*We’re hoping to gather some more information from this side of LTC, so if you could please fill out our survey so we can learn how to further help you, we’d appreciate it greatly – www.surveymonkey.com/r/CATCOVID.*
COVID-19 has changed our lives in so many ways. Life in long-term care will never be the same. QIPMO has been working with nursing homes in MO for over 20 years. During that time, it has grown from nurses helping guide MDS coordinators and DONs through the ever-changing landscape of long-term care. QIPMO now includes an administrator extension helping the facility’s NHA to navigate the administrative issues. The year 2020 will go down in history as one of the hardest years of our experience. We will come out on the other side stronger, but I am sure we will have horror stories to share as well as celebrations and accomplishments.
But there are other types of facilities that take care of the aging population. We’re talking Residential Care Facilities, Assisted Living Communities, and Independent Living Facilities. Who is there to help them? Never fear! QIPMO has now added yet another expansion service to help these communities – the CAT Team (COVID Accountability Team). For those who have been around the industry, the names will likely sound familiar: Sharon Thomas (retired QIPMO nurse) is covering survey regions 3, 4, and 5; Carol Siem (semi-retired QIPMO nurse) is covering regions 6 and 7; and the new kid on the block is Rob Siem (yep… Carol’s husband who is also a nurse – they’ve been together for 44 years and he understands long-term care) who will be covering regions 1 and 2. Please see this document for further details.
We are to help this group of facilities in navigating the reopening in these rough waters. Our contact information is:
Sharon Thomas – thomassg@missouri.edu
Carol Siem – siemc@missouri.edu
Rob Siem – rws266@missouri.edu
Just like QIPMO, we’re a free, non-regulatory, service to help answer questions!