| Course | MMHA 6220 Human Resource Management in Healthcare |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 6 |
| Paper type | Contract review |
| Length | About 1,040 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MMHA 6220 Week 6
Sign, With Three Changes: A Clause-by-Clause Review of a Thirteen-Week Travel Physical Therapist Agreement for Bellwood Valley Home Health
Student Name
Walden University
MMHA 6220: Human Resource Management in Healthcare
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Sign, With Three Changes: A Clause-by-Clause Review of a Thirteen-Week Travel Physical Therapist Agreement for Bellwood Valley Home Health
Summary
Bellwood Valley Home Health, an invented three-county agency, has a 40-patient backlog for physical therapy after one of its three therapists left, and recruiting a permanent replacement is expected to take three to four months. A national staffing firm has offered a travel physical therapist for 13 weeks at $92 an hour with 40 guaranteed hours a week. The agency should sign, with three changes: mutual cancellation terms, a guarantee of 32 hours rather than 40, and a lower, declining conversion fee. Each clause is reviewed below in the agreement's order, with its wording as provided, a plain restatement and a finding on who bears the risk.
Clause Review
Term and cancellation
Agreement: "Client may cancel this assignment upon fourteen (14) days' written notice or payment in lieu of notice. Firm may cancel upon seven (7) days' notice in the event clinician is unavailable."
Restatement: the agency must give two weeks' notice or pay for two weeks to end early. The firm can end the assignment with one week's notice if the therapist leaves.
Finding: the risk is lopsided. If the traveler leaves, the agency has a week to find coverage for 40 patients; if referrals fall, the agency pays two weeks to end. The agency should ask for equal notice periods, fourteen days on both sides, and a commitment that the firm will offer a replacement within the notice period.
Guaranteed hours
Agreement: "Client guarantees forty (40) billable hours per week. Hours not worked due to Client's lack of work will be billed at the regular rate."
Restatement: the agency pays for 40 hours each week whether or not there are patients to see.
Finding: the agency bears the volume risk. A full-time home health therapist in this service area completes about 25 to 30 visits a week, depending on drive time. The current backlog supports 40 hours for the first month, but as it clears, referrals may support only 32 hours. At $92 an hour, eight unused hours a week over nine weeks would cost about $6,600. The agency should ask for a 32-hour guarantee, with additional hours paid as worked.
Orientation and supervision
Agreement: "Client shall provide orientation to its policies and procedures and shall direct and supervise the clinician's clinical activities."
Restatement: the agency orients the therapist and directs the clinical work.
Finding: this is correct and should stay. Federal home health rules require an agency that furnishes services under arrangement to keep responsibility for those services and their quality (42 C.F.R. § 484.105). The agency's therapy lead must supervise the traveler's plans of care, documentation and visit notes, just as for an employee. Orientation should include the agency's electronic record, its outcome assessment and its fit-for-duty and safety policies.
Credential verification
Agreement: "Firm represents that clinician holds a current license, has passed background screening and is not excluded from federal programs."
Restatement: the firm says it has checked the therapist's license, background and exclusion status.
Finding: the firm's representation is helpful but does not replace the agency's own checks. The agency's sanction screening policy requires it to search the federal and state exclusion lists for contracted clinicians at contract and monthly, and to verify the license with the state board. The Office of Inspector General advises providers that they may be liable for payments for services by excluded individuals, including contractors (Office of Inspector General [OIG], 2013). The agency should do its own checks before the start date and add the traveler to its monthly run.
The firm holds The Joint Commission's Health Care Staffing Services certification, which requires certified firms to meet standards for verifying the competence and credentials of the clinicians they place (The Joint Commission, 2024). The certification is evidence that the firm's processes are sound. It is not a substitute for the agency's own verification.
Conversion fee
Agreement: "Should Client hire clinician within twelve (12) months of the end of assignment, Client shall pay a conversion fee of $15,000."
Restatement: if the agency hires the traveler permanently within a year, it pays the firm $15,000.
Finding: the agency bears the risk of a high fee if the traveler wants to stay, which is a real possibility for a rural agency trying to recruit. The fee should decline over the assignment, for example from $15,000 at the start to $5,000 after 13 weeks completed, and be waived if the traveler is hired more than six months after the assignment ends.
Other Terms
The agreement's indemnification clause is mutual and limited to each party's own negligence, which is acceptable. The insurance clause requires the firm to carry professional liability coverage naming the agency as additional insured; HR should obtain the certificate before the start date. The billing clause requires timesheets signed weekly by the therapy lead, which fits the agency's practice. One gap remains: the agreement is silent on who owns the visit notes the therapist writes. The agency should add a sentence confirming that all clinical documentation belongs to the agency's record, since the notes support its Medicare claims and must stay available after the assignment ends.
Cost in Context
At the guaranteed rate, the assignment costs about $47,840 over 13 weeks at 40 hours, or about $38,270 at 32 hours. That is more than the agency would pay a permanent therapist for the same period, but the comparison that matters is with the alternatives. The two remaining therapists are already working overtime and cannot absorb 40 patients without risking burnout and errors. Declining therapy referrals would send patients to competing agencies, and some referral sources would stop sending patients at all. Leaving patients waiting means delayed recovery after surgery and a higher risk of falls. Against those costs, a 13-week bridge to a permanent hire is reasonable.
Recommendation
Sign the agreement, subject to three changes: equal fourteen-day cancellation notice with a replacement commitment, a 32-hour weekly guarantee and a declining conversion fee. If the firm refuses the guarantee change, the agency should still sign, since the backlog's cost to patients exceeds the cost of unused hours, but it should plan to use any spare hours for visits to patients who are due for reassessment.
References
Office of Inspector General. (2013). Updated special advisory bulletin on the effect of exclusion from participation in federal health care programs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Organization and administration of services, 42 C.F.R. § 484.105 (2024).
The Joint Commission. (2024). Health care staffing services certification.
The Walden MMHA 6220 Week 6 instructions
Contract review assignments ask students to analyze a staffing agreement and advise whether to sign. Prompts usually provide clauses on term, cancellation, hours, supervision, credentials, fees and liability. Instructors expect each clause to be restated in plain language and assessed for risk, with specific changes proposed. In healthcare settings, students should address who supervises clinical work and who verifies credentials. A clear recommendation at the start is expected. Reviews typically run four to five pages. Some prompts supply a full agreement, others only key clauses. Instructors also look for attention to insurance, indemnification and billing terms, even if briefly, and for a recommendation the administrator could act on the same day. A cost comparison with the alternatives is often encouraged.
How the MMHA 6220 Week 6 example is put together
A summary states the need and the recommendation. Five clauses are reviewed, each with its wording, a restatement and a finding. The guaranteed-hours finding estimates the cost of unused hours. The supervision finding cites the federal home health rule on services under arrangement. The credential finding cites exclusion guidance and discusses staffing firm certification. Other terms are reviewed briefly. A cost section compares the assignment with alternatives, and the recommendation lists three changes and a fallback. The other terms section confirms mutual indemnification, required insurance certificates and weekly signed timesheets. A cost section sets the price against alternatives.
Reading the MMHA 6220 Week 6 rubric
Graders reward plain restatements and explicit risk findings for each clause. Spotting asymmetric terms, such as unequal cancellation notice, shows close reading. Estimating the cost of a risk, rather than only naming it, earns credit. Recognizing that the agency remains responsible for clinical supervision and its own screening, regardless of what the firm attests, is the regulatory point instructors look for. A recommendation with negotiable changes and a fallback position shows practical judgment. Comparing the cost of the contract with the cost of doing nothing, such as declined referrals and patient delays, shows business judgment that graders reward. A fallback position if the firm refuses a change also earns credit. Plain restatements make risks visible to non-lawyers.
MMHA 6220 Week 6 help from the desk
For each clause, write one sentence in plain language and one sentence on who bears the risk. Estimate the cost of the worst realistic outcome. Check whether your organization's own policies, such as screening, still apply to contracted staff. Propose specific language changes. Put your recommendation at the top. For a custom sample review of a contract you are analyzing, send us the clauses. Estimate what each risky clause could cost in the worst realistic case. Decide which changes you would insist on and which you would trade away. Put the recommendation and the three changes in your first paragraph so the administrator can stop reading there if needed.
Get a MMHA 6220 Week 6 example written to your instructions
Paste in the contract terms or clauses your scenario provides, the prompt and the rubric, and the agreement is reviewed clause by clause against them. The first custom sample costs nothing, 24 to 48 hours. The staffing firm, the therapists and the agency are hypothetical; no real contract is read or quoted.
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MMHA 6220 Week 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MMHA 6220 Week 6 sample paper?
The travel staffing contract review is on this page.
Should the agency sign?
Yes, with equal cancellation notice, a 32-hour guarantee and a lower, declining conversion fee.
Who supervises the traveler's clinical work?
The agency's therapy lead, since the agency keeps responsibility for services furnished under arrangement.
Does staffing firm certification replace the agency's checks?
No. It is useful evidence, but the agency still verifies licenses and screens exclusion lists itself.
Is the cost justified?
The review finds it reasonable compared with overtime, declined referrals and patients left waiting.