BAAK Healthcare Management Solutions

BAAK consulting is a full service boutique consulting firm servicing small to mid-size health care facilities in the Mid-west. BAAK Management Consulting Firm is a Chicago based management consulting firm specializing in improving the profitability of mid to large size hospitals by providing industry expertise in the areas of Development, Facilities Management, Financial Operations, and Technology Solutions which are outlined in greater detail below. It will employee only the most knowledgeable professionals within the industry who create sustainable strategic solutions to complex problems.

Given the dynamic nature of the health care industry the firm must also be equally dynamic in responding to the needs of potential customers. It is these two factors along with a proven ability to create value for its client base that will differentiate BAAK from its competitors. The needs of the health care industry are diverse and broad. However, in order to ensure a deep level expertise BAAK has chosen to enter the market with a focus on four disciplines; Facilities Management, Financial Operations, Design & Development, and Technology Solutions.

Service Offerings & Values
Outlined in the following table are the service offerings of BAAK Consulting and the firm’s values. These values will be an integral part of the corporate culture at BAAK Consulting. They not only will play a role in how the firm hires and incentives its employees they will also serve as a guide in determining the compatibility of our firm approach with that of a potential client.

Facilities Management
The first of the four disciplines of BAAK Consulting will be centered around the creation of value through the implementation of leading practices within the area of facilities management with a focus on reducing its customer’s costs while at the same time maintaining or improving upon the quality of the overall physical environment. Outlined below are some of the potential solution offerings that would be available to its customers.

* Energy load analysis and optimization
* Physical infrastructure analysis
* Optimization of Facilities Management Processes
* Preventive Maintenance Planning/Scheduling
* Procurement Processes
* Project Management

Financial Operations
The Financial Operations discipline will create value for its customers by focusing on the streamlining of back-office financial activities and maximizing billings and recoveries. Outlined below are some of the potential solution offerings that would be available to its customers. * Accounts receivable collections analysis

* Billng Analysis
* Legislative Analysis
* Accounts Payable Automation
Technology Solutions
The Technology Solutions team will focus on the capture of our clients’ business requirements and delivering solutions that meet or exceed those same requirements. While the Technology Solutions team will be its own discipline there is a strong likelihood that this team could be leveraged for projects from the other disciplines as the implementation of technology may be required to achieve the desired business result. Some of the more prominent technical challenges* that the team will be prepared to address are master patient identification, on-line bill payment, mobile application development, data capture & analytics, and centralized scheduling. Outside of industry experience in the aforementioned areas the team will have core competencies in the following areas. * Documentation of Business and Technical Requirements

* Creation and issuance of RFI and/or RFP for technical solution
* System Selection
* Project Management
* System Implementation
* Network Design & Management
Design & Development
The Design & Development discipline will assist its clients with major renovations to existing health care buildings or the design and construction of new facilities. In this capacity it will serve as the Owner’s representative in either the management of design and/or construction of the project and lead the team to ensure the owner’s needs are met via the construction of the new facilitiy. In this role it will leverage leading practices in the areas of Building Information Modeling and Sustainable Design to create a compelling lasting space that instill a level of comfort in its customers’ patients and family members. Following are some of the potential service lines within the discipline. * RFP & Bid Analysis

* Design Management
* Design Review
* Sustainability (Leed) Review & Analysis
* Permitting
* Construction Management
* Value Engineering
* Project Management

Management Methodology
As BAAK consulting is engaged by new and existing clients it will follow the methodology outlined below which is aligned with the Project Management Institute (PMI) methodology. This methodology will serve as the backbone for how the firm interacts with its clients on an engagement. Each engagement will have elements from the phases outlined below but time and the extent of activities within each phase will vary based upon the complexity and scope of the engagement.

Initiation – The initiation phase will be largely led by the managing director for the discipline. In this capacity he or she will work with the client to understand the business problem at hand and provide insight into how BAAK could support the current or potential client to solve the problem. In the event BAAK is engaged by the client this phase will end in a letter of engagement. Assess – Within the Asses phase the project team will be brought on site to develop a deeper understanding of the problem at hand and document what the client requires of a potential solution. This effort will include a project manager and one or more consultants. This step will culminate with the deliverable of current state findings, business requirements, and potential return on investment of approved design. Planning & Design – In this phase the team will move forward with the planning and design of the proposed solution.

The plans may include system design, process flows, building designs, renderings, floor plans, and other documents which document the proposed solution. Execution – During the execution phase the actual implement of the solution, equipment, or building will take place. Training, testing, and end user validation of the solution will take place during this phase as well. Monitoring – The project manager for the discipline will ensure that the solution is delivering the anticipated results and adjust accordingly if need be. Completion – The entire team will meet for the completion phase to ensure that solution that was delivered by BAAK meets the requirements originally proposed by the client. Estimated value analysis that was created in the assessment phase will be compared to the actual value achieved by the solution.

Technology Plan
The firm will take a cloud based approach to its computing needs to eliminate up-front capital costs related to systems and infrastructure. This approach will not only cover key desktop functionality such as MS Office, Sharepoint, and Outlook but will also carry through to the selection of enterprise applications. With respect to enterprise applications the firm will require a fully functional time & billing and project management solution. These solutions will ensure that the firm has a system in place to record all potential billing hours as well as the availability of resources for projects. Also, the project management system will serve as the data collection system for each of the firm’s engagements. The firm will position this management approach to technology as a differentiating factor with potential clients. The project management platform will create a level of transparency to the project, issues, and costs that our clients will find refreshing.

From the standpoint of network connectivity the firm will be operating out of a single location thus a wide area network will not be required. A local area network will be implemented within its primary office location for the purpose of supporting printers and other network devices. In order to reduce cabling expenses the firm will use wireless technology to support its local network needs. Given the requirement for our employees to be on client site the firm will be supplying each of its employees with a laptop as well as a mobile device of choice. This will allow our employee base to work either on client site, at home or within our office location. Additionally, the mobile functionality will ensure connectivity with our team members regardless of their location. While the systems will be widely outsourced it is anticipated that an IT director be a part of the initial staffing plan to implement the required systems and own the relationship with potential outsourced vendor partners. Human Resources

Management Team
The management team will consist of the Exectuve Director of Consulting Services, Executive Director of Marketing & Business Development, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director of Sustainability. These positions will be filled by the founders of the firm. The broad expertise in the given areas should prove beneficial to the firm and will help support the teams in building and managing the business pipeline. Keith Aniol – Executive Director of Consulting Services

Over 15 years business and consulting experience in HR, Payroll, Design & Construction, Facilities Management, and Accounting with a focus on implementing solutions within the real estate and health care industries Mr. Aniol has a proven track record of delivering customer centric solutions which bring immediate measurable value to his clients. In his role as Executive Director of Consulting Services he will create a culture that is centered around the delivery of measurable successful results to the clients of BAAK using industry leading and proven practices, tools, and methodologies. Brian Fitzpatrick – Executive Director of Sustainability

In this role Brian will look to leverage his broad experience within sustainability and inject facets of sustainability into the solutions that are delivered by the firm.

Amie Sittipraneet – Executive Director of Marketing & Business Development

Amie has an extensive background in marketing and will look to leverage those skills to market the brand of BAAK consulting within the health care industry.

Mohammed Azhar Ahmed – Chief Executive Officer

Mohammed will leverage his vast knowledge from within th medical and hospitality industries to lead the firm. The injection of quality principles that he has learned within the hospitality industry into our health care clients will prove to be beneficial to our clients.

Management Team Gaps
While the management team has developed a sound business understanding through its own experience and eduction, industry expertise is absolutely required in each discipline for the firm to be successful. It is the recruitment of the four managing directors that will set the stage for success. They will need to be experts within their discipline and well respected within the health care industry. Furthermore, it is the preference of the firm that they have a consulting background and contacts which may be leveraged to build the book of business for BAAK Consulting. Once the four Management Director positions are filled, each director will take the lead in building his team under the guidance of the management team. Additionally, the firm’s core values will be at the core of the candidate evaluation process ensuring that their own personal values are somewhat aligned to the values of the firm. StaffingNeeds

To supplement the strengths and weaknesses of the management team the following roles will need to be filled to support the management team during the first five years of operation based upon the anticipated growth of the firm. The largest challenge in staffing the firm has is filling the Management Director role across the four disciplines. The firm plans on looking to its competitors as well as within the Healthcare industry to source this position as well as the consultant positions. It is anticipated that the firm will have to guarantee the profit sharing for these positions for year one as a way to mitigate the financial risks the potential candidates may face when shifting from their current employer to BAAK consulting. Other roles our more general in nature and will allow for more flexibility in how the position is sourced. The firm will use typical web postings as well as other social media approaches to recruitment such as Linkedin, Facebook, etc. As a last resort it will engage a recruitment firm specializing within the Healthcare industry to fill the four Management Director positions but at the moment it does not anticipate this as a requirement to staff the organization.

Management Director (2) – Practice leads for each team; responsible for building and managing the book of business for their respective disciplines. They will own the relationship with the client and serve as an escalation in the event a client’s needs are not being met. Project Manager (4) – Responsible for managing the scope, quality, schedule, and cost of the projects in which BAAK is engaged. Consultant (12) – Each of the four teams will consist of three consultants each with a wealth of knowledge in their respective discipline. This number will start at four and eventually work its way to 12 where a decision will need to be made around hiring an additional Project Manager to support the volume of work for each discipline Consultant Coordinator (4) – This role will support the Executive Director and project teams and ideally will be an entry level position that can be groomed to the role of a consultant. Office Manager (1) – Will manage the activities within the office as well as such key functions as billings, accounts payable, and other administrative activities. Office Assistant (1) – Will handle key operational tasks such as printing, billing, meeting coordination, travel arrangements, etc. IT Director (1) – In order to create the required technical infrastructure an IT director will need to be hired as soon as possible to create the foundation for the firm to operate.

Organization Chart

Salary & Benefits
In order to be competitive within the market the firm must ensure that its salary and benefits package is competitive within the industry. Following are anticipated wage ranges for each of the roles within the organization. These costs along with benefits and taxes will make up the total cost per employee. Salary Ranges

Revenue Generation
* Management Director 175,000 – 250,000
* Project Manager100,000 – 135,000
* Consultant 90,000 – 120,000
* Consulting Coordinator 45,000 – 75,000
Operational
* Office Manager 50,000 – 75,000
* IT Manager 75,000 – 115,000
* Office Assistant 40,000 – 55,000

Employee Benefits

Health Care
Medical, Dental, & Vision – Medical, Dental, and Vision care will be offered by BAAK consulting at with BAAK assuming 70% of the cost and its employees assuming the remaining cost. While it is necessary to provide this benefit to its employees to stay competitive within the market it is cognizant of the potential costs of health care and as a result has developed a buy-out program to promote the use of spousal health care where available. The firm will be offering each employee who opts out of the plan an annual lump sum payment to use at his or her own discretion.

Life & Disability

The firm will provide 1X an employee’s salary in life insurance for its employees. Additionally it will provide both short and long-term disability at no cost to its employees.

Retirement

The firm will offer 100% matching on the first 4% of contributions into the firm’s 401k program. Additional contributions are allowable as per federal guidelines but will be purely an employee contribution.

Tuition Reimbursement
In order to continue to develop its talent the firm will be sponsoring its employees in the fulfillment of advanced educational development. This investment will keep the employees of BAAK at the forefront of the industry and provide them with additional incentive to join the firm. The firms investment will be solely based upon the performance of the employee within the classroom environment.

GradeReimbursement %
A 100%
B 80%
C 50%

Profit Sharing
The firm will be implementing a profit sharing plan to allow its employees an opportunity to share in the success of the firm. This will be paid out annually at the close of the fiscal year and distributed based upon the position and role within the firm.

Paid Time Off
In order to simplify the approach to paid-time off the firm will be offering a single bank of days for paid time off. These days can be used at the employee’s discretion and will be distributed based upon years of service within the firm. Outlined below is the manner in which paid time off hours will be granted based upon years of service.

Years of ServiceHours
Years 1-5120
Years 5-10160
After 10 Years 200

Operating Budget

Outlined below is the budget for the operating expenses for the firm. Expenses are expected to grow nearly proportionally with revenue growth keeping a fairly steady profit margin. Additionally, budgeted wage increases are probably higher than most firms due to the likelihood of resource shortages anticipated within the health care industry over the course of the next five years.

Sources
http://www.invivolink.com/blog/10-healthcare-technology-ppi-supply-chain-trends/ http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/10-technologies-to-keep-hospitals-competitive.html