Strategic planning for long-term care providers.

"~| ong-term care providers arc often L I reluctant to get involved in strategic planning because they tear that errors faa««ffi in such plans could lead to die facility's ruin. However, strategic planning experts at the recent annual mee t ing of the American Association of Homes for the Aging urged longterm care providers to aggressively pursue such plans for their facilities. To begin establishing a strategic plan, accord ing to John Gamble, principal of Marietta, GAbased Gamble & Associates, providers must establish a vision of where they want their facilities to be and an understanding of where their facilities are now. The organization's leaders must decide collectively to establish a strategic plan, or it will fail, Gamble stressed. Senior executives must provide the leadership and courage to look to the future. William B. Ciferri, president and chief operating officer. Maple Knoll .Management Company, Cincinnati, assured meeting participants that strategic planning is not as complex as it might seem. He explained that, as facility leaders revise the strategic plan each year, the process matures. "The time and money needed to plan decrease," he said.