure their advancement and compensation within the organization (Cohn & Harlow,). This accountability ensures that the leadership of the organization is in-sync allowing for a better work place, and ensures the organization is invested in their
This case study is based on the Metrolina Health Center, which was started by Dr. Charles Warren. Williams and several medical colleagues with a $25,000 grant typically from the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Williams is the first African American to have services on this category of staff; Charlotte’s Memorial Hospital, which is undoubtedly the Charlotte’s largest hospital. The main concern of Dr. Williams is the health care needs of poor people in the area. He had always focused on making the word a better place, especially for the people who feel less fortunate. The doctor also went ahead with enlisting the aid of a local dentist, Dr. John murphy among other professionals including the director of the Sickle
The gorgeous New River/Greenbrier Valley is located in the southern portion of West Virginia. It is east of the Hatfield-McCoy Mountains, southeast of the Metro Valley, south of the Mountain Lakes, and southwest of the Potomac Highlands. Its counties include Fayette, Raleigh, Wyoming, McDowell, Mercer, Summers, Greenbrier, and Monroe. It hosts a few major cities, such as Beckley, Lewisburg, Fayetteville, and Princeton, which are all county seats. This tourist region offers a variety of activities for tourists, such as white-water rafting, the Greenbrier River Trail, the Tamarack, Winterplace, the Midland Trail, and the Coal Heritage Trail. The trails are an entertaining way to show tourists the history of the area, but the Tamarack is an artisan center located in Beckley, and Winterplace is a ski resort.
While in public accounting, I acted as the Interim Finance Director for the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska based out of Niobrara, which is a position that took years to fill due to the remote nature of the community. I audit tribal entities across the country in less populated areas including Popular, Montana; Zuni, New Mexico; and Needles, California. Furthermore, when taking a two-year hiatus from public accounting I worked as the Finance Director for a community health clinic, which serves uninsured and underinsured individuals focusing on those at 200% of the poverty level or less. The clinics are located in communities with health professional shortage area (HPSA) designations, which mean there are too few primary care, dental, and mental health providers and services compared to the number of individuals residing in the
In the same county of Etowah, there are three competitors: Gadsden Regional Medical Center, HealthSouth Corporation and Mountain View Hospital. Of the three mentioned institutes, Gadsden Regional medical Center (GRMC) is the main competitor that targets the same population as Riverview Regional Medical Center (RRMC). Both centers share medical professional privileges and both share the same geographic location. However, RRMC maintains the advantage of being owned and managed by Health Management Associates (HMA) which has proven to be reliable and successful in the management of rural health care organizations and continuously improve revenue.
Another threat is the current state of rural hospitals nationwide. According to the case study, about 25% of Americans live in rural areas and only about 10% of physicians actually practice in rural areas. There is a 15% gap in the ratio of rural citizens to available practicing physicians. This is a threat to ELH’s need to attract and hire more physicians. In relation to rural hospitals, citizens have longer drive times to their medical facilities. This causes them to delay routine visits which subsequently exacerbates
Significant health disparities between rural and urban populations have been a major concern in the United States. One prominent factor contributing to the disparities is lack of access to quality care in rural areas which is closely associated with challenges faced by rural health care providers (National Rural Health Association, 2007). Rural hospitals are the key health care provider in rural areas, offering essential health care services to nearly 54 million people (American Hospital Association, 2006). They face a series of challenges such as workforce shortages, rise in health care costs, difficulty in finding access to capital, difficulty in
St. Johns County economic activity is primarily tourist related. The county consists of beaches, riverfronts, and dozens of historical landmarks. This makes the county a perfect place to attract visitors. The county is dedicated to improving the development of its current businesses, so they may attract new businesses. St. Johns County prides itself on having a flexible business climate, diverse neighborhoods, and natural environments. St. Augustine is one of the three areas incorporated in St. Johns County (St. Johns County Quick Facts).
Rural Americans face an exclusive combination of issues that create disparities in health care that are not found in urban areas. Many complications met by healthcare providers and patients in rural arears are massively different than those located in urban areas. Financial factors, cultural and social variances, educational deficiencies, lack of acknowledgement by delegates and the absolute isolation of living in remote rural areas all combined to hinder rural Americans in their struggle to lead a normal, healthy life. Rural hospitals located in rural areas faces many disadvantages, such as; minimum resources, shortcoming or unprepared professionals, and financial disparities. Although many of these challenges could be solved
There are two principal conditions leading to physician shortages in rural communities according to Wright and colleagues. They are “demand-deficient”, meaning they have insufficient populations and resources to support a physician practice, they are “ambiance-challenged,” meaning they are isolated, lack quality services and amenities, and/or are in geographically unattractive settings, or a combination of the two sets of conditions. Inner-city physician shortages are a more recently recognized issue. They are affected by the same conditions, though the specifics are different (Wright, Andrilla, and Hart 2001).
A SWOT-Analysis is a useful strategic tool for PMH to utilize when determining whether a rural satellite clinic will be a profitable market venture. A SWOT-Analysis is a diagram that considers organizations’ internal competencies (strengths and weaknesses) and external developments (opportunities and threats) affecting the institution (Van Wijngaarden, Scholten, & Van Wijk, 2012). Therefore a SWOT analysis for PMH’s satellite clinic project includes the following strengths: PMH current rural health clinic is successful and provides patients with increased access to outpatient health care services even after business hours and on weekends; offers a patient portal for customers to electronically access their health information; and gives patients access to rotating specialty care services (i.e. podiatry, nephrology, and surgery) (PMH, n.d.). Also, PMH has built strong relationships throughout Pocahontas County that increases public perceptions for their institution and acceptability for the developing of new business ventures (PMH, n.d.). Finally, PMH has an in-house billing center that assists patients with their health care payments and offers a Payment Assistance Program to those patients who have difficulty paying their bills (PMH, n.d.).