Nursing Home Quality

Quality Campaign

A Campaign to improve quality of life for residents and staff

A two year national campaign to address quality in nursing homes began September 29, 2006 with a kickoff summit meeting. NCCNHR has joined this campaign as a strategy to promote improvements in eight areas – untreated pain in residents who are in facilities for short or long stays, restraints, pressure sores, setting individualized quality improvement targets, assessment of resident/family satisfaction, staff turnover, and consistent assignment (when residents are regularly cared for by the same staff).

Visit the Campaign website for latest news and developments: http://www.nhqualitycampaign.org.

“NCCNHR will bring the voice of nursing home residents to the campaign.  We believe this campaign will promote national and local dialogues on serious issues that matter to residents and their families, and we will work with our members to encourage nursing homes in their communities to participate.”  Alice H. Hedt, Executive Director.

 Encourage facilitates to participate in Webinar on Staff Stability - September 25

Consumer Information	Consumers Weigh In On Quality	Campaign Kickoff
Consumer Friendly Resources:        Books     Fact Sheets                                                           National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center             Other Information Sources

In the Advancing Excellence campaign, nursing homes voluntarily work on at least three of eight measurable quality goals. A provider must select at least one of four clinical goals and at least one of four process-related goals.
 

Goal 1: Reducing pressure ulcers

          Reducing Pressure Ulcers Consumer Information Sheet (pdf)

Goal 2: Reducing the daily use of physical restraints

            Physical Restraint Free Care Consumer Information Sheet - pdf

          Read Elizabeth Capezuti's article "Improving Bed Safety," from the NYU

          Nursing Spring 2007 Newsletter

Goals 3 & 4: Improving the management of pain in long stay residents and

                     short-stay residents

Goal 5: Setting individualized targets for clinical quality improvement

Goal 6: Measuring resident and/or family satisfaction and incorporating this

             information to quality improvement activities

Goals 7 & 8: Measuring nursing staff turnover and developing action plans

                     to improve staff retention, and adopting “consistent

                     assignment"

           “The Case For Consistent Assignment In the Nursing Home Setting”

          Change Ideas for Consistent Assignment

          Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes Implementation Guide,

              Goal 8: Improving Consistent Assignment of Nursing Home Staff

          Quality Relationships, Quality Care: The Case for Consistent Assignment

                  PowerPoint presentation
 

 Presentation by Carol Benner to NCCNHR Network, August 6, 2006

NCCNHR is highlighting the efforts of the Wisconsin LANE (Local Area Network for Excellence) for their successful practice of involving consumers in LANE meetings.  They begin every LANE meeting by inviting a resident and/or family member of a health care facility to share their perspectives.  LANE members have said that this demonstrates their vision and keeps them aligned with it as they move through their activities.

Special recognition goes to the Wisconsin Ombudsman Program for their efforts to assist residents in signing up for the campaign and participating in quality discussions:

Eleanor Jacobs, a resident of a Wisconsin Health Care Center, signing up for the Advancing Excellence Campaign, assisted by Heather Bruemmer, Ombudsman Services Supervisor.

 

Read Ms. Jacobs' story and comments about her life in a nursing home, as submitted to the LANE.

Thanks to Eleanor Jacobs for giving us permission to share her story.

Visit the State of Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long Term Care website.

Press release announces campaign kick-off (August 1, 2006)

Alice Hedt, NCCNHR Executive Director, letter to membership (August 4, 2006)

Summary of the Campaign.

Consumers Care Consumers Count - Presentation by Alice Hedt for Campaign kickoff (September 29, 2006).  (This is a large pdf file and may take a few minutes to download.)

Campaign website for latest news and developments http://www.nhqualitycampaign.org.

Consumers are encouraged to get involved in the Campaign.

Books

 

Nursing Homes, Getting Good Care There – NCCNHR’s best selling book that guides residents and family members who seek quality care.  The four expert authors urge consumers to Stand Up and Speak Out and provide concrete suggestions that are useful to new and long-time residents.   To order your copy: Click here, then on All Publications, then Consumer Publications, then Family Involvement and scroll down to "Nursing Homes: Getting Good Care There."  (You may also go directly to http://nursinghomeaction.org/ecommerce/default.cfm?action=catList&CatID=48  and scroll to bottom of page.)

Residents Have the Answers: Improving Quality of Life in Long-term Care – This outstanding video is an excellent resource for facilities who want to improve their care and services using resident involvement.  Developed by the Nursing Home Community Coalition New York State and the Coalition of Institutionalized Aged and Disabled. NCCNHR offers this video at the amazing price of $50. Call NCCNHR to order your copy 202-332-2275 or order online (click on New Publications).

Dementia Care Practice Recommendations for Assisted Living Residences and Nursing Homes, Alzheimer's Association Campaign for Quality Residential Care -  September 2006.  This easy to use guide includes concrete care practices that consumers should look for in assisted living and nursing home care.  Written for family members of people with dementia, it is useful for all long-term care residents.  This document was developed by a variety of organizations including the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, represented by Jean Badalamenti and Sarah Greene Burger.   Available on the Internet. To order a hard copy and for more information, visit www.alz.org  or call 800-272-3900.

Baby Boomer's Guide to Nursing Home Care – New! September 2006.  Eric Carlson’s new book includes practical advice for residents and their families.  This easy to use and comprehensive consumer guide by Eric Carlson and Katharine Hsiao is a dependable resource for family members and advocates. Order online at NSCLC’s website, www.nsclc.org or get order form here.

Fact Sheets

 

NCCNHR has many fact sheets that consumers use for information on specific topics. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Assessment and Care Planning: The Key to Good Care

The Basics of Individualized Quality Care
  Culture Change in Nursing Homes (August 2006)

Malnutrition and Dehydration (October 2006)
Neglect and Abuse

 

Additional NCCNHR information sheets

National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center

 

View Ombudsman developed materials from various states.

Ruth Morgan, Barren River District Long-Term Care Ombudsman, KY: "Nursing Homes Working to Improve Quality"

Other Resources

 

        Read Elizabeth Capezuti's article "Improving Bed Safety," from the NYU

        Nursing Spring 2007 Newsletter

NCCNHR encourages consumers to contact their local ombudsman and/or citizen groups to get additional information on long-term care facilities. Find contact information in your state. State and local ombudsmen, citizen groups, and other contacts.

My Personal Directions for Quality Living -  This tool developed by NCCNHR encourages communication between those who might need care and those who provide care.  It helps individuals express what quality means to them to family, friends, and other caregivers.