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The Florida Nursing Home Quality Care Connection
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Lead with a Sense of Purpose
What are your organization's goals in the Florida National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative (NNHQCC)? Are you working to:
  • Improve residents' mobility and prevent falls?
  • Reduce the use of antipsychotic medications?
  • Reach a Quality Measure Composite Score of 6 percent or less?
  • Fully integrate practices that support Quality Assurance & Performance Improvement (QAPI)?

Regardless of the measures your team will be addressing, you can begin this important work by leading with a sense of purpose. The actions of leaders, multiplied by the actions of many, shape a culture and an organization. Strategy 1 of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Collaborative Change Package sets the expectation for excellence in leadership. The foundation of a learning organization is dependent upon exceptional executive leadership, a strong mission and strong values, and an accepting non-punitive culture. To obtain practical how-to tips for leading with a sense of purpose read pages 5-9 of the Change Package.

   
Contact us with any questions
at FL-NNHQCC@hsag.com
Incontinence Quality Management Tips/Change Ideas
Urinary incontinence can have multiple causes, making it difficult to improve the rates for this quality measure. Here are four tips for getting started:
  1. Understand the various types of urinary incontinence (e.g., stress incontinence, urge incontinence, functional incontinence, etc.), as well as the etiology or underlying causes.
  2. Track the voiding patterns of each incontinent resident upon admission or during assessment periods; this will help to establish his or her baseline patterns.
  3. Engage your facility's medical director and attending physicians to correctly identify each resident's specific type of incontinence and customize each resident's care plans according to his or her natural voiding patterns and incontinence type.
  4. Educate direct care staff and discuss the clinical recommendations for the various types of urinary incontinence.
  5. Review the CMS interpretive guidelines for F-315, Urinary Incontinence (page 265). 
For more incontinence resources, visit the "General Health Issues" section of the HSAG website.
 
Next issue: Change ideas for reducing antipsychotic medications.
QAPI Corner
Step 1: Leadership & Accountability
Facility leadership (e.g., medical director, administrator, director of nursing, and other key managers) is responsible for "setting the tone" to help staff identify how to meet the organization's mission, vision, guiding principles, standards, and expectations. Without strong leadership, change efforts often fail or are not sustainable. As a leadership team, consider these key questions:
  • How can we provide needed resources for QAPI?
  • Is our culture open, respecting and "just" (fair)?
  • What does our culture look like?
  • How can QAPI blend with our existing QA efforts?
Not sure where to start? Review pages 9-10 of QAPI at a Glance and page 8 of the QAPI Companion Guide to get started.
 
Next month: Focusing on a deliberate approach to teamwork.
Resource Spotlight
Get step-by-step guidance on how to implement QAPI in nursing homes. Learn more.
Access tools and worksheets to assist your nursing home with implementing QAPI practices. Learn more.
Discover a collection of great ideas and best practices for creating lasting change in your nursing home. Learn more.
Reference this guide to help your team recognize and understand the major components of QAPI. Learn more.
 
Have you completed your QAPI Self-Assessment? 

Register for a Fall Learning Session near you!

 


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