Running Head: ZERO BASED BUDGET PAPER

Zero Based Budget: Classroom Germ Fighting Kits

Elizabeth Blanton

Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing

Assistant Professor Catherine Mikelaites MSN, RN-BC, CMSRN

NUR 4240

February 19, 2017

Honor Code I pledge

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Zero Based Budget: Classroom Germ Fighting Kits

The purpose of this assignment is to identify a need in your organization and develop a

plan with estimated costs in order to meet the identified need. My organization is a school with

approximately 350 students in the lower school division. During cold and flu season, schools

may see increases in illnesses and can take certain measures to reduce the spread of illness. One

such measure would be to provide each classroom with a Germ Fighting Kit, containing

disinfectant wipes, gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer. The cost of each kit would be $16.95, with

22 classrooms, for a total initial cost of $372.90. The goal of the Germ Fighting Kits would be to

give teachers extra resources to keep their classrooms clean, encourage hand hygiene in the

classroom, and safely assist a student who develops with an illness while in the classroom.

Process

In order to estimate the costs of the supplies for the Germ Fighting Kit, I visited our

medical suppliers website, Moore Medical (www.mooremedical.com). We have an account

with this organization and are able to get competitive prices for medical supplies. I was then

able to break down the individual price per item, even when the items were supplied in bulk.

This allowed me to estimate a more accurate initial, total cost.

One challenge I faced when estimating the cost of the Germ Fighting Kit is how to

estimate the cost of replenishing the kits with supplies as they are used. Students do not often

get sick in the classroom, so my estimate would be that the masks and gloves would not need to

be replaced often. Teachers are also given a bag of gloves and gauze at the beginning of each

school year, so teachers would have extra gloves if needed. The School provides hand sanitizer

at multiple sites throughout the Lower School, so the bottle of hand sanitizer would only be

needed in the classroom. All classrooms also have sinks and soap, so students could use soap
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and water to clean their hands as well. Finally, the custodial staff cleans classrooms daily, more

frequently during times of increased illness, and an evening custodial company cleans the

classrooms again, so the teachers may only need to use the disinfectant wipes two to three times

per day. With 160 wipes per canister and approximately 180 school days in the year, teachers

may use 3-4 canisters per year; however, this is a rough estimate.

Another challenge is in estimating the number of bottles of hand sanitizer that will be

needed for each classroom throughout the school year. Each classroom will use a different

amount, as some teachers may encourage the use of hand sanitizer more than other teachers,

while other teachers may encourage hand washing in the classroom with soap and water. In

order to address these particular inconsistencies, it may be helpful to provide education to

teachers about how frequently they should be cleaning surfaces and encouraging students to

wash their hands or use hand sanitizer. It may take one year of implementing the program before

we are able to have more accurate estimates of replenishing supplies and of the total annual cost

going forward.

Presentation

There are three proposed alternatives to address supplying Germ Fighting Kits to the

Lower School. The main topics of consideration when evaluating the alternatives is the cost and

from which school budget the cost should come. The two departments or divisions in

consideration of covering the cost are the nursing department and the lower school division. Both

departments have sufficient budgets to cover annual expenses, but there is limited room for

unexpected costs, such as Germ Fighting Kits. The first alternative proposes that the nursing

budget pays for the kits, and the second alternative suggests that the lower school division covers

the cost. The third option simply proposes that the cost is too great for either department, and no
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Germ Fighting Kits can be provided to classrooms. These are the simplest alternatives, but in

reality, there are numerous options available, and the hope would be that the proposal to the

business office would begin conversations to explore all possible options. My final

recommendation was for the nursing department to cover the costs of the kits, but that a one-year

trial of the program was needed due to the uncertainty of the cost of replenishing supplies and of

the annual ongoing costs of the kits. This strategy is in line with the traditional zero-based

budget and would require an annual review of the program and justification of the expenses

(Marquis & Huston, 2013).

When preparing the presentation for the business office of the school, the most important

information for this audience is the total cost. This office manages the budget for the entire

school and must make decisions for individual departments or divisions based on the financial

impact to the school as a whole. It was important in this presentation to keep it simple and brief,

providing just enough information to allow the business office to make a decision. The

presentation must also contain factual information and any research or current data to support the

proposal. This is why I included flu and norovirus trends from the CDC, which showed recent

increased activity of flu and norovirus (CDC: Flu, 2017; CDC: Norovirus, 2017), in addition to

current research that demonstrates the effectiveness and importance of hand washing and

disinfecting surfaces in preventing the spread of illness (CDC: Handwashing, 2015; CDC:

Stopping the spread of germs, 2015). I also made sure to mention indirect costs, such as

morbidity costs associated with faculty missing work due to illness. These indirect costs

ultimately impact the overall cost to the school (Estes, 2013, p. 560).

Reflection
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I enjoyed the process of thinking through ways to improve the health of my students and

faculty and staff, especially at this time of year, when we see such an increase in illness. It is

important for school nurses to be vigilant in their efforts towards disease prevention and

education about health hygiene. I also like the idea of small projects that can make a big

difference, such as the Germ Fighting Kit. The simple idea of a Germ Fighting Kit not only

provides teachers with the tools to actively participate in disease prevention, but it also

encourages teachers to think more about how they can play a role in keeping their students and

themselves healthy. Finally, estimating the initial cost of the kits was not difficult, but trying to

determine the costs of replacing supplies and the ongoing annual expense was much more

difficult. There are numerous variables that can impact the cost, and certain variables cannot be

controlled, such as individual teacher habits or the number of illness outbreaks per school year.

The plan may require some flexibility in cost by allowing for extra expenses during certain

school years.

This project was a good example of how nurses can examine their work environment and

develop ideas for improvement. As the nursing process always includes evaluation, the zero

based budget encourages evaluation to validate a supply or process. Its important for nurses to

consider the financial aspect of their care when working towards a desired outcome. The Germ

Fighting Kit for classrooms is a low cost option that can make a significant impact in limiting the

spread of disease, which supports the idea of providing high quality and low cost care.
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References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Ed.). (2017, January 18). Reporting and surveillance

for norovirus: NoroSTAT. Retrieved January 30, 2017, from

https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/reporting/norostat/data.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Ed.). (2017, January 27). Weekly U.S. influenza

surveillance report. Retrieved January 30, 2017, from

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/#S5

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015, November 18). Handwashing: Clean hands

save lives. Retrieved February 13, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-

handwashing.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015, August 19). Stopping the spread of germs at

home, work & school. Retrieved February 13, 2017, from

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/stopgerms.htm

Estes, C. L., Chapman, S. A., Dodd, C., Hollister, B., & Harrington, C. (2013). Health policy:

Crisis and reform (Sixth ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2015). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing:

Theory and application (8th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.