Content contained in this newsletter may have been previously published in prior issues of the QCC newsletter.
QIO - HSAG logos

 

The Florida Nursing Home
Quality Care Connection
  
Nursing Home Event Icons
Provide Exceptional Compassionate Clinical Care that Treats the Whole Person
Focusing on person-centered care is critical when it comes to delivering top-quality clinical care that leads to improved clinical outcomes and quality of life for residents. To ensure your nursing home achieves this, the National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative (NNHQCC) Change Package recommends focusing on this four-pronged strategy:
  • Implement consistent assignment.
  • Choose and engage medical leadership wisely.
  • Ensure transitions are done with care.
  • Strive to prevent problems, and treat when necessary.
The presence of a Certified Medical Director (CMD) has been shown to improve nursing home quality by as much as 15 percent. At your facility, the medical director should be a CMD, or at a minimum he or see should be a member of your state's AMDA (The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, www.amda.com) chapter.

For more insight and practical tips, read pages 25-29 of the NNHQCC Change Package.
  
Contact us with any questions at
Tips and Change Ideas for Decline in Activities of Daily Living
The decline in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) is a common issue in long-term care. While not always preventable, facilities can focus on improving underlying impairments in physical abilities, including balance, muscle strength, and the ability to transfer from one position to another.
  
Make an impact on ADL decline by:
  • Considering physical therapy as appropriate.
  • Incorporating balance training.
  • Increasing intensity and frequency of observation.
  • Making environmental adaptations.
  • Identifying and reducing medications with potential side effects.
For more suggestions, check out these resources:
  1. Vanderbilt University's Mobility Decline Prevention Training Module 
  2. The American Geriatrics Society guidelines for fall reduction programs 
  3. HSAG Quality Measure Tip Sheet: Activities of Daily Living--Long Stay
Next month: Tips and change ideas for high-risk pressure ulcers
QAPI Corner
Step 6: Conduct a QAPI Awareness Campaign                            

Communication is the key to a QAPI awareness campaign--and it starts with communicating with all caregivers involved in the care of residents. The first item on the agenda is to let everyone know about your QAPI plan. QAPI is about systems of care, management practices, and business practices. With a goal of widespread awareness, multiple education exposures are critical to a successful campaign:  

  • Use dialogue, examples, and exercises.
  • Make sure all of your vendors and collaborating agencies are aware of your QAPI approach. 
  • Look for opportunities to involve vendors and collaborating agencies in your process.
  • Ensure that every caregiver in your facility feels safe to raise quality concerns.

Don't leave the residents and their families behind in the awareness campaign! Make sure they know their views are both sought after and valued. Ask them to tell you about their quality concerns--and view those concerns through the residents' eyes. You might even consider including QAPI information in routine communications to families. Family and resident complaints are often underused, and yet they are valuable in identifying more general problems.

 

For more information about conducting a QAPI awareness campaign, read pages 13-14 of QAPI at a Glance. In addition, the tool provided on page 13 provides a template guide for conducting such a campaign. 

 

Next month: Develop a strategy for collecting and using QAPI data

Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI) Prevention Cohort Members
Announcements and Information
  • To submit your Annual Facility Survey for calendar year 01/01/2016 to 12/31/2016, login to the NHSN using your Secure Access Management Services (SAMS) grid card credentials.
  • HSAG recommends printing a copy of your completed 2015 Annual Facility Survey that was completed during the enrollment process to use as a reference when completing the 2016 survey, as most of the information will be the same.
  • To print a copy of your 2015 Annual Facility Survey, log into NHSN using your SAMS grid card credentials, select the "Surveys" tab on the left navigation bar, select "Find", select 2015 from the "Survey Year" drop-down menu, select "Find", then select "Print Form." 
  • To submit the 2016 Annual Facility Survey, select the "Surveys" tab on the left navigation bar select "Add", select 2016 for the "Survey Year", and enter your facility data. Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk (*). Do not forget to select "Save" at the end of the survey. 
  • CDI data for March due by April 10, 2017.
  • Login to NHSN using your SAMS grid card credentials to submit your CDI LabID events (if applicable) and summary data (total resident days for the month, resident admissions, and residents admitted on CDI treatment)
  • Do not forget to check "Report No Events" under the
    C. difficile row if there were no positive labs collected within your facility for the month of February.
  • Resolve Alerts: Review the "Alerts tab and complete missing and/or incomplete data.

 

 

Additional Resources
 
Upcoming Event
NHSN Training Webstream Information
NHSN LTCF Training Course
March 20, 2017 at 9 a.m. EST
Agenda and instructions on how to view the webstream available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/training/annualtraining.html
HSAG Resource Spotlight
Access all of the CMS tools for QAPI from one easy-to-use electronic resource library. Learn More.

This template helps guide nursing home staff members as they develop specific quality improvement plans for their organizations. Learn More.

QAPI Companion Guide
This guide helps walk your team through the actions steps of developing your organization's QAPI plan.  Learn More.
Save the Date for the Next Florida NNHQCC Learning Session! Registration information to follow.

 

Miami

April 26, 2017

8 a.m. to 12 Noon ET

 

East Orlando

May 18, 2017

8 a.m. to 12 Noon ET

 

Tallahassee

June 7, 2017

8 a.m. to 12 Noon ET

 

Tampa

June 20, 2017

8 a.m. to 12 Noon 

Upcoming Events

USF Byrd Alzheimer's Institute 19th Annual Geriatric Health Care Conference
Tampa, FL
June 13 to 15, 2017
Have you completed your QAPI Self-Assessment? 
Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel

Quick Links

 

Access archived issues of the QCC newsletter at: