Date of Award

1994

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Business Administration

Department

Business

First Advisor

Daniel W. Kemper

Second Advisor

Elizabeth Lemasters

Third Advisor

Mike Wood

Abstract

This culminating project develops a marketing plan for a Community and Migrant Health Center in southern Colorado. The need for marketing plans for large multi-specialty group practices is becoming more and more evident. Increased competition for patients and the anticipated national and state health care reform suggests that the provision of physician services will continue to become more competitive in the future.

Community and Migrant Health Centers have not traditionally had to compete for patients. They have occupied a special niche in most markets, they were created to provide services to the medically underserved, and they very often are the only provider of service that the poor can access.

Valley-Wide Health Services, Inc. of Alamosa, Colorado is unique in the Community Health Center field. With a budget of over 6.5 million dollars per year, it is one of the largest employers in the San Luis Valley. It is the second largest CHC in the state of Colorado and provides health care to over 16,000 individuals each year.

The purpose of the project is to develop a marketing plan to assist Valley-Wide in efforts to remain financially viable into what appears to be a potentially volatile future. The only competitor in the region is making a multimillion dollar investment in a new facility and technology. The state medicaid department is being mandated to force medicaid recipients into a managed care program. This group now represents over thirty per cent (30%) of Valley-Wide's cash each year.

With state and national health plans being planned in the future, Valley-Wide must take actions that strategically protect its' current market share and provide continued growth.

The plan that has been developed from this project has been implemented in part as of this date in 1994. The acceptance of a marketing plan into the business operations of the organization will assist in negotiation of the turbulent times that may lay ahead for all primary care health care providers.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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