Grant Thornton LLP is the American member firm of Grant Thornton International, a global organization of member firms that provides audit, tax, and advisory services. Since its establishment in 2010, Grant Thornton's Health Care Advisory Practice has provided consulting services to the rapidly evolving healthcare industry. The Capstone team's primary goal was to develop the healthcare practice's data analytics capacity to help evaluate trends in the Florida hospital market. Based on Grant Thornton's pilot benchmarking study in Florida using Agency for Health Care Administration claims data, the team completed a comprehensive study encompassing all hospitals across Florida. The study utilized the Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System all-payer claims database to explore a replication of the Florida study's approach and included an extensive literature review. The team's research culminated in the development of a framework for data analysis and a series of use cases that illustrate the applicability of each developed strategy in the healthcare market.

NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) is the largest public safety-net hospital system in the country, serving 1.4 million New Yorkers annually. In September 2014, H+H was awarded a $17.9 million healthcare innovation grant through the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation to reduce preventable emergency department readmissions over three years. H+H engaged a Capstone team in evaluating the project's operational sustainability and making recommendations to improve standardization of care across six of the system's hospitals. The team conducted extensive research into care management best practices, staffing models, and implementation strategies and tools. The team also interviewed key care management personnel within H+H and similar organizations. The team's research resulted in the development of patient-facing health literacy tools, screening mechanisms for identifying social determinants of health, and program-specific staff competency evaluation tools.

Services for the Underserved (SUS) is a nonprofit organization that provides $185 million in services to over 25,000 people annually. SUS has tripled in size in the past seven years and is currently consolidating its programs, clients, and staff to prepare for future changes. SUS enlisted a Capstone team to provide data management and visualization recommendations, and to analyze program costs and benefits for advocacy efforts. The team conducted a literature review on leading practices on data visualization, performed outreach to similar agencies, and administered a cost-benefit analysis of operating SUS's housing program. The team's research culminated in a set of recommendations for SUS and the development of an operational framework for its Developmental Disabilities program to support its data management.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) is one of the leading healthcare institutions in the country. As there is ever-growing regulatory scrutiny on avoidable hospital readmissions and accompanying financial penalties, it is imperative that healthcare institutions focus on closely evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of their care coordination process. NYP engaged a Capstone team in evaluating the existing care coordination process for patients diagnosed with heart failure within the NYP/Lawrence Hospital Emergency Department. The team completed an in-depth analysis of the policies, processes, and available resources to provide recommendations for improving efficiency and best practices. In combination with an extensive literature review, the team produced a comparative analysis and recommendations to improve and modify the existing care coordination process at NYP/Lawrence Hospital.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) is one of the nation's most comprehensive, integrated academic healthcare delivery systems dedicated to providing the highest quality and most compassionate care and service to patients. NYP recently acquired five regional hospitals located throughout New York, which presented the opportunity to improve the quality of care and scope of services offered at the regional level. The Capstone team reviewed and implemented recommendations to evaluate the opportunity for integration of NYP's nursing practice standards and shared governance across the NYP Regional Hospital Network. The team's research culminated in a report that analyzed best practices of shared governance structures, standardization, and implementation processes at NYP, across the Regional Hospital Network, and with other multi-level hospital network systems.

The Alliance for Positive Change (Alliance) helps New Yorkers make promising transitions toward improved health, housing, recovery, and self-sufficiency. Alliance offers a diverse range of individualized professional services. The organization enlisted a Capstone team to help identify inefficiencies with supply ordering, inventory management (specifically the MetroCard process), and systematizing operations at the Comprehensive AIDS Services Alliance Washington Heights site. The MetroCard process provides clients with a round-trip pass for attending appointments, meeting directly observed therapy requirements, and accessing other services. However, tracking and distribution were not centralized, resulting in clients receiving multiple cards and the travel assistance program being consistently over budget. Utilizing information from interviews with key staff members, the Capstone team designed and implemented an efficient tracking system, leveraging technology to transform the process from paper to digital. The final report contains recommendations to effectively implement this new workflow across all agency sites in the future.

Community Healthcare Network (CHN) is a nonprofit organization that provides care to more than 85,000 predominantly low-income or uninsured New Yorkers of all ages throughout New York City. CHN engaged a Capstone team in identifying the causes of bottlenecking at its clinic sites. The team conducted patient and staff interviews, analyzed past bottlenecking projects, mapped geospatial data, and led observations throughout CHN's sites. The team's final product included a comprehensive analysis of the clinic sites, a qualitative synopsis of the interviews, and a final report with a formal presentation to CHN's executive leadership. The team's research culminated in a set of recommendations aimed at producing more efficient and effective patient visits while fully optimizing clinicians' schedules.

Jamaica Hospital, part of MediSys Health Network, is engaged in a shared savings program in which providers share the savings generated by managing care appropriately, as determined by pre-set quality benchmarks. Jamaica Hospital sought to evaluate the cost-benefits of implementing interventions to reduce unnecessary hospital and emergency department utilization. Jamaica Hospital asked the Capstone team to assess cost-effectiveness for the different levels of intervention and estimate a break-even quantity for each intervention’s implementation. The team conducted a literature review to examine utilization interventions with patient populations similar to that of Jamaica Hospital. The team also identified trends in utilization, acuity, and demographics and recommended other possible interventions using that analysis. Lastly, the team built cost-benefit and break-even models to demonstrate the cost-benefits associated with implementing each proposed level of intervention.

Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), a major trend in the current healthcare environment, have challenged Mount Sinai Health System (MSHS) to enhance its focus on the continuum of care in these communities and improve the delivery of patient care services outside the inpatient arena. The Capstone team worked with NORCs in New York to identify the specific health care needs and utilization patterns of their residents. Interviews and surveys were conducted with NORC directors and ancillary medical staff to understand existing relationships with MSHS and how transfer of care can be improved. The team also analyzed a comprehensive dataset to identify the geographic areas that are top utilizers of the MSHS health network. This allowed the team to target population health in those communities more effectively. MSHS will incorporate the team’s findings in its plans to expand health care services and improve the continuum of care for NORC residents.

New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) facilities currently distribute “Welcome Packets” with maps, hospital and neighborhood information, and a discharge collection envelope to organize patients’ paperwork. Using the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and System Survey, NYP conducted an assessment of patient satisfaction with the discharge portion of the packet. In response to less than desirable scores, NYP requested a Capstone team to analyze the packet delivery process and develop recommendations to improve patient satisfaction. The team surveyed and monitored the distribution and completion of these packets in 10-15 of NYP’s 41 in-patient departments. After analyzing the data, the team developed a new implementation strategy to collect, distribute, and monitor patients’ discharge information in a clear and comprehensive way.

In response to changes affecting the fields of technology, higher education, and healthcare, The New York University School of Medicine (NYUSOM) established the Institute for Innovations in Medical Education (IIME) in November 2013. IIME strives to foster excellence in medical education by pursuing innovative models for teaching, learning, and assessment. Given the Institute’s novel ambitions, its leadership has had some difficulty defining the methods by which to pursue its goals and mission. To address this challenge, IIME charged a Capstone team with developing its growth strategy. The team conducted a literature review, an environmental scan, internal and external interviews, and a SWOT analysis. The team’s final recommendations focused on increasing the prestige of IIME and NYUSOM in the medical education and technological innovation sectors by boosting student involvement and enhancing IIME’s content development processes.

The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is a world-renowned specialty hospital and a nationally-ranked leader in orthopedic and rheumatologic care. HSS stakeholders recognize that continuing education and professional development for nurses are essential to achieving positive patient outcomes and organizational success. In keeping with its organizational commitment to excellence and the highest industry standards, a Capstone team was charged with assessing and evaluating HSS’s current Professional Development and Continuing Education Program. With the goal of providing best practice recommendations, the team researched evidence-based literature, explored practices of leading institutions, and evaluated HSS staff through surveys, focus groups, and interviews. The team’s final recommendations provided the most efficient and effective processes to meet the needs of HSS’s nursing staff and administrators.