| Course | HA 630 Marketing and Strategic Growth in Healthcare |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Service line growth plan |
| Length | About 920 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | MS in Healthcare Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HA 630 Unit 7
Full at Eight in the Morning, Half Empty by Noon: A Service Line Growth Plan That Compares Five Ways to Grow Cardiac Rehabilitation and Chooses Two
Student Name
Health Care Administration, Herzing University
HA 630: Marketing and Strategic Growth in Healthcare
Instructor Name
February 26, 2026
Full at Eight in the Morning, Half Empty by Noon: A Service Line Growth Plan That Compares Five Ways to Grow Cardiac Rehabilitation and Chooses Two
The Capacity Picture
Before comparing growth options, the plan states what the program can already absorb. It has 10 monitored stations and runs six one-hour blocks on three days a week, 180 session slots a week. Last year's 164 new patients attended an average of 24 sessions, about 3,940 sessions a year or 76 a week, so overall use is about 42%. The problem is timing: the three blocks before 10 a.m. are 95% full, and the afternoon blocks are 20% full. Working patients and patients who want to avoid afternoon heat or traffic crowd into the early blocks.
The Unit 2 goal of 104 more patients a year would add about 2,500 sessions a year, or 48 a week, bringing use to about 124 of 180 slots. The program therefore has room for the growth it seeks, provided patients can come at times they can manage and from places they can reach. That finding matters, because the most obvious option, adding stations, answers a problem the program does not have.
Five Options
Option 1: add four stations at the main site. Capital about $120,000 for monitors, treadmills and cycles; one added exercise physiologist.
Option 2: open a six-station satellite in county C at the hospital's rural health clinic, 40 minutes from the main site. Capital about $310,000 for renovation and equipment; a registered nurse and an exercise physiologist, both part time; a physician or qualified practitioner immediately available during sessions, as the Medicare coverage rules for cardiac rehabilitation require (42 C.F.R. § 410.49). The site would operate as an off-campus department of the hospital and must meet the provider-based requirements (42 C.F.R. § 413.65).
Option 3: a hybrid program for patients in counties C, D and E, combining an intake visit and a few center sessions with monitored home sessions using a wearable heart rate monitor, a tablet app and weekly video visits. Capital about $45,000 for devices and platform setup; an annual license of about $18,000; staff time from the existing team. Home-based and hybrid models are supported by professional statements for selected lower-risk patients (Thomas et al., 2019), and are a stated priority for expanding access (Beatty et al., 2023).
Option 4: a referral and clinical partnership with the county D hospital's six-station program. The hospital would provide protocols, staff training and a shared report format; the county D program would treat county D and E patients in plans it accepts and refer others to the main site or the hybrid program. Little capital; a written agreement priced at fair market value.
Option 5: add a heart failure track, the segment declined in Unit 3. Little capital; staff training; longer sessions; more physician involvement.
Comparison on the Same Criteria
Each option is compared on the criteria the brief requires and on the patients it would add by the end of year 2.
| Option | Capital | Time to volume | Staffing needed and available locally? | Regulatory steps | Likely competitive response | Added patients by year 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Add stations | $120,000 | 3 months | One exercise physiologist; available | None beyond equipment | None | Few; peak hours are the limit, not stations |
| 2. County C satellite | $310,000 | 12 to 15 months | Part-time nurse hard to recruit in county C; physician coverage needed | Provider-based status; check state certificate of need applicability | Regional center may open its own satellite | 25 to 30 |
| 3. Hybrid program | $45,000 plus $18,000 a year | 4 to 6 months | Existing staff, trained on the platform | Payment for home sessions depends on current Medicare telehealth rules and each plan's policy | Regional center already offers hybrid | 25 to 35 |
| 4. County D partnership | Under $10,000 | 3 months | Existing staff for training | Agreement reviewed for fraud and abuse compliance | County D hospital gains; cooperative | 8 to 12 |
| 5. Heart failure track | Under $15,000 | 9 to 12 months | Nurse training; cardiologist champion needed | None beyond coverage criteria | None | 20 to 30, but needs peak-hour slots |
Recommendation
Adopt Options 3 and 4 now, defer Options 2 and 5, and do not pursue Option 1.
Option 3, the hybrid program, addresses the barrier the market analysis identified, distance to the outer counties, at a fraction of the satellite's capital, and it can start within six months. Its main risk is payment for the home sessions. The program will launch it first for patients whose coverage clearly pays for the model, will check the current Medicare telehealth rules before launch and each year, and will count center sessions and home sessions separately so the financial effect of any payment change is visible at once.
Option 4, the county D partnership, costs almost nothing, gives county D and E patients a close option where it fits their coverage, and turns a potential competitor into a partner. Because the hospital would pay or be paid for services while the two organizations refer to each other, the agreement will be written at fair market value, reviewed by counsel, and include no payment tied to referrals. If the relationship ends, each party keeps its own patients and the hybrid program remains available to county D and E residents, so the loss would be limited to the convenience of the county D site.
Option 2, the satellite, is deferred rather than rejected. It becomes the right choice if demand in county C proves larger than the hybrid program can serve. Trigger: if county C enrollment reaches 30 patients a year by month 18, the satellite business case will be prepared. Option 5, the heart failure track, returns for decision after staff training, as Unit 3 committed. Option 1 is not needed while peak-hour crowding can be relieved by the early and evening blocks added in Unit 5.
Targets, Dependencies and the End Trigger
Volume: the hybrid program enrolls 12 patients in its first six months of operation and 30 in its first full year; the partnership produces 10 appropriate referrals in both directions in its first year. Dependencies: payment for home sessions, a staff champion trained on the platform, and cardiologist agreement on which patients are suitable. End trigger: if the hybrid program enrolls fewer than 15 patients in its first 12 months, or if payment for home sessions ends for Medicare patients, it will be closed to new patients and the county C satellite analysis will begin at once. The end trigger is written now so that the decision is made by the evidence, not by the investment already made.
References
Beatty, A. L., Beckie, T. M., Dodson, J., Goldstein, C. M., Hughes, J. W., Kraus, W. E., Martin, S. S., Olson, T. P., Pack, Q. R., Stolp, H., Thomas, R. J., Wu, W.-C., & Franklin, B. A. (2023). A new era in cardiac rehabilitation delivery: Research gaps, questions, strategies, and priorities. Circulation, 147(3), 254-266. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.061046
Cardiac rehabilitation program and intensive cardiac rehabilitation program: Conditions of coverage, 42 C.F.R. § 410.49 (2025).
Requirements for a determination that a facility or an organization has provider-based status, 42 C.F.R. § 413.65 (2025).
Thomas, R. J., Beatty, A. L., Beckie, T. M., Brewer, L. C., Brown, T. M., Forman, D. E., Franklin, B. A., Keteyian, S. J., Kitzman, D. W., Regensteiner, J. G., Sanderson, B. K., & Whooley, M. A. (2019). Home-based cardiac rehabilitation: A scientific statement from the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Cardiology. Circulation, 140(1), e69-e89. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000663
HA 630 Unit 7 instructions, in plain terms
Unit 7 asks you to compare growth options for a service line and recommend a path. Expect to describe current capacity, set out several options with their costs, compare them on the same criteria, recommend which to adopt, defer or reject, and set targets, dependencies and an end trigger. Students often ask how many options to include and whether adding capacity is always the answer. Three to five real options work well. Check whether existing capacity is truly full or only full at certain hours, since scheduling can be cheaper than building. Compare every option on the same criteria, including patients added and time to start. Say what would make you stop, so the plan cannot drift.
How the HA 630 Unit 7 example is put together
The plan opens with stations, blocks and sessions, showing that morning slots fill while afternoons sit empty. The options section describes each choice with capital, staffing and timeline, from $120,000 for added stations to $310,000 for a satellite. A comparison table scores all five on the same criteria. The recommendation explains why the hybrid program addresses distance at a fraction of the satellite's cost and can start within six months, and why the partnership builds referrals in both directions. Adding stations is rejected because the main site is not full. The targets section sets enrollment goals for six and twelve months, names dependencies such as payment for home sessions and states the trigger that would end the hybrid program.
Reading the HA 630 Unit 7 rubric
Herzing's rubric for a service line growth plan usually covers current capacity, options, comparison, the recommendation and targets with dependencies. Comparing options on the same criteria gets the closest reading, because the recommendation is only as good as the evidence that alternatives were weighed fairly. Capacity points reward actual use by time of day. Option criteria look for capital, staff and timelines for each. Comparison credit goes to patients added and risks stated alongside cost. Recommendation points reward clear adopt, defer and reject decisions with reasons. Targets should be dated, with dependencies named and an end trigger set. Beatty's statement on home-based cardiac rehabilitation and the Medicare coverage rule support the plan.
HA 630 Unit 7 help before you submit
Growth plans in HA 630 Unit 7 commonly lose points by assuming capacity is full when only some hours are. Another frequent problem is options described in different terms, so they cannot be compared. Students often recommend the most expensive option without testing cheaper ones. Patients added are not estimated. Payment risk for new models, such as home sessions, is ignored. Deferred options are dropped with no review date. Dependencies are missing. No end trigger is set, so a failing option continues. Staffing needs are understated. Finally, compare every option on the same yardstick, because graders reward a plan that shows why two options won and three did not.
Get a HA 630 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 7 instructions and the rubric from your HA 630 classroom, plus the service line, the organization's current volume and any constraint your section imposed. We write a custom example comparing real options on identical criteria, testing capacity and closing with a phased recommendation and risk register, returned in 24 to 48 hours. The first custom sample is free.
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HA 630 Unit 7 questions, answered
How many growth options should the plan compare?
Three to five is usually right. Fewer than three leaves the recommendation looking unexamined, while more than five spreads the analysis so thin that none of the options gets tested properly. Make sure the set includes at least one low capital route, such as taking more share in the existing market through access improvements, since that is often the option a board prefers.
Does the plan need a certificate of need section?
Only if the state involved has such a program and the option would trigger it. Requirements vary considerably by state and by the kind of service or equipment involved, so check the current rules for the jurisdiction you are writing about. Where a review would apply, treat it as a real dependency with a duration and an uncertain outcome rather than a formality.
How detailed should the financial projection be?
Detailed enough that a reader can disagree with a specific number rather than with the whole document. Show volume assumptions, the revenue per case you used and where it came from, incremental costs by category, and the period to contribution. Then run one downside case with volume materially lower, because a projection with only an optimistic path reads as a sales document.
Where can I find a free HA 630 Unit 7 sample paper?
The full HA 630 Unit 7 service line growth plan is free on this page, five ways to grow cardiac rehabilitation compared on the same criteria with two chosen. A plan for another service line can be written to order.
What is hybrid cardiac rehabilitation?
A program that combines some supervised sessions at the center with home-based sessions supported by remote contact. This sample chooses a hybrid option to reach patients who live far from the program.