NHS FPX 8040 Assessment 3 Project Charter Part 3

Name

Capella university

NHS-FPX 8040 21st-Century Health Care Leadership

Prof. Name

Date

Project Overview

Project Name: Healing the Workforce: Addressing Nursing Shortages at Lima Memorial Hospital

Lima Memorial Hospital is currently experiencing a critical shortfall in nursing staff, which disrupts effective healthcare delivery and adversely affects patient outcomes. Out of 500 sanctioned positions for registered nurses, 75 remain unfilled. This staffing deficit has contributed to excessive workload among the remaining nurses, resulting in burnout and declining quality of care. The initiative aims to close this staffing gap by reducing the number of vacant nursing positions from 75 to 25 over the next 12 months. Achieving this target will enhance workforce stability and improve overall care delivery for the patient population served.

To identify the gap, existing staffing records were analyzed alongside recruitment trends and retention efforts. Additionally, a survey was conducted among nursing staff to evaluate workload stress and burnout indicators. The implications of the staffing gap are profound, particularly for the patients and community relying on the hospital. Reduced staff capacity compromises care safety and satisfaction, underscoring the urgency for strategic action.

Current vs. Desired State Table

Current State	Desired State	Identified Gap	Gap Identification Methods	Relevance to Population
75 RN positions unfilled out of 500; insufficient hiring/retention practices	25 RN positions unfilled by end of 12 months	Fill 50 vacant RN roles	Staffing audits, trend analysis, staff workload and burnout surveys	Shortages reduce care quality and access; addressing it enhances patient safety and satisfaction

Supporting evidence from recent hospital surveys revealed that 65% of nurses reported workload strain due to shortages, and nearly half cited its negative impact on care quality. This local data aligns with national trends—studies suggest the U.S. requires millions more nurses to meet patient care demands (Tamata & Mohammadnezhad, 2022). Regulatory guidance from The Joint Commission further mandates maintaining appropriate staff levels for safe healthcare delivery (Baker, 2022). Failing to meet these requirements strains financial and operational resources while widening health disparities (Udod, 2023).

Problem Statement: Lima Memorial Hospital is facing a critical gap in nursing personnel due to ineffective recruitment and retention approaches. The shortage leads to employee dissatisfaction, higher turnover, and compromised patient care. There is an urgent need to enhance workforce strategies to close this gap, reduce burnout, and restore high-quality service delivery.

SMART Objectives and Project Aim

SMART Objectives

The objectives guiding this project are strategically defined to ensure focused implementation and measurable impact.

Specific: This initiative focuses on current nursing staff and potential recruits, specifically enhancing the hospital’s processes related to hiring and retaining skilled nursing professionals.
Measurable: Progress will be monitored by tracking the decrease in vacancies—from 75 to 25—and reduced turnover rates.
Achievable: The plan is feasible due to available financial resources and strong executive support, enabling smooth execution.
Relevant: Alleviating the nurse shortage is vital for upholding the hospital’s mission to deliver high-quality, equitable care and reduce disparities across communities.
Time-bound: The implementation begins immediately after project approval, with a 12-month timeline to reach the target staffing level.

Project Aim

This project seeks to significantly decrease nurse turnover and vacancies at Lima Memorial Hospital, targeting a reduction from 75 to 25 unfilled positions within one year. The initiative will enhance staff well-being by decreasing workload and burnout, and improve patient care outcomes through more reliable service delivery. Evidence-based tactics such as enhanced salary packages, workplace respect, and career development will be employed to foster long-term workforce stability (Pressley & Garside, 2023).

Project Team, Stakeholders, and Communication Plan

Project Team Table

Title	Department	Role & Contribution
Executive Sponsor	Medical Administration	Dr. SJ will oversee project sponsorship, leveraging her executive authority to secure funding and approve staff initiatives. Her leadership fosters interdepartmental collaboration and helps overcome organizational resistance.
Team Leader	Nursing Administration	As Chief Nursing Officer, Dr. AR will provide strategic direction. Employing transformational and servant leadership styles, she will inspire staff, promote teamwork, and ensure alignment with hospital goals (Alessa, 2021; Canavesi & Minelli, 2022).
Nurse Manager	Nursing Services	KS contributes practical insight into nursing operations and challenges, aiding in tailoring recruitment strategies. Her rapport with staff supports engagement and change adoption.
HR Manager	Human Resources	JM, with expertise in recruitment and labor market navigation, will spearhead hiring strategies, ensuring alignment with internal policies and external trends.
QI Coordinator	Quality Assurance	EM will track performance metrics and assess the impact of interventions using quality improvement methodologies to support continuous improvement and sustainability.
Finance Manager	Finance	MJ will evaluate the financial feasibility of initiatives, manage budgets, and assess long-term economic impacts of recruitment and retention programs.

Stakeholder Engagement Table

Stakeholder	Connection to Project	Impact	Contribution
Union Representative	Advocates for nurse rights	Improved working conditions and morale	Advocates staff needs, suggests supportive strategies
Patient Advocate	Represents patient interests	Enhanced care quality and safety	Offers feedback on patient impact, helps align initiatives with care standards
Community Leader	Liaison to community health interests	Builds trust and ensures equity	Supports community-informed strategies and connects hospital with local resources

Communication Plan

A comprehensive communication strategy ensures all parties remain informed and engaged throughout project execution. For the executive sponsor, structured quarterly meetings will be supplemented with monthly email summaries and ad-hoc briefings as needed. Team members will receive bi-weekly progress updates via internal meetings, and share dashboards tracking staffing metrics and progress.

Stakeholders will be engaged through monthly town halls to share updates, address concerns, and collect feedback. Additionally, bi-weekly newsletters will be published on the hospital’s intranet, offering continuous insights into milestones, staffing updates, and engagement initiatives. This multi-modal approach promotes transparency, alignment, and collective ownership of outcomes (Leykum et al., 2023).

References

Baker, D. W. (2022). Addressing the nursing shortage in the United States: An interview with Dr. Peter Buerhaus. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 48(5), 298–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjq.2022.02.006

Canavesi, A., & Minelli, E. (2022). Servant leadership in healthcare: A systematic review. Leadership in Health Services, 35(4), 437–449. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-06-2021-0046

Leykum, L. K., Singh, H., Sittig, D. F., & Scalzi, C. C. (2023). Team communication in complex healthcare settings. BMJ Leader, 7(1), 17–22. https://doi.org/10.1136/leader-2021-000582

NHS FPX 8040 Assessment 3 Project Charter Part 3

Pressley, C., & Garside, J. (2023). Safeguarding the retention of nurses: A systematic review on determinants of nurse’s intentions to stay. Nursing Open, 10(5), 2842–2858. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1588

Tamata, A. T., & Mohammadnezhad, M. (2022). A systematic review study on the factors affecting the shortage of nursing workforce in the hospitals. Nursing Open, 10(3), 1247–1257. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.1434

Udod, S. (2023). A call for urgent action: Innovations for nurse retention in addressing the nursing shortage. Nursing Reports, 13(1), 145–147. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13010015

Certainly! Below is a rephrased version of Part 3 of your project, formatted into well-structured paragraphs and tables (where needed), keeping the original three headings: Intervention, Measurement: Proposed Outcomes, and Data Collection & Management. All APA references are retained and updated at the end.

Intervention

Lima Memorial Hospital identified a critical issue related to persistent nursing shortages through staff feedback and historical workforce data. The hospital currently faces 75 vacant nursing positions and plans to reduce this to 25 vacancies within 12 months. This goal will be achieved by implementing targeted strategies to enhance recruitment and retention of qualified nursing staff. The intervention integrates evidence-based practices, such as offering competitive salary enhancements, career growth opportunities, and cultivating a supportive, respectful work environment to boost job satisfaction and organizational loyalty (Pressley & Garside, 2023).

The implementation team includes hospital executive leadership, which ensures strategic alignment, provides oversight, and allocates necessary resources. Nursing administration plays a pivotal role by executing key initiatives, assessing workforce needs, and advocating for staff preferences to improve engagement. Human Resources (HR) and finance departments are jointly responsible for redesigning compensation packages, allocating budgets, and executing development programs. A quality improvement team will be assigned to monitor project progress, evaluate impacts on retention and patient care, and guide continuous enhancement efforts.

The intervention comprises three major components:

Intervention Implementation Table

Component	Strategy	Timeline
Revising Salary Packages	HR will assess market trends and increase salaries by 5% over local averages. Enhanced benefits will be included.	Implementation begins within 3 months; results expected in 6–8 months.
Professional Development	Development of CPE programs and mentorship tracks. Later phases include advanced practice and internships.	Curriculum creation and launch within 6–8 months; ongoing opportunities thereafter.
Respectful Workplace Environment	Leadership and staff will receive training to build a culture of respect, equity, and shared decision-making.	Initial rollout in 6 months; continued updates through policy and reinforcement.

Measurement: Proposed Outcomes

The success of this intervention will be monitored using a combination of outcome, process, and counter/balancing measures. These metrics will help assess whether the project meets its objectives and reveal any unintended impacts.

Project Measurement Table

Outcome Measure	Process Measures	Counter/Balancing Measures
Decrease nursing vacancies from 75/500 to 25/500 within 12 months.	Track the number of positions filled monthly. Goal: 4 positions filled per month.	1. Lighter workload and fewer overtime hours for existing staff. 2. Risk of budget strain. 3. Resistance to change.
Achieve a 10% increase in employee satisfaction scores in six months.	Employee satisfaction surveys conducted bi-annually to evaluate perception of initiatives.	Measures to mitigate resource exhaustion and emotional fatigue during change implementation.

This outcome-oriented approach supports both employee well-being and organizational performance improvements.

Data Collection & Management

A robust plan for data collection and management will ensure the accuracy and integrity of findings related to this intervention. The hospital will focus on gathering both quantitative and qualitative data to assess the intervention’s success.

Data Collection Plan Table

Data Type	Data Collector	Timeline	Storage & Protection	Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consideration
Monthly filled nursing positions	HR department will maintain records of recruitment outcomes.	Monthly tracking over a 12-month period.	Secure electronic systems with password protection and encryption (Jaime et al., 2023).	Data will be interpreted with attention to diversity and equity, avoiding sampling and interpretation bias.
Bi-annual employee satisfaction scores	Quality Improvement Coordinator will manage survey distribution and analysis.	Surveys every six months, beginning at Month 6.	Confidential survey data will be anonymized and stored securely, accessible only to authorized personnel.	Inclusive sampling strategies will be employed to ensure diverse and representative feedback from all demographics.

Data governance will ensure ethical management of personal and professional information, upholding confidentiality, anonymity, and secure access.

Ethical Leadership

Guided by the Quadruple Aim framework—improved health outcomes, enhanced patient experience, staff well-being, and cost-effectiveness—this project is designed to balance the needs of multiple stakeholders (Arnetz et al., 2020). By improving recruitment and retention, staff morale and job satisfaction are expected to rise, leading to better patient outcomes and decreased turnover. However, short-term strain on resources and staff during implementation could pose ethical concerns. Proactive leadership, staff feedback loops, and fair resource distribution will help mitigate these effects.

The plan embraces diversity and equity by prioritizing the recruitment of nurses from underrepresented groups, enhancing workforce inclusivity. A diverse nursing workforce contributes to improved patient communication, cultural competence, and the reduction of healthcare disparities (Carter, 2020).

Ethical leadership principles—including transparency, fairness, and accountability—are central to this project. Leaders will adopt transformational and servant leadership models to foster mutual respect, empower teams, and ensure shared decision-making (Varkey, 2021). These practices promote a healthy workplace environment and align with the mission to uphold integrity, inclusivity, and collective responsibility.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis Table

Strengths	Weaknesses
– Strong executive support and dedicated resources for recruitment efforts. – Active community partnerships for talent sourcing.	– Potential team resistance to change. – Budget constraints and internal competing priorities.

Opportunities	Threats
– Access to external expertise and community resources. – Motivated teams due to leadership support.	– Policy shifts, economic instability, and intensified market competition for nursing talent.

By leveraging internal strengths and external partnerships, the project can overcome weaknesses and prepare for external challenges through strategic monitoring and adaptive planning.

References

Arnetz, B. B., Goetz, C. M., Arnetz, J. E., Sudan, S., vanSchagen, J., Piersma, K., & Reyelts, F. (2020). Enhancing healthcare efficiency to achieve the Quadruple Aim: An exploratory study. BMC Research Notes, 13, 362. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-020-05199-8

Carter, B. (2020). Achieving diversity, inclusion and equity in the nursing workforce. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem, 28, e3254. https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.0000-3254

Jaime, F. J., Muñoz, A., Rodríguez-Gómez, F., & Jerez-Calero, A. (2023). Strengthening privacy and data security in biomedical microelectromechanical systems by IoT communication security and protection in smart healthcare. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 23(21), 8944. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23218944