Welcome to the Culture
Change Connection. You will receive this monthly email communication from
the Culture Change Network of Georgia Georgia
Culture Change Network of
A BIG THANKS to Healthcare Research, Inc. for supporting the Culture
Change Network of Georgia with a grant for the continued coordination and
development of culture change work in
Webinar Series Presented by the Culture Change Network of
This webinar series provides a summary of each
of the three tracks presented at the 2nd Annual Culture Change
Network of Georgia Summit, and an overview of the culture change
movement. Session 1: Overview of Culture Change and Person-Centered
Care by Kim McRae; Session 2: Dementia and Communication by Karen
Stobbe; Session 3: Vision and Leadership by Steve Shields; and Session
4: Implementation, “How To…” and Celebrating Success by Karen
Nichols. Support for the series was generously provided by Healthcare
Research, Inc. Recordings of these complementary webinars are available 24/7 so
that everyone in your organization can have access to this wonderful
information. Available on the web site (www.culturechangega.org).
100% of Georgia Nursing Homes are Participating in the Advancing
Excellence Campaign!
We
applaud each of you for your commitment to quality improvement by signing up
for the Advancing Excellence Campaign.
Advancing
Excellence in
LANEs
(Local Area Networks of Excellence) are the statewide coalitions of
stakeholders. The LANE is the central organization within a state to
support participating nursing homes in achieving their clinical and
organizational goals and help the Campaign succeed. The LANE is comprised
of a wide spectrum of long-term care stakeholders including representatives of
the nursing home associations, state survey agency, ombudsman office and
quality improvement organization as well as consumer advocacy organizations.
When
asked why the
The
coalition stimulates quality improvements by providing nursing homes with free,
current and practical evidence-based resources, empowering
residents and their families with education, and helping participants reach
their targets. Homes can compare their progress with state and national
averages.
The eight
goals included in the campaign are: Goal 1 – Staff Turnover; Goal 2 –
Consistent Assignment; Goal 3 – Restraints; Goal 4 – Pressure Ulcers; Goal 5 –
Pain; Goal 6 – Advance Care Planning; Goal 7 – Resident/Family Satisfaction;
Goal 8 – Staff Satisfaction. The ranking of goals selected by nursing
homes in
Pioneer Network and the state culture change coalitions have been
working hard to create places where elders are happy to live and workers are
proud to work. In addition, they support the need to create more options
and choices for elders and others who need assistance and want to stay in their
own homes.
Providers and organizations are changing, and now it is time to
educate and inform consumers that things (aging and long-term care) can be
different. Read more.
In addition to having the ability to deliver and expand programs,
successful nonprofits and NGOs also have "adaptive capacity," which
can take them from "Just Another Organization" to "Community
Change Agent."
17
Hallmarks of Community Change Agents:
(1) They are always innovating and looking for opportunities that will improve their communities.
(2) They are on the "leading edge" of change and are sought
out as experts.
(3) They are responsive and modify existing programs as
needed to meet changing needs.
(4) They don't seek perfection but they do seek
excellence, so the bar is always set high.
(5) They value team, and they have an understanding
that attracting, retaining, and supporting a strong team is essential to
delivering high quality services.
Culture Change Is Getting National Attention
Culture change and person-directed care have received national
attention in US News & World Report and on MSN
online! The first article is in US News &
World Report and is titled “These Nursing Homes Care About
Their Elderly Charges: At new-culture facilities, the emphasis is on respect
for residents and a homelike setting.” The article also has links to US
News & World Report’s list of what they describe as the best nursing homes
in each state. The list uses the 5-Star rankings, survey results, staffing
levels, and quality members to create their list.
The second article is titled "America's Best Nursing Homes." and is currently on MSN
online. These articles represent an enormous opportunity to share the real
possibilities of culture change and person-directed care as we work to educate
consumers and caregivers. Please take a moment to read both articles, and
make sure to pass them on to your friends and colleagues, so that we can
continue to share the good news that culture change is gaining momentum!
A Case Study for Person-Directed Community Based Care:
ElderHealth Northwest
ElderHealth NW has been working in the greater
ElderHealth supports elders through four Adult Day Health sites, an Adult Day
Care Program, two Supported Living sites, In-Home Services, a Volunteer
Companionship program, Mental Health Services and Care Consultations. MORE
Just Like Home -- Long-term-care Facilities Try New Approaches
in Their Operations to Shed that Institutional Image
For long-term-care providers, changing the culture in nursing
homes can also mean changing an operation's bottom line.
While the term “culture change” is hardly new for the
skilled-nursing industry—it began as a grass-roots movement in the U.S. about
15 years ago—it has gained traction lately as studies have shown both
qualitative and quantitative results, and the CMS incorporated culture-change
concepts when it enhanced guidelines for surveyors of nursing facilities this
summer.
Culture change, it seems, not only addresses quality and workforce issues, but
it can also improve occupancy rates, operational costs and competitive position
in the marketplace—all of which can improve a facility's bottom line.
“The reality of it is: Whether we think it’s true or we don’t,
whether we see it or we don’t see it, the nursing home market is shrinking,”
Shields says. “And those that survive are going to be the ones that adapt
to this new model.” MORE
Pioneer Network will offer this three part series which will
explore outdoor environmental design and green spaces to benefit older
adults. The webinars will take place on three Tuesdays in March --
the 2nd, 9th and 16th from 1:00pm to 2:00 p.m. EST. Whether
you are a Nursing Home, Assisted Living or Independent Living professional,
Pioneer Network’s Creating
Home-- Access to Nature Webinar Series will
demonstrate the importance of having people, policies, and programs that
support outdoor usage.
Food & Dining Symposium Cancelled Due To Winter Weather But
Background Paper Is A Must Read
“Creating Home in the Nursing Home II: A National Symposium on
Culture Change and the Food and Dining Requirements” was cancelled due to crazy
winter weather. However, CMS and the Pioneer Network are working to
develop a “Plan B” and news will be shared as it becomes available.
In the meantime, the pre-symposium background paper by Carmen
Bowman, “The Food and Dining Side of the Culture Change Movement: Identifying
Barriers and Potential Solutions to furthering Innovation in Nursing Homes” is
filled with fabulous information and is now available on the Pioneer Network
website. Take the opportunity to “whet your appetite” and talk about how
your organization is looking at the experience of food and dining for the
elders that you serve.
Download Background Paper
Supporting Culture Change: Working Toward Smarter State Nursing
Home Regulation
The traditional nursing home regulatory approach, which uses
survey and enforcement to achieve performance improvement, has created tensions
between providers and surveyors. It has had limited success in improving
quality overall and not necessarily allowed innovation to flourish. This has
been the perception of many homes wanting to undergo transformative “culture
change” reforms. To move toward a new model of nursing home regulation, the
states and federal government must strike a balance between the traditional
regulatory approach to weed out substandard facilities and a partnership model
aimed at promoting high performance. This issue brief highlights the importance
of how such a model is structured, as well as the need to adequately train and
educate regulatory staff and providers about culture change. Regulators,
providers, consumer groups, residents, and their families also will need to
commit to the principles of person-centered care to ensure the success of the
new collaborative approach. MORE
Advocates
want to make nursing homes more comfortable and humane, with home-like
amenities and resident-centered care. And they're looking to National Fire
Protection Association (NFPA) for leadership on the code changes that can help
make it happen.
One size does not fit all. That's the message of a movement called
"culture change," which aims to individualize the care and well being
of nursing home residents across the country.
Instead
of two or more people to a room, with each room furnished almost identically,
culture-change supporters seek rooms that are as individual as their
inhabitants, with personal belongings treated not as threats to efficiency and
care, but as key elements of residents' health and happiness.
Rather
than a single large dining area that serves uniform, institutional food,
culture-change advocates envision smaller, more home-like eating and kitchen
areas serving a greater variety of food, and that may even involve residents in
the food preparation. Even the term "nursing home" is subject to a
phase out in favor of names like care community or life center. Advocacy groups
such as Pioneer Network and Society for the Advancement of Gerontological
Environments (SAGE) hope to push culture change beyond the early adopters and
into the mainstream, essentially reshaping the landscape of nursing home care. Read more.
New Concept in Senior Living Creates Rapid Expansion of
Intentional Communities
For the
next 20 years, an average 10,000 baby boomers are retiring daily and many
people in their 50s, 60s and 70s are asking the question, "Where will I be
living?"
Before
2001, few people were familiar with the concept of "intentional
communities" until the first one was formed in
Intentional communities are membership organizations in which dues are paid for
services, services that allow people to continue to live in their neighborhood
close to friends and in their home. As members in intentional communities age,
the community organizes and develops programs and services that allow them to
lead safe, healthy and productive lives in their own home. MORE
Technology links Sacramento-area
first-graders, retirees ... It didn't take long for Bobbi Donovan's first-grade students to
shed their hesitation and greet their new pen pals. Within minutes of
meeting, kids from
The kids
met with their buddies at Eskaton in December and over the course of the school
year have used Skype, an Internet video calling service, to stay in
touch. "I think it's a great program," said Betty MacKinnon,
92, who has two buddies in Donovan's class. "All my grandchildren are
grown, so I love it." Besides forging relationships, the program has
been a teaching tool for Donovan and Adam Hill, Eskaton's assisted living
activity coordinator. The children practice their reading and writing by
sending letters, e-mails and Christmas cards – and by reading books – to the Eskaton
residents. Eskaton residents, meanwhile, are learning to use computers…
Thanks to some good advice at the right time and some positive
reinforcement I soon started learning there was "more there".....
In his article, "I Remember Better When I Paint", Max
Wallack stopped me dead in my tracks when I read these two words -- "more
there." He managed to give me a new perspective on something I have been
thinking about and trying to do for years.
I consider myself fortunate because I learned early on to let my
mother do every thing she could do. More importantly, to stop doing everything
for her. Frankly, doing it for her was easier. This was important advice -- let
her do it.