This blog post is the third in a four-part series on the Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) Solutions Tour. Read part one and part two of this series on our blog.
In this third post, we talk about how our work’s concrete, real-world approach helps SNFs work towards their goals.
Real Solutions to Real Problems
A lot of workshops are mostly talking heads. Healthcentric Advisors’ work with nursing facilities is concrete, offering real solutions to real problems.
As Marguerite McLaughlin describes it: “We use real stories and real expertise to help the homes be able to make the changes, and to be able to think about the effect and outcome it would have on residents. We built the curriculum around solutions. . . . The homes these days are under such distress. They are under such pressure to perform.”
For each topic discussed, they are presented with 5-6 solutions. At the end of the session, Healthcentric Advisors’ staff go around and ask everyone what solutions they are going to adopt. In this way, these solutions are almost immediately put into practice.
Those who attend these sessions recognize their practicality and their value. As one participant told Marguerite: “I go to all these kinds of things. I have never gotten so much information in one day.” And, this information is not information for information’s sake, but rather is usual information that is highly applicable to the array of issues that nursing homes are facing in the current regulatory environment.
The issues facing nursing homes can be anything from hand hygiene to antibiotic stewardship, from reducing antipsychotic medication use to reducing the number of falls residents take. Some of this comes down to communication, as Margaret Crowley pointed out.
It is both about having the communication skills and strategies in the moment to improve safety, including tactics such as calling a huddle and dividing work appropriately among the team, as well as appropriately communicating feedback among the team.
Read more about the tools we offered on our tour and how to get in touch for help.