Locked In

I was doing my sanitation rounds in the kitchen at my facility this week. I was walking around looking at things and asking questions. I went into the dry storage and looked around. I went back out and checked the reach in cooler and asked where the freezer was. This was my first official sanitation rounds being new to the facility. The dietary aide said the walk in is in there. I trotted in opened the door and noticed there was a bar that moved but didn't pay much attention. The door closed. I started looking around making my notes. When I was done I went to the door and pushed. The door didn't budge. I pushed again, nothing. I noticed the bar and it was there to hold the door from closing. I guess I should have figured that out first. Well, I then began to panic. Of course I didn't have my cell phone. I beat on the door and screamed. No one came. I continued to freak out beating on the door. Well I started kicking the door and it finally popped opened. I was frozen and my throat hurt from screaming. I asked the dietary staff if they heard me. One guy said I heard you but when I went in you were coming out. When I told my friend who is also an administrator she said it would have been horrible if you died in there. No one could have kept a straight face at your funeral.

Compassion

Several years ago while working at a nursing home as the administrator the director of nursing died. The whole facility was devastated including the residents and staff. The work that we do is hard enough without something as traumatic as this occurring. This occurred on a Friday. On Monday we started having visits from the managers of other local facilities who brought cards and food for the staff. It was obvious that they had coordinated this because there was a different building and treat each day. As the week went by every nursing home in a 30 mile radius brought something to our facility. This goes to show that people who work in long term care regardless of competition for residents are loving caring people. We are all an extension of each other. I can't tell you how much this helped my facility get through this difficult time.

Nursing Home Humor

Never Say Never

It's funny how life often forces us to re-evaluate our goals. About 10 months ago I decided to step out of a permanent management position in long term care. I started looking for alternatives. I applied for numerous jobs for on line work, remote positions, hospital nursing, contacted former colleagues and finally was referred to a company that fills interim positions, consulting and mock surveys. Through this company I had the opportunity to work in assisted living, fill in as unit managers, directors of nursing, administrators and my favorite doing mock surveys. I enjoyed the work and was able to take time off when I wanted for how long I wanted. I have thoroughly enjoyed this. The problem is life sometimes gives us lemons so we have to make lemonade. My spouse developed a serious illness which has made my traveling job impossible for an indefinite amount of time. Well as he title states never say never, I left a permanent roll in long term care and now have the opportunity to go back and be the Administrator at a facility I spent about 10 years with. I never said I would never go back to a permanent roll or to that specific facility. I learned work ethic from my parents and learned to never burn bridges. I feel that this is what has allowed me to have the wonderful jobs and meet the great people I have. I hope to use what I have learned from my adventures to be a great leader. I m looking forward to where my career will care me next.

Cute Story

I have been covering as the administrator at a small nursing home for the past 3 weeks. I brought in items from home to use for national nursing home week. Today I decided to put the baskets in my car to take home. I put my purse and other things to take home in the basket and sat it down while I locked my door. In the mean time a resident was coming down the hall and casually looked at me and said "most executives use a brief case" and continued down the hall. I just laughed and gave her a hug. That made my day.

A Change of Role

I have been working as an independent contractor now for almost 6 months. I have had the opportunity to do mock surveys. I have completed the same tasks for facilities I worked for or were part of a company that I worked for, but doing it for a facility I am not an employee of is a little different. I really enjoy the process but also understand the stress it causes. I have had the opportunity to use the abaqis program and electronic records. This method makes the documentation review much easier. There is no trying to read someone's writing ( mine is horrible, I always felt sorry for surveyors trying to read it). The abaqis system mimics what the surveyors use exactly. During the first stage the system uses a computer program to choose the sample to be reviewed. Once this is done it guides you through a chart review that identifies trends that could be a deficiency. During the first stage you also complete interviews with residents, family and staff. Another part of the first stage includes direct observation of dinning, kitchen, medication pass and storage. once this is done it helps determine if additional information needs to be completed. This has been a positive experience for me. I love to teach and I use this process as an opportunity to share my knowledge during the survey as much as possible. I also get the opportunity to develop a plan of action for the facility to implement to correct the issues discovered during the process therefore sharing my knowledge and advice. I feel that facilities should self monitor as an ongoing process but should have someone not connected with the facility do a mock survey at least every other year if they have good survey outcomes and annually if they have problems or management turnover. Self monitoring can be skewed by staff and managers not being completely honest in order to look good on paper for a multitude of reasons:1. fear of what others will think of them,2. afraid of loosing their job, 3 not obtaining a bonus. If a facility cannot afford the abaqis program all of the forms can be printed directly from the CMS web site. Good survey outcomes will help a facility achieve a higher rating in the 5 star program resulting in improved census and community standing.

New Beginnings

I have been working as a temporary manager in assisted living facilities now for 2 months. This is an area I have not worked in previously. This has been a very good experience for me. I am not trying to say it is easier it is just different. Assisted living presents a different type of challenges. It has not all been an easy start but I have discovered once again what it feels like to feel appreciated. The residents are wonderful. Long term has unfortunately changed. The residents are younger and more difficult to deal with due to over use of pain medications and mental health issues with very little support. Assisted living residents are actually older and have health issues and dementia issues but they are easier to deal with. I am looking forward to doing more of this. It is helping me to recognize and improve on my management style. I am looking forward to writing more on my blog as my new career continues to develop.