Final Project
Healthcare Admin Capstone
Milestone Three
Resource Allocation
August 21, 2021
Carrie Ferrell
Southern New Hampshire University
Final Project
Improving Mental Health Care Access in Rural Areas
Resource Allocation
Resource allocation is the disturbing of resources within a certain project or area. It is
imperative when developing a new program that the resources needed are thought out and
planned to help ensure a successful implementation and a smooth transition into production.
"When resources are limited and demand exceeds supply, allocation becomes a problem. How
that problem is solved depends largely on the nature of the resources themselves".[CITATION
Klu07 \p 57 \l 1033 ] In healthcare, resources vary from staffing, equipment, technology,
information management systems, financial, etc. Because of this, healthcare resources can often
be considered limited because of humans cannot be replicated or manufactured to function the
same way every time a procedure is done. Humans by nature are different so healthcare must be
adapted to each individual patient. Mental health care is something that cannot be a
straightforward process done the same way over again. "The demand for healthcare resources,
therefore, will always and necessarily exceed supply".[CITATION Klu07 \p 57 \l 1033 ] This is
where this program comes into play to allow us to expand mental health care access within our
rural community.
Resource Description
People and communities located in rural areas within the United States often experience
significant disparities when it comes to accessing mental health care despite the prevalence of
mental illness in rural areas being close to the same as urban areas. "This is a persistent problem
that requires innovative approaches to resolve".[ CITATION Mor20 \l 1033 ] This program
works to help increase access to services as well as entice providers to our area and increase the
use of telehealth services to allow providers outside the community to service our patients. The
Final Project
program will involve human resources, mental health professionals such as psychiatrists,
psychologists, counselors, community leaders, and the patients themselves. The program will
work under an informal alignment to ensure everyone is working together to the benefit of the
patient. For example, if a patient's therapist and psychiatrists or medical doctors are not working
together in terms of medication and therapy services it can cause an impact to the patient's
health. The program will also include community leaders and local community support. This
support is necessary to highlight the community and spotlight it as a wonderful place to live and
work.
The resources required for the program are an element that is crucial to the program's
success. The resources are the program staff which consists of human resources, mental health
professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, community leaders, and the
patients themselves. The technology behind the program is a resource as well. This technology
can include telehealth visits, a valid Electronic Medical Record program, and emails. Finances
are a crucial resource to the success of any program. This would include the cost of running the
program, new salaries, technology upgrades,