Case Study: Mountain View Health Center This case study of Mountain View Health Center, with information about the types of activities performed there, organizational structure, strategic priorities, and financial allocations. Use this for this assignment. 1. Mountain View Health Center is a nonprofit, 54 beds, short-term, acute care community-based hospital in Townsville, a poor rural community located approximately 93 miles from the closest metropolitan city. 2. The hospital is the only source of acute care outside the metropolitan city (it is a critical access hospital and is an important component of the town’s economic and social fabric. 3. It is also the largest employer in town. The hospital is not considered to be a teaching hospital because the closest medical, nursing, and allied health schools are more than 100 miles away. 4. The population approx.. 27,000 of Townsville is multicultural, with a large number of Hispanic residents represented in the most recent census 5. The primary industry is farming, which brings in significant numbers of seasonal migratory workers during harvest season 6. These farmworkers frequently suffer from poor living and working conditions that lead to an array of health problems, including work-related injuries and long-term exposure to fungi and dust. 7. Lack of safe drinking water often results in cases of dehydration and heatstroke. Pesticide poisoning, falls, and injuries related to exposure to the elements are also commonly seen in the ER. 8. Farmworkers rarely have insurance, they can’t afford to pay for health care. In addition, language is a barrier to care and treatment 9. The hospital has a small ER, 2 surgical beds, an OB. There are 5 ICU beds. 10. The hospital attempts to meet the minimum RN staffing guidelines for RNs mandated by the state of California but must request waivers. Primary care is provided by both MD and advanced practice nurses. 11. The remote location and small hospital size have resulted in MD shortages, although this is not always a concern. Wages at the hospital is among the highest in town, although slightly below the median for the region. 12. The hospital actively collaborates with the tertiary hsps in the region. It participates in formal or informal alliances with rural hsp networks. It also work closely with community organizations that serve the low income and homeless populations in the community. 13. Like other rural hospitals, the cash-strapped hospital is struggling to survive due to increased costs, a high number of uninsured or under insured, reduced payments from public and private insurance, and expenses related to maintaining an older building 14. Payer mix is predominantly beneficiaries of Medicare and Medicaid 15. The hospital recovers about 95cents on the dollar, 80 cents on the dollar from Medicaid, about 4 cents from self pay. Hospital had about $41 million in revenue this past year but had to write off about $8.5 million for bad debt ...

1. Case Study: Mountain View Health Center
This case study of Mountain View Health Center, with
information about the types of activities performed there,
organizational structure, strategic priorities, and financial
allocations. Use this for this assignment.
1. Mountain View Health Center is a nonprofit, 54 beds, short-
term, acute care community-based hospital in Townsville, a
poor rural community located approximately 93 miles from the
closest metropolitan city.
2. The hospital is the only source of acute care outside the
metropolitan city (it is a critical access hospital and is an
important component of the town’s economic and social fabric.
3. It is also the largest employer in town. The hospital is not
considered to be a teaching hospital because the closest
medical, nursing, and allied health schools are more than 100
miles away.
4. The population approx.. 27,000 of Townsville is
multicultural, with a large number of Hispanic residents
represented in the most recent census
5. The primary industry is farming, which brings in significant
numbers of seasonal migratory workers during harvest season
6. These farmworkers frequently suffer from poor living and
working conditions that lead to an array of health problems,
including work-related injuries and long-term exposure to fungi
and dust.
7. Lack of safe drinking water often results in cases of

2. dehydration and heatstroke. Pesticide poisoning, falls, and
injuries related to exposure to the elements are also commonly
seen in the ER.
8. Farmworkers rarely have insurance, they can’t afford to pay
for health care. In addition, language is a barrier to care and
treatment
9. The hospital has a small ER, 2 surgical beds, an OB. There
are 5 ICU beds.
10. The hospital attempts to meet the minimum RN staffing
guidelines for RNs mandated by the state of California but must
request waivers. Primary care is provided by both MD and
advanced practice nurses.
11. The remote location and small hospital size have resulted in
MD shortages, although this is not always a concern. Wages at
the hospital is among the highest in town, although slightly
below the median for the region.
12. The hospital actively collaborates with the tertiary hsps in
the region. It participates in formal or informal alliances with
rural hsp networks. It also work closely with community
organizations that serve the low income and homeless
populations in the community.
13. Like other rural hospitals, the cash-strapped hospital is
struggling to survive due to increased costs, a high number of
uninsured or under insured, reduced payments from public and
private insurance, and expenses related to maintaining an older
building
14. Payer mix is predominantly beneficiaries of Medicare and
Medicaid

3. 15. The hospital recovers about 95cents on the dollar, 80 cents
on the dollar from Medicaid, about 4 cents from self pay.
Hospital had about $41 million in revenue this past year but had
to write off about $8.5 million for bad debt or charity care,
resulting in a total projected loss of $1.8 million. In patient
days declined the past year as patients delayed elective
surgeries due to higher deductibles, and the economic downturn.
16. Despite these fiscal challenges, the hospital maintains an
active quality monitoring program, with most performance
indicators scoring at the average level as compared with
national benchmarks.
17. Like most rural hospitals, this one also lacks electronic
health records. The hospital did apply for federal funding to
begin implementation but meeting meaningful criteria is not
expected for another 5 years.
18. The board of directors, composed of local community
leaders debate whether the goal should be to remain an
independent hospital or to focus on ensuring access to health
care.
19. Local doctors have expressed interest in contracting or
bundling their services with these regional health care systems
to ensure financial viability in their private practices.