| Course | NSG 321 Advanced Leadership and Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 5 |
| Paper type | Resource justification memo |
| Length | About 870 words, 5 pages |
| Format | Business memo with analysis, APA 7 references |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | RN to BSN |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NSG 321 Unit 5
Memorandum
To: Director of Nursing, Medical Services
From: Nurse Manager, 5 West Medical Unit
Date: February 19, 2026
Re: Request for $65,600 to install ceiling lifts in eight rooms, decision needed by March 15 for the spring capital cycle
The Request
I am requesting $65,600 in first-year funding to install ceiling-mounted patient lifts in eight rooms on 5 West: $59,200 for equipment and installation, and $6,400 for slings and a maintenance contract, which will recur each year. Without the lifts, the unit will continue to lose nurses and nursing assistants to lifting injuries at a cost that, over the past two years, has exceeded the price of this request. I need a decision by March 15 so the request can enter the spring capital cycle.
The Problem, in the Unit's Own Figures
5 West is a 30-bed medical unit that receives many of the hospital's dependent and bariatric medical patients. Figures below come from employee health and the unit's own audit and are for the 24 months ending January 31, 2026.
Seven staff injuries were related to patient handling, all during repositioning or bed-to-chair transfers. Together they produced 214 days of lost or restricted work. Employee health reports $148,600 in paid workers' compensation claims for these injuries. Covering the lost shifts required about 96 overtime shifts of 12 hours, roughly $66,800 at the unit's average overtime rate. Two of the injured staff, one nurse and one nursing assistant, did not return to the unit.
The unit has two floor-based lifts for 30 beds. In a two-week audit in January, staff used a lift in 14 of 45 observed transfers of patients who met the hospital's criteria for mechanical lifting, or 31%. Staff gave the same reasons each time: the lift was in use or in another room, finding a sling took too long, or maneuvering the floor lift in crowded rooms was harder than lifting by hand.
What Is Being Requested
Ceiling lifts in the eight rooms closest to the nurses' station, which the unit uses for its most dependent patients. Each lift runs on a track from the bed to the bathroom door and supports patients up to 600 pounds, covering the unit's bariatric admissions. The request includes 24 slings in three sizes, allowing for laundering, and a three-year maintenance contract billed annually. Facilities has confirmed that the ceilings in these rooms can take the track without structural work. The two floor lifts remain for the other 22 rooms.
What Changes if the Request Is Approved
The main effect is that a lift is in the room when it is needed, which removes the reason staff most often give for lifting manually. In a study comparing the two kinds of equipment, nurses who had ceiling lifts reported using lifts more often than nurses who relied on floor-based lifts (Lee & Rempel, 2020). A combined program built around patient lift equipment, with training and unit peer leaders, was followed by fewer patient-handling injuries and fewer lost and modified workdays on high-risk units (Nelson et al., 2006). The professional standards for safe patient handling also expect employers to provide the equipment that makes manual lifting unnecessary for dependent patients (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2013).
I will not claim a specific reduction in injuries, because seven injuries in two years is too few to predict next year's number with confidence. As an illustration only: if injuries fell by one third, the avoided claim costs alone would be about $49,500 over two years, recovering most of the installation cost before counting overtime or turnover.
Cost and Funding Route
One-time cost: $59,200 for eight lifts with track and installation, from a quote facilities obtained in January at $7,400 per room. Recurring cost: $4,800 a year for sling replacement and $1,600 a year for the maintenance contract, a total of $6,400. The one-time cost fits the hospital's capital safety fund, which the safe patient handling committee administers. The recurring cost would move to the unit's supply budget from the second year; I have identified $4,000 of it in reduced agency use this year and will absorb the rest.
The Cost of Doing Nothing
Continuing without the lifts is not free. At the rate of the past two years, the unit can expect about three to four more handling injuries a year, with the claims, overtime, and turnover that follow. Each nurse who leaves after an injury costs the hospital the expense of recruiting and orienting a replacement. Staff also notice which injuries lead to changes and which do not, and the nursing assistants in particular have asked me directly whether anything will be done.
Who Has Been Consulted
The safe patient handling committee reviewed the proposal on February 10 and supports it. Facilities confirmed the ceiling capacity and supplied the quote. Employee health supplied and checked the injury and claims figures. The unit practice council, including two nursing assistants, chose the eight rooms. Infection prevention approved the sling laundering plan. Finance has seen the recurring cost and did not object to the supply budget route.
Decision Needed
Approval of $59,200 from the capital safety fund by March 15. If the full amount cannot be approved, the next best option is four rooms this spring and four in the fall, which I would prefer to no lifts at all. I am available to meet this week and can bring the audit and injury data.
References
American Nurses Association. (2013). Safe patient handling and mobility: Interprofessional national standards across the care continuum. Nursesbooks.org.
Lee, S.-J., & Rempel, D. (2020). Comparison of lift use, perceptions, and musculoskeletal symptoms between ceiling lifts and floor-based lifts in patient handling. Applied Ergonomics, 82, Article 102954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102954
Nelson, A., Matz, M., Chen, F., Siddharthan, K., Lloyd, J., & Fragala, G. (2006). Development and evaluation of a multifaceted ergonomics program to prevent injuries associated with patient handling tasks. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 43(6), 717-733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2005.09.004
The Herzing NSG 321 Unit 5 instructions
Unit 5 asks you to write a memo justifying a resource request for your unit. Expect to state the request and amount first, show the problem with local figures, describe what is requested and what changes, give costs and the funding route, explain the cost of doing nothing, list who has been consulted and state the decision needed. Many versions ask why to put the request before background and where local figures come from. Check whether your section uses a memo template. Decision makers read the first lines most closely, so lead with the request. Local data, such as injury reports, are more persuasive than national statistics. If a benefit cannot be quantified, describe it specifically and say why.
Inside the NSG 321 Unit 5 example
The first sentence names $65,600 and the eight lifts it pays for. The problem section uses unit injury and handling data. The request section describes the lifts and where they will go. The change section explains the practical effect for staff and patients. The cost section gives one-time and ongoing figures with the source of the quote. The cost of doing nothing estimates injuries and lost workdays at current rates. The consultation section lists the committee and departments involved. The decision section states the deadline and a fallback option. Each figure is sourced, and the memo stays within two pages, which suits a request that will compete with others for the same fund.
Where the points sit in the NSG 321 Unit 5 rubric
Herzing's rubric for a resource memo usually covers the clarity of the request, local evidence, costs and funding, benefits, the cost of inaction, consultation and professional format. Local evidence and cost of inaction are read closely, because graders want the unit's own figures to make the case. Request points reward an amount and purpose in the opening lines. Cost criteria look for one-time and ongoing figures with sources. Consultation earns credit for named groups. Format points go to memo structure and concision. A fallback option, such as funding half the rooms first, is often credited because it makes approval easier. Graders also check that the deadline for a decision is stated. ANA's safe patient handling standards and Nelson's evaluation study belong in the APA 7 list.
NSG 321 Unit 5 help before you submit
Resource memos in Unit 5 commonly lose points by opening with background and burying the request. Another frequent problem is using only national statistics. Students often omit ongoing costs, such as slings and maintenance. The cost of doing nothing is left out. Consultation is missing. The decision needed and deadline are unclear. Benefits are vague. Finally, offer a fallback, because graders reward a memo that anticipates partial funding and states the next best option, which makes approval easier for the decision maker. Another weak spot is an estimate of injury costs with no source; workers' compensation data or human resources figures make it credible. Staff support, such as letters or committee minutes, should be attached or cited.
Get a NSG 321 Unit 5 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 5 instructions and the rubric from your NSG 321 classroom, plus the resource you are requesting and any figures you can share. We write a custom example that leads with the ask, sizes the need locally and prices inaction, returned in 24 to 48 hours. The first custom sample is free.
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NSG 321 Unit 5 questions, answered
Why put the request before the background?
Because the reader decides whether to keep going in the first paragraph. Academic structure builds toward a conclusion; a memo states the conclusion and then supports it, so that somebody who stops early still knows what you want and what it costs. This reversal is the most common thing clinical writers get wrong in management writing.
Where do local figures come from?
Whatever your unit already produces. Overtime hours, agency use, vacancy duration, incident reports, delayed discharges, turnover. None of it needs to be precise to be persuasive; it needs to be yours and to have a stated period. A national statistic tells your manager nothing about the unit they are responsible for.
What if I cannot quantify the benefit?
Say so and argue it separately rather than inventing a figure. Reduced strain, better retention and improved patient experience are real and frequently resist costing, and an approver who spots a manufactured saving will discount the numbers you did get right. State what is measurable, state what is not, and let the second be argued on its own terms.
Where can I find a free NSG 321 Unit 5 sample paper?
You can read the whole NSG 321 Unit 5 ceiling lift memo here for free, the request, local figures, costs and the decision needed. A memo for your own unit's request can be written on request.
How do I write a resource request memo as a nurse leader?
Lead with the amount and purpose, show the problem with your unit's figures, give costs with sources, explain the cost of doing nothing, list who has been consulted and state the decision and deadline. This sample does that for ceiling lifts.