LTC Newsletter 02_2011.indd
Contents
1. gain a level of confidence working the new assessment tool I had been assigned Be fore long I came to appreciate it for the value it brought to our systems how much better we as a team could care for our resi dents having had to complete the RAI Kessler s Corner continued from page 1 we included the program s welcome let ter with someone else s name then to top things off while we got his name sort of on the box s delivery label we misspelled it All very embarrassing in deed Granted compared to what you go through in your day to day dealings with your residents and families this is not in the same ballpark A mistake or in this case mistakes do matter especially when my client or if a resident or fam ily member in your case feels wronged How to handle it 1 Admit your mistake Sounds easy enough however you ll be sur prised how many times that people don t want to admit that they messed up In stead we look for excuses or try to shift the blame to someone else or something else Yet quite often the person or people that were affected by your oversight or wrongdoing are more than happy to re ceive your heartfelt and sincere apology The key word here is sincere as it re ally can make a difference Granted de MDS IOI 1 By Joel VanEaton For those of you who are new to work ing the RAI let me encourage you to stay the course It may not seem like it now but you are at the forefr2. experienced the dreaded punch in this number for this and the punch in this number for that syndrome when all we want to do is speak to a real live person This can be bothersome enough when we call about a charge on a cred it card or need to talk to someone at the dentist s office let alone when the person on the other end of the telephone is wrestling with the deci sion of potentially placing a loved one in a nursing facility or is calling our building because they have a question about a caregiving issue concerning a resident already staying with us Again all this person wants to do is speak with the administrator or the director nursing or some other staff member ASAP and now they have to navigate a series of prompts to hopefully get there To be frank there s nothing good about this from a customer service or a census building standpoint So the question is how for our nursing facility to make the best of this situation Here are some suggestions 1 Make sure your automated system is as user friendly as possible Here you want easy to understand and easy to follow directions 2 Streamline the process The fewer prompts the better Accord ingly when the caller is asked to push three for the administrator this ac tion should result in the caller then getting through to the administrator s line and not another person or voice LTC PROFESSIONAL TIP OF THE MONTH How to Best Handle
3. it again Make this a hab it Itis a dynamic book you will learn new things each time you read it and reinforce the things you have learned For now I would also encourage you to make connections with people who have been doing this for a while From experi ence I know this is invaluable You will have questions Having access to a phone number or email of an experienced MDS nurse will give you a much needed resource and a vote of confidence as you begin Joel VanEaton BSN RN RAC CT is the author and creator of the MDS 3 0 RUG IV training programs available from Extended Care Products Inc His newest program The Download able MDS 3 0 RAI Manual Package is his latest contribution and can be ordered at www extendedcareproducts com company and surprising them with a free gift of one of our programs has this effect What about you Well you need to look for an action to take of a similar nature that will both surprise and delight the wronged party Perhaps it s bring ing some flowers to a resident s room or doing something extra nice for a family member The action itself is for you de cide The result can be amazing and pay dividends for you and your nursing fa cility and turn what was a negative into exactly the opposite Chip Kessler is General Manager of Extended Care Products Inc Part of his responsibilities include creating and producing staff development and training programs including a step
4. FEBRUARY 2011 ISSUE 2 LIC PROFESSIONAL NEWS AND VIEWS YOU CAN REALLY USE InPartIofthis article theimportance of sound crisis communications was the focus We identified possible crisis scenarios designation of a Crisis Team andtheresponsibilities ofteam members In Part II we discuss communications during the crisis and creating the crisis communications plan Crisis Communications Plan Contacts and Notification As part of your Crisis Plan Manual include an updated Contact List of team members Officers and senior management should be the first to be notified If the crisis calls for immediate contact with media the Chief Communications Officer should notify personnel who may be in contact with the media and public and advise them how to respond The internal notification protocols will vary with each organization but generally should be coordinated through one crisis team member pursuant to the plan that by the time the crisis arises should have been tested on a regular basis Consider key internal and external audiences in your notification plan which may include Agencies Federal State and Local Attending physicians Board members Elected officials Employees Families Next of Kin and Referring discharge planners and hospitals Use telephone banks voice mail email personal visits facsimile intranets the organization s website social networking sites Facebook MySpace Twitter etc outside we
5. bsites blogs and traditional media as communication tools THE ADELMAN ADVANTAGE by Rebecca Adelman CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS FOR PROVIDERS ARE YOU READY Part II Communicating to Employees How messages are delivered to employees will influence the way employees then communicate with residents families the public and each other When notifying employees of a crisis event convey the facts and confirm that everyone understands them be in control and provide updates Key information includes a brief summary of the facts an explanation of the cause the steps being taken in response how long it is expected to last acknowledgement about emotional impact identification of the Crisis Team identification of the lines of crisis communications and a commitment to maintain internal communications The Crisis Communications Plan A Top 10 Vulnerabilities Audit is a list of crisis scenarios that could occur in your organization Individuals in the organization should be interviewed and questioned about crisis preparedness Interviews should be conducted with key executives managers and staff After you have made a list of the crisis scenarios it is recommended that you rank them in order of their probability of occurring Develop crisis plans for the Top 10 on the list Conducting the vulnerabilities audit will allow your organization to develop asound business crisis plan with strategies designed to reach t
6. by step three part DVD audio CD and workbook program entitled The Official Nursing Facility Customer Service Training System Discover more at www extendedcareproducts com its Here LTC PROFESSIONAL PRSRT STD P O Box 4852 US Po aee mil Johnson City TN 37604 Ge The New ue Setting Realistic Expectations The nation s leading nursing facility risk management and family educational DVD video program has a new look and feel for 2011 With new exciting additions and an even more family friendly message we ve taken an outstanding program and made it even better Discover more at www extendedcareproducts com or call toll free 1 800 807 4553 Introducing Your Next Step in Nursing Facility Census Building The Census Building Academy Presents The Census Building Toolkit on DVD Join 7 of our nation s leading Census Builders in the most complete and comprehensive program ever done Easy to follow step by step strategies to get more new residents than ever before Discover more at www MyExpectations com We Strived for Accuracy to Get You This Copy of LTC Professional However If the name on the address label isn t yours then we want to change things to insure that this newsletter comes personally addressed to you Please send us your contact information your name title facility or company name and address and e mail it to chip ecpnews net
7. eputation and political and legal consequences such as What is the threat tothe organization s reputation Whatcan the organization do to make the response reaction positive and favorable What are the possible political or regulatory effects from the crisis Could a lawsuit or other investigation result from the crisis The Components of the Plan Your organization must complete a manual that will serve as the central Crisis Communications Plan The manual will coordinate the notification of the crisis team and other audiences including the media The plan should include prepared key messages for designated team members to convey to the media for the duration of the crisis The plan should reflect the following qualities and be Simple individuals and teams should be able to understand their roles and responsibilities in a clearly written plan Easy individuals and teams should be able to easily execute the plan Specific the roles of individuals and teams should be well defined and clear Immediate a sound plan can be implemented immediately Flexible the plan should contain some contingencies that include a supplemental team and Integrated as earlier discussed the plan should be a part of an organization s disaster preparedness and risk management plans In Part III we will examine the plan s main messages and crisis strategies and the post crisis phase Rebecca Adelman Esq Ms Adelman is the P
8. he stakeholders with information on the crisis before they hear about it from the media or other sources When developing a crisis Adelman Advantage continued on page 2 KESSLER S CORNER by Chip Kessler Customer Service The Art of Making Amends This column is going to be very open in regards to the way I run the day to day business of our company Extended Care Products and how you can apply a cou ple of principles I use to offer even better customer service to your nursing facil ity s residents and families Let me add here that our clients are people like you those that either work in a nursing facil ity or are associated with nursing facili ties because you are with a management company ownership group insurance company law firm or a risk management company So you may be asking okay how does customer service or the lack there of come into play in your business Indeed it does in any number of ways however no more so than when we screw something up from our end An example just the other day a nursing facility client called to inform me that while we sent him the correct program he ordered we included the wrong invoice with the ship ment and to further our embarrassment Kessler s Corner continued on page 3 In an ideal world a nursing facili ty or any type of healthcare or service related business would not use an automated voice forwarding system Why Because we ve all
9. ons After all is said and done most mistakes tend to be forgiven after all we re all human and hopefully the individual or indi vidual you ve offended has made his or her share of mistakes in the past and will remember this Thus in my case with the aforementioned client the first thing I did was sincerely apologize to him for our shortsightedness and mistakes 2 Go the extra mile In the case of Extended Care Products whenever we ve made a mistake with a client I personally send them a note plus a com plimentary copy of one of our other pro grams Fortunately we don t make the kinds of mistakes or something similar that I earlier mentioned with a client too often Whenever it does occur I want our client to walk away from the expe rience with a positive feeling about our gins I know you re ready you are a nurse So here we go Our task will take us through the RAI Manual so this is your first priority Have an updated copy of the MDS 3 0 RAI Us er s Manual available at all times You will be well equipped if you will keep this tool close by Even experienced MDS nurses refer to this often as they complete the MDS and would tell you do yourself a favor and read the manual This sounds trite but if you will be successful at this process this is a non negotiable Decide how much is reasonable each day and just do it Set a goal don t put it off When you are finished read
10. ont of a highly special ized field and are helping to lead your team to more resident centered compassionate care I applaud you for this and want you to succeed So for the next few months we will work together with a view to provid ing you with some practical information that will help you in your new endeavor For those of you who have been at this for a while a review of the basics is always a good thing I would like to start by reminding you all that as complicated as the RAI seems right now it is really just the Nursing Pro cess that you learned in nursing school Re member ADPIE Assess Diagnose Plan Implement Evaluate It s the RAI in a nutshell Assess the MDS 3 0 Diagnose the CAA s Plan Care Plan Implement putting the care plan to work Evaluate revisiting the care plan as needed to be sure that it continues to meet the resident s needs Each piece of the RAI process fits neatly into one of these categories from scheduling assessments to completing the CATs Relax and take a deep breath the RAI is just an adaptation of a process you are already familiar with to the long term care setting no biggie You re a pro at the fundamentals already Applying the specif ics of the RAI is where the challenge be pending upon the severity of your mis take you may need to speak with your boss or at least think out your specific course of action before you talk to the affected person or pers
11. rincipal of Adelman Law Firm PLLC in Memphis Tennessee and has concentrated her practice in healthcare and nursing home and medical malpractice defense litigation for the past 22 years She also provides medico legal consulting services and educational programming to the healthcare industry She is licensed in Tennessee Mississippi Arkansas and Illinois The firm is proud to be of counsel to Quintairos Prieto Wood amp Boyer P A and together provide services to our national and regional clients Adelman Law Firm PLLC 545 South Main Street Memphis Tennessee 38103 Phone 901 529 9313 rebecca adelmanfirm com The Resident As sessment Instrument RAD in cluding the Minimum Data MDS Set 3 0 is a challeng ing and often complex pro cess for everyone involved even for the seasoned professional So for the novice MDS nurse who is in the throes of learning the nuts and bolts it can seem overwhelm ing even impossible That was my experience 11 years ago as I began my journey into the world of the RAI I was given a copy of the MDS 2 0 RAI User s Manual told to read it and after 3 very sporadic and confusing days of training by the outgoing MDS nurse I was on my own Before this I felt pretty confident as a nurse But on that day it felt like I didn t know anything I found myself asking What have I gotten myself into But as time passed and the night mares became less frequent I began to
12. the Automated Telephone System by Nancy White prompt in your office 3 Being aware of and regularly check your voice messages As you well know working in a nursing fa cility means you re constantly on the go You re not chained to your desk so it s a fact of life that you re going to miss calls Thus you must con stantly be of a mind set to check your messages when you return to your of fice and most importantly to immedi ately return your phone calls even though there may be any number of other people or things vying for your attention Sometimes it s easy to put returning phone calls off this since the man or woman who s left you a mes sage is just a voice on the phone and not a thing needing a resolution or a person right in your face looking for an answer Naturally when returning that call you want to apologize for not be ing there to initially take it then get to work on dealing with the telephone caller s question s and or needs Nancy White is customer service representative for several nursing facilities in the southeastern United States Her main responsibility is in speaking with families about their satisfaction with the care and services their loved one is presently receiving in a client s facility Adelman Advantage continued from page 1 communications plan for the Top 10 list consider questions that relate to the potential impact on the organization s r
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