Hear from one of the nursing homes that served as a model for QAPI about the systems they have in place for a high involvement quality improvement process. Through regular huddles with front-line staff they keep their finger on the pulse of what is happening for residents. They design interventions through regular collaboration between clinical leaders and staff closest to the residents.
Here how the team from a New Orleans area nursing home learned how to prevent use of antipsychotic medications by tracking and trending to understand what residents' behaviors mean.
Hear CNAs and the head of the Pressure Ulcer Prevention (PUP) Team at Glenridge Living Community in Augusta, ME describe how their Performance Improvement team works It provides a great example of an effective QAPI Performance Improvement Project team, as featured in the Pioneer Network webinar series: Working Together for Better Outcomes–Relational Coordination for Quality Improvement.
When CNAs at Glenridge Living Community in Augusta, ME were asked what was the most important ingredient in their success with pressure ulcer prevention, they said “teamwork”.
What role do alarms play in today’s nursing homes—do they really keep people safe or are they over-used
When alarms were first introduced in nursing homes they were part of the effort to remove restraints. They were intended as a means of getting to know a resident’s routine, so that their individual needs could be met. However, today alarms are used in many homes on a major portion of the residents. For many people alarms are the new restraints. They cause people to feel isolated, dependent and afraid to move. Homes that use them with great frequency have not reduced falls.
The current practice in most nursing homes is to put a chair or bed alarm on people who demonstrate a risk of falling. This is a one-size-fits-all approach that, in the name of preventing risks can actually contribute to other risks – the risk of isolation, depression, and malnutrition, loss of mobility, sleep depravation, and skin breakdown. Instead of alarms, we can actually promote good health by helping people with their mobility. This actually strengthens them, decreases the danger of injury from falls, and allows us to respond to their needs instead of to the alarms.
We need to recognize the value of a good night’s sleep, which is hard to have when you’ve got alarms on at night.
Experience alarms yourself. Wear an alarm for half an hour. That’s what the management team did at Quaboag on the Common in North Brookfield, MA.
Individualizing Care & Managing Workflow
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