Problem
Inpatient services are services that involve an overnight stay of a patient. Historically, the U.S. healthcare industry focused on inpatient services provided by hospitals and outpatient services provided by physicians. As our healthcare system evolved, hospitals became the mainstay of the healthcare system, offering primarily inpatient with limited outpatient services. Over the past two centuries, hospitals have evolved from serving the poor and homeless to providing the latest medical technology to serve the seriously ill and injured. Although their original focus was inpatient services, as a result of cost containment and consumer preferences, more outpatient services are now being offered by hospitals. Hospitals have evolved into "medical centers" that provide the most advanced care and clinical services. Consider this scenario ... you have just received your Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a Healthcare Management Concentration. You have decided you would like to pursue a career in hospital management and you have asked your long-time mentor, who is not a healthcare professional, for a letter of recommendation. First you need to decide what type of hospital you would like to apply to so you can start sending out applications and more important, explain your decision to your mentor for a compelling letter of recommendation. Prepare an email for your mentor with a list of the different types of hospitals that are available for your employment. For each type of hospital, provide a one or two sentence description using credible sources. Based on your research, share with your mentor the hospital type you chose and state why you chose this type of hospital for an application based on your interests, background, knowledge, skills, and abilities.