The MC5 Board is currently seeking a candidate to serve a one-year term position on its board.  If you are interested in applying for the position, please send your resume, a brief bio, and a short statement explaining your interest in person-centered care and serving on the MC5 Board.  Please send the requested information to Angela Keeven at akeeven@parcprovence.com by Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 12:00 noon.  Thank you for your interest in MC5 and the culture change movement!

Nursing home residents, family members pleased with long-term care facilities throughout the state

Visit:  http://munews.missouri.edu/expert-comment/2012/0326-for-expert-comment-missouri-nursing-homes-have-happy-clients-mu-researchers-say/ to view the entire article

March 26th, 2012 COLUMBIA, Mo. – As loved ones age and face challenges that prevent them from living on their own, family members often struggle with the decision to place their relatives in nursing homes.  Sometimes viewed as last alternatives, long-term care facilities can have reputations as hopeless, institutionalized environments.  Now, those negative perceptions are changing, say two University of Missouri researchers in the Sinclair School of Nursing.  After conducting a statewide survey of Missouri nursing homes, the researchers found that nearly 90 percent of nursing home residents and their family members are satisfied with the residents’ long-term care facilities…

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services funded the survey that was developed by MyInnerView, a national research firm that evaluates long-term care facilities.  Nursing homes could participate in the survey at no cost, and each facility that participated received its own report outlining its strengths and areas for improvement.  “The individualized reports will help nursing home administrators target specific areas for improvement, which will allow them to use their funds wisely,” said Rantz, who also leads the Quality Improvement Program for Missouri (QIPMO), a state-funded program that provides clinical services to skilled nursing facilities.  An executive summary of survey results can be found at http://nursinghomehelp.org.

There is a tool available to help you assess your home’s progress on the culture change journey.  With the assistance of providers, researchers, and contractor Carmen Bowman of Edu-Catering, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed the Artifacts of Culture Change assessment tool.  Through funding from the Commonwealth Fund, the Pioneer Network developed an interactive web-based version of the Artifacts of Culture Change for providers to input and score their data online.  Use of the tool is FREE.  All identifying characteristics of your home are coded and only you can monitor your home’s progress.  However, you can check out the trends in homes across the country.  Look at homes like yours: Under 50 residents, 50 to 100 residents, more than 100 residents, in big cities, small towns, urban or rural, profit, not-for-profit, or government ownership, Medicare-Medicaid certified and a combination of characteristics of homes just like yours.  For more information please go to http://www.artifactsofculturechange.org/ACCTool/.

The Section for Long-Term Care Regulation (SLCR) is pleased to announce that Sam Plaster has taken on a new role as the State Culture Change Coordinator! Culture change is one of the top priorities of SLCR, and because regulatory issues are inextricably intertwined in the culture of nursing homes, SLCR is a natural arena for the discussion and coordination of culture change efforts. The recent resignation of Julie Ballard from the Ombudsman Program left the Department of Health and Senior Services without a clear figurehead for the coordination of these initiatives. Sam’s regulatory experience, his familiarity with current culture change projects, and his relationships with our many industry partners make him well-qualified to lead this charge. In his new role, Sam will be responsible for maintaining and gradually expanding Missouri’s leading role as a national model for long-term care that is more homelike and person-centered. Among the many duties of his new role are the following:

• Ensure that consideration is given to culture change efforts in the Section’s Policy, Regulation and Exceptions processes.
• Offer culture change training and presentations across the state for providers, surveyors and the public.
• Serve as a regulatory advisor to MC5 – Missouri’s stakeholder coalition for the promotion of culture change.
• Spotlight culture change successes with DHSS publications.
• Represent SLCR on the Pioneer Network National Culture Change conference committee and work to ensure that as many surveyors and providers as possible are able to attend the conference, which will be held in St. Charles, Missouri in August 2011.

Multi-state corporations operating in Missouri have consistently remarked that the Department’s leadership with regard to culture change efforts clearly rivals that of other states, and regional participants at MC5 meetings have been vocal in their appreciation that the Section has been represented at many of these important gatherings. In his new role, Sam will help keep Missouri at the forefront of this important national movement. Please join us in congratulating and thanking Sam for his efforts and his dedication to this significant new responsibility.