Category Archives: Hospital Professionals

Compassionate Touch®, Dementia Live, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals

Employee Education = Engagement = Quality Care

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Employees at Emerald Health and Rehab in North Carolina are immersed in education about the positive effects of expressive touch.

We understand the negative impact on quality care as a result of high employee turnover.  However, more elusive is an understanding of how lackluster engagement of employees with longevity impacts quality.

Much of the focus is on recruiting new employees, and rightly so. Estimates show employee turnover nationally at 45%-66%.

At the same time, it is important that we also maintain the spirit and engagement of current employees. However, scare resources have forced employers in Aging Services to make tough decisions.

Cuts into the marrow of the employee education budget in light of the current staffing challenges could be devastating.  In doing so, we inadvertently create a more disengaged workforce and impair quality.

Defense Against Declining Quality Care

The vital connection in health care is that employee engagement drives quality of care. To that end, one of the best ways to engage employees is through ongoing hands-on education and training.

Guard against what could become turn-over induced decline in quality with a robust and engaging employee education program for your experienced and dedicated employees.

Employees with longevity have also felt the devastation of workforce challenges.  Fatigue with over-time and the constant flow of new employees in and out impacts the spirit of our dedicated workers.  All the more reason to dedicate resources and efforts towards their ongoing growth and engagement.

The absence of training appears on this list of reasons for poor employee engagement. Employees with longevity also need to continue to learn and adopt best practices. In doing so, we ensure the evolution of our quality of care and service.

In conclusion,  a corporate culture that supports growth and education for long-term employees will promote engaged workers and defend against declining quality care and service.

 

Julie has worked in Aging Services for over 30 years and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 1990. She is a Certified Master Trainer with the AGE-u-cate Training Institute. Through her company Enlighten Eldercare,  Julie provides training and educational programs on elder caregiving to private and professional caregivers.  She is an instructor and the Interim Director of Gerontology at Northern Illinois University and lives in the Chicago Northwest Suburb of Mount Prospect, IL.

Faith Community, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals

Is it Possible for Doctors to Provide Compassionate Care?

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The Physician’s Oath promises to approach all patients with integrity, candor, empathy, and respect.  I believe that most doctors take their oath seriously.  I believe most doctors study very hard because they truly want to help other people and make a positive difference in the field of medicine.  Doctors have a tremendous responsibility in today’s messy healthcare environment.  They work long hours, have many patients and deal with lots of complications to ultimately deliver the care that their patients need.  So, is it really possible for doctors to provide compassionate care?

I will speak only from a patient and patient advocate perspective, after having been a caregiver to my aging parents for many years.  Most doctors want to listen to their patients and get to know them beyond their medical conditions.  I really believe that.  I think most doctors would agree that the complexities of healthcare take away from the time they would like to spend with their patients and families so that they can be a source of compassion and guidance.

For doctors to provide compassionate care, they must have time.  Unfortunately,  this is rarely a luxury, if at all.  Treating patients medical needs is first and foremost when it comes down to it.  Having the time to converse and get to know their patients is almost unheard of these days.  So how can doctors provide compassionate care when the odds are stacked against them in so many ways.

In dementia training, we teach the importance of eye-to-eye contact,  slowing down, speaking with respect to another person, gently holding one’s hand to provide comfort among other simple gestures. These are signs of compassionate care that take no more time than the alternative.  Sometimes a smile or caring concern is all it takes to quickly make another person feel like they are important to another person – even if it’s brief.

Doctors are fixers, and it’s natural in their hurried days to be focused on fixing what’s wrong.  And no doubt that is monumentally important.  As healers, though, a doctor can and should practice compassionate care even though the odds are often stacked against you.  Compassionate care can be taught, learned and passed on to others. It’s an emotional, spiritual and transformational gift that you give another person shown with the simplest of gestures.

Compassion can be felt by another just by the gift of your genuine presence.

Pam Brandon is President of AGE-u-cate® Training Institute and a passionate advocate for older adults and those who serve them.  She is the creator of the Dementia Live® Simulation and Awareness Program.  

Family Caregiver, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals

The NICHE difference: Preparing Our Long-Term Care Workforce for Tomorrow

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We are thrilled to have recently announced our collaboration with NICHE – Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders, a nation-wide nursing education and consultation program designed to improve geriatric care in healthcare organizations through education and mentorship.

The NICHE Acute Care Program, founded in 1992 is part of NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing.  The program promotes the use of evidence-based clinical interventions and establishes nurses as leaders to effect positive change in caring for the growing aging population.  NICHE empowers front-line nurses to build a team and develop organizational and workforce competencies to improve the health and wellbeing of older adults they serve.

The NICHE long-term care(LTC) program prepares nurses and certified nurse assistants (CNAs) to achieve organizational goals for the care of older adults patients.  The NICHE-LTC promotes the use of evidence-based clinical interventions and establishes nurses as leaders to bring about changes in the quality of care delivered to older adults in LTC and PAC (post-acute care) facilities.

The LTC curriculum is designed around the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Five-Star Quality Rating System so organizations uphold the nationally recognized standards for LTC.  A few examples of Quality Measures include:

  • Ability to move independently and participate in activities of daily living
  • High-risk residents with pressure ulcers
  • Re-hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and discharge to the community
  • Moderate to severe pain
  • Falls with major injury
  • Antipsychotic medications

NICHE resources include highly engaging webinars, Need to Know patient and family consumerism, LTC Leadership Training, Implementation Courses, and Clinical and Quality Improvement Modules, and an Evaluation and Recognition Process.

Our shared mission that quality training empowers staff will lead to higher CNA retention and improved care:

  • Nursing homes whose nursing staff have enhanced knowledge and skills perform better on quality metrics.
  • CNA’s who receive specialized training on common health issues experienced by older adults are capable of providing better care to residents and feel more confident in performing their work.
  • Opportunities for CNAs to participate in training programs not only empower them with knowledge and skills to carry out their work but also reinforce their important role in achieving organization-wide quality improvement goals.
  • CNA’s who receive high-quality training are more likely to report that they are satisfied with their jobs and job satisfaction is directly linked to CNA retention.

Quality elder care is critically important and NICHE programs provide the tools and resources that elevate Acute and Long-Term care organizations to a level of excellence.  As the need for dementia training increases, our relationship with NICHE will serve to better prepare the workforce for the special needs of those living with cognitive differences.

Pam Brandon is President/Founder of AGE–u-cate® Training Institute and a passionate advocate for older adults and those who serve them.  Pam is the creator of the Dementia Live® Sensitivity Awareness Training program and led the development of  the Compassionate Touch® training for persons living with Dementia and End-of-Life care.  

Family Caregiver, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals

Compassion Fatigue: Caring too Much

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Any senior care professional is vulnerable to Compassion Fatigue.  For example, nurses, doctors, counselors, veterinarians, therapists, social workers, chaplains, emergency response workers, and people caring for aging parents. So, what is Compassion Fatigue?

Dr. Charles Figley, describes Compassion Fatigue as, “ a state experienced by those helping people in distress; it is an extreme state of tension and preoccupation with the suffering of those being helped to the degree that it is traumatizing for the helper.”  Furthermore,  “The capacity for compassion and empathy seems to be at the core of our ability to do the work and at the core of our ability to be wounded by the work”.  Compassion fatigue results from the cumulative impact of taking care of people living with serious illness, trauma, abuse, or severe conditions.”  It’s different than job burnout, which is dissatisfaction with our job situation, not the work itself.

But how do you recognize compassionate fatigue?  The Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project tells us characteristics include:

  • Withdrawing from others
  • Difficulty connecting – detaching
  • Feeling angry that other caregivers don’t understand the nature of your service
  • Life feels too serious
  • Turning to compulsive or addictive behaviors such as overeating, overspending, alcohol, smoking, etc.
  • Physical symptoms: headaches, gastrointestinal symptoms, muscle tension.
  • Fatigue and apathy
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Avoiding work. Calling in sick or postponing appointments
  • Thinking that this work isn’t for you (when you know in your heart you really love it)

So, how can we avoid Compassion Fatigue? The answer lies in self-care, typically physical support like regular exercise, getting enough sleep and good nutrition. However we shouldn’t stop there. Nancy Jo Bush, an oncology nurse, says that self-care also includes setting empathetic boundaries; self awareness and self forgiveness; being in tune with one’s spirituality and finding hope. Experts agree that reaching out to others and developing a support system is critical.

A friend working in hospice shared a bit of wisdom. Lighten up and don’t forget to laugh. That reminds me of an old Joni Mitchell lyric, “Laughing and crying, you know it’s the same release.” Thanks, Joni. We’ll all try to remember that!

In conclusion, who would you turn to if you needed the support of an understanding friend?

Ann Catlin, OTR, LMT is a recognized expert in the field of skilled touch in eldercare and hospice. She guides professionals in discovering Compassionate Touch in person centered dementia care. She is a team member of AGE-u-cate Training Institute.