You are the Chief Nursing Executive at Community Regional Medical Center, a 300-bed nonprofit hospital. Due to decreases in reimbursement rates from major payers over the past two years, the hospital is facing a projected $8 million budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year. As leader of the largest department in the hospital, comprising over 50% of staff, the CEO has asked you to develop a cost reduction plan to cut $2 million from your operating budget without negatively impacting patient care and outcomes. When developing your plan, keep in mind that 60% of your expenses come from staff salaries and benefits. The remaining expenses include medical supplies, services, equipment leasing, education/training, travel, and other smaller categories. Your department's total operating budget this past fiscal year was $45 million. Based on this case study, address the following questions while citing legitimate at least five scholarly articles from 2019 to 2024 to support your answer:
1. What process would you undertake to determine cost-saving measures?
2. Who would you engage and collaborate with?Identify at least five specific initiatives or areas where expenses could potentially be reduced in your department while preserving staff jobs.
3. Choose one of those initiatives and describe the implementation plan, including timelines, those responsible, resources needed, and how outcomes will be measured or evaluated.
4. Describe how you would communicate these cost reductions to your nursing staff. What strategies would you use to gain buy-in?