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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 09-16-2014 - 4a1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: September 16, 2014 Action Agenda Item No. 4 -a SUBJECT: Orange County Long Term Care Quality Service Awards DEPARTMENT: Aging PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Janice Tyler, 919 - 245 -4255 PURPOSE: To recognize the winners of the Orange County Long Term Care Quality Service Awards. BACKGROUND: As part of the Orange County 2012 -17 Master Aging Plan, the Department on Aging was asked to develop a mechanism to help increase the quality of care provided in Orange County's long -term care facilities and home care organizations. In 2013, the Advisory Board on Aging created the Orange County Long Term Care (LTC) Learning Collaborative to bring administrators and direct -care staff together to learn about and share successful approaches to quality care. The Aging Board wanted to provide organizations the opportunity to learn about these new approaches and to support them in their implementation. Long Term Care organizations were invited to a series of seminars in the summer of 2013 which focused on two areas 1) activity programming and 2) administrative practices to reduce staff turn -over. LTC organizations that attended the seminars were then challenged to implement and evaluate the results of at least one of these practices over the coming year. The Advisory Board on Aging was so impressed with the results of some of these efforts /projects that it would like to honor them with a 2014 LTC Quality Service Award. It is hoped that the recognition of these Long Term Care organizations will be used as motivation for other organizations to implement practices that support high levels of quality care. 2014 Long Term Care Quality Service Award Winners Livewell Assisted Living - Executive Director Diane Beckett and Activity Director Marriettie Morris Livewell is a 6 -bed family care home located in Chapel Hill. Many of its residents are persons with dementia. The goal of its project was to implement an individualized program of memory stimulation with each resident at least 15- minutes each day. With input from their families, a set of activities was designed for each resident based on their past interests and hobbies. It was hoped that these activities would bring pleasure to the residents, as well as reduce some of the negative effects of dementia. The program was so well received by the residents that they willingly engaged in these activities far more than just 15- minutes each day. The individualized activities were especially soothing in the "sun- downing" part of the day. As a result of this project, many residents have displayed less anxiety and agitation, fewer hallucinations, and less wandering. This approach to activities planning can be implemented in a wide variety of long term care settings and should be replicated widely. Carol Woods Retirement Community — Pat Sprigg, CEO and Life Enrichment Coordinator Mallory Wilcox Carol Woods is a Continuous Care Retirement Community in Chapel Hill, home to approximately 400 older adults at various levels of functioning. The goal of this project was to create a resident - driven, meaningful activity that would engage residents at all levels of service and provide them with a sense of purpose through community outreach. Carol Woods' residents were invited to a series of meetings to design a project that the whole community could do together. The residents decided on a "Corn Shuckin & Bean Snappin" project that could engage all members of the Carol Woods community and produce an outcome that would benefit the wider Orange County community. Carol Woods residents did the corn shucking and bean snapping together; local farmers provided the produce; and clients of Club Nova and the Interfaith Council received the fresh vegetables. The event was considered a huge success. More people, at more levels of functioning, were involved than originally hoped. Residents with advanced dementia took part. It helped facilitate the use of skills thought to be lost or dormant. Residents who had known each other from previous years had a chance to reunite and work together on a common project. Carol Woods was so impressed with the level of resident engagement on this project that it has committed to plan a campus -wide event similar to this one on a quarterly basis. Carol Woods hopes that these types of activities will become the "norm" in the way that Carol Woods supports resident well- being. This project can be replicated in a variety of long -term care settings to provide meaningful activities that engage residents at multiple functional levels. Acorn Home Care Services — Owners Lorenzo and Mary Lynn Mejia Acorn Home Care Services, Inc. is a private home care agency operating within Orange County. Acorn undertook two projects this year - one to improve care directly through an individualized music and memory program and one to improve care indirectly through new management practices designed to support and reward direct care workers for good work. Regarding the first project, Acorn Home Care implemented a new, individualized music program with their clients who have dementia. As a result, family members have noted more social engagement, improved cognitive skills, better vocabulary, and less agitation. In the coming years, Acorn Home Services wants to offer this service to all their families caring for a loved one with dementia. K To better support its paid caregivers so that they can provide quality care to clients, Acorn also implemented a new employee reward system. It offered merit bonuses for high quality care and good work practices and created a variety of non - monetary supports on an individualized basis. Since implementing these new management strategies, there has been excellent worker attendance, low turn -over rates, and improved employee satisfaction. Keeping good workers in place leads to better continuity of care, which is highly correlated with client satisfaction and quality of life in long -term care settings. The Advisory Board on Aging and the Department on Aging are grateful for these leaders in the long -term care industry in Orange County and, with the Board of Commissioners, want to publicly acknowledge their willingness to try new, promising care practices and management strategies and serve as a model for other facilities and organizations providing important services to some of Orange County's most vulnerable residents. The Advisory Board on Aging and the Department congratulate Livewell Assisted Living, Inc., Carol Woods Retirement Community, and Acorn Home Care Services, Inc. for winning an Orange County 2014 LTC Quality Service Award. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The cash awards of $200 per organization have been budgeted in the Department on Aging's Master Aging Plan budget. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board recognize these organizations as winners of the 2014 Orange County Long Term Care Quality Service Awards.