HS450 Unit 9 Stakeholder Communication Plan Example

Those in the Water Hear First: A Unit 9 Stakeholder Communication Plan for Moving Aquatic Therapy Out of a Closing Pool

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Purdue University Global

HS450: Strategic Planning and Change Management for Health Care

Unit 9 Stakeholder Communication Plan

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[Date]

Halloway Therapy Partners, its staff, patients and partners, and every date are composite; the sources cited are real.

The Decision Being Communicated

Halloway's board has approved closing the warm-water pool at its oldest clinic at the end of the quarter, rather than spending 410,000 dollars on repairs. Aquatic therapy will continue at the community center pool three miles away, where Halloway therapists will lead sessions under a referral partnership. No staff positions are eliminated; the two aquatic therapists will split their time between the community center and land-based caseloads.

The Power-Interest Grid

Eleven groups are placed by their power over the decision's success and their interest in it, following the stakeholder analysis approach set out by Bryson (2004).

High interest, low power: the two aquatic therapists; the 41 patients in active water-based care; the families who drive them; the clinic's front desk staff.

High interest, high power: the community center board, without whose agreement the partnership fails; the three referring orthopedic practices, who send many aquatic patients; the largest commercial payer, whose authorization rules cover therapy delivered off site.

Low interest, high power: the local newspaper, until the story breaks; the county commissioner whose district includes the clinic.

Low interest, low power: Halloway staff at other clinics; patients who used the pool in the past but are not in active care.

Those whose work or care changes hear before those whose referrals or opinions change, and everyone in active care hears before the public.

Stakeholder Profiles

Each group gets a short profile of what it will want to know. The aquatic therapists will want to know their schedules, whether their skills will still be used, and who decided. Patients will want to know whether their therapy continues, where, when and whether it will cost more. The community center board will want to know the hours Halloway needs, liability arrangements and what the center gains. Referring practices will want to know how to refer and whether outcomes will suffer. The payer will want to know where services are delivered and whether billing changes.

The Calendar

Day 1: the clinic director meets the two aquatic therapists in person, before anyone else learns of the decision. They are asked to help plan the patient transition.

Day 2: the community center board receives a formal partnership proposal at a meeting arranged weeks earlier; the agreement must be signed before patients are told.

Day 5: assuming the board signs, each of the 41 patients hears from their own aquatic therapist, in person at their next session or by phone, with a printed letter. The message: your therapy continues, here is where and when, here is who to call.

Day 6: front desk staff are briefed so they can answer calls.

Day 7: referring orthopedic practices receive a letter and a call from the chief clinical officer.

Day 8: the payer's provider representative is notified of the new site of service.

Day 10: all Halloway staff receive an internal message.

Day 12: the county commissioner's office receives a courtesy call; a short public statement is issued to the newspaper.

Day 90: the pool closes; sessions at the community center have been running for at least four weeks.

Messages

Each message is two or three sentences, drafted in advance. For patients: "Your aquatic therapy will continue with the same therapists at the Oakhurst Community Center pool, starting on your next scheduled date after the move. There is no change to your cost. Call this number with any question." For the newspaper: "Halloway is moving its aquatic therapy program to the Oakhurst Community Center through a new partnership so that patients can keep receiving warm-water therapy while the clinic's aging pool is retired."

What If the Board Does Not Sign

The calendar depends on the community center board agreeing on day 2. If it asks for changes, patient communication waits; no patient hears about a closure before a replacement exists. If the board declines, Halloway reopens the repair option, and the aquatic therapists are told on the same day so that rumors do not reach them first. This contingency is why patients are not told until day 5, even though the decision was final earlier.

Why Patients Do Not Hear From the Chief Executive

Patients hear from their own therapist, not from an executive letter, because people trust the person who knows them. Communication research on change finds that frontline staff and those closest to the people affected are the most credible messengers (Larkin & Larkin, 1994).

Measuring Whether It Worked

Three signs: no patient learns of the change from the newspaper; at least 37 of 41 patients continue aquatic therapy at the community center; and calls to the front desk about the pool fall to near zero within two weeks of the move. Transition research warns that people experience loss before they see gain (Bridges & Bridges, 2016), so complaints in the first week are expected and are logged rather than treated as failure.

References

Bridges, W., & Bridges, S. (2016). Managing transitions: Making the most of change (4th ed.). Da Capo Lifelong Books.

Bryson, J. M. (2004). What to do when stakeholders matter: Stakeholder identification and analysis techniques. Public Management Review, 6(1), 21-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719030410001675722

Larkin, T. J., & Larkin, S. (1994). Communicating change: Winning employee support for new business goals. McGraw-Hill.