Tips for improving your LTC facility's 5-star CMS rating.

CMS' care quality ratings for long-term care (LTC) communities are more important than you might think. Securing a high CMS rating isn't just about looking good; it's a major factor for families choosing a home for their loved ones, hospitals deciding where to send their referrals, and health insurance payers looking for dependable caregivers.

A high rating shows a strong commitment to excellent care, efficient operations, and a great quality of life, directly boosting a facility's reputation, how many residents they have, and their financial health.

What can you do to ensure your LTC earns the highest rating possible?

1. Improve Facility Operations: Use data to find and fix deficiencies such as low census or long billing cycles, directly enhancing your rating.
2. Smart Staffing: Ensure you have the correct number and type of staff, especially RNs, and work to retain them. This leads to better resident results.
3. Happy Residents: Focus on putting residents first and creating a positive, supportive environment. Their happiness matters.
4. Survey Readiness: Prepare for surveys by conducting practice checks and promptly addressing any issues identified. This keeps citations low and boosts your health rating.
5. Build a Quality Culture: Encourage all staff members to seek opportunities to enhance care and operations continually.

A high 5-star rating isn't just an award. It shows your team’s deep commitment to top-notch care and a supportive environment. This high rating helps families feel confident, attracts great staff, and secures your community's success, making it a leader in senior care.

Debunk common flu vaccine myths and understand the importance of annual flu shots for everyone in your community.

The temperature has started falling and distant relatives have started calling—the holiday season is in full swing, which means flu and vaccine season is well underway! Worryingly, however, a summer survey¹ from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) found that "nearly half [of US adults] have said they do not plan to or are unsure they will get vaccinated against flu this season." Persistent misinformation or conflicting data surrounding vaccinations can discourage some people from taking that step.

Let’s dispel some common myths about flu season! Here are a few easy-to-remember facts that we can use to encourage others in our community to stay healthy even during this vulnerable time.

MYTH: Only the very young, very old, or chronically sick should get vaccinated.

FACT: Generally speaking, the more members of a community are vaccinated against an illness, the better for everyone. The practice of “herd immunity,” which most adults became familiar with in 2020, is a historically effective means of stamping out many persistent diseases.

Plus, someone with a perfectly healthy immune system can still become a viral carrier and infect those who are less protected. None of us lives in a vacuum; we each have friends and loved ones we want to protect from the dangers of the world. We can protect them from the flu by vaccinating ourselves.

MYTH: Getting the flu vaccine gives you the flu anyway.

FACT: This fear comes from an imperfect understanding of how vaccines work. The flu vaccine injects an inactive (i.e. dead) fragment of the virus strain into the bloodstream. Doing this provides the immune system with a “blueprint” of the virus, helping it recognize that same strain if it appears again, which means the body’s defenses will be able to react against it more quickly. However, this injected viral remnant cannot suddenly reanimate and begin infecting the body.

CDC data consistently shows the flu vaccine has one of the highest safety records of all commercial vaccines². Side effects are varied but almost always mild, with the most common detriment being a few hours of dull soreness or stiffness around the injection site.

MYTH: I only have time for a COVID (or other) vaccine. I can’t schedule a second one.

FACT: It’s important to prioritize the preventative health efforts that are more likely to affect you. But it’s worth noting that many places that offer multiple vaccinations will often also be willing to administer them consecutively, within the same visit. If you’ve scheduled a COVID vaccine, ask the provider if they would be willing to include a flu vaccine as well. Although you would need separate vaccines for each virus, they can be administered together in most cases with no significant risk of compounding side effects.

MYTH: It’s okay to wait several years or longer between flu vaccines.

FACT: This can be true for some vaccines, but influenza is a special case. The flu virus is especially resilient due to its high rate of mutation. Like cars or smartphones, there’s a new model every year. The viral “blueprint” supplied by last year’s vaccine formula is likely to be outdated and unhelpful against this year’s strain.

Additionally, the vaccines themselves do become less effective over time. Much like a single allergy pill won’t relieve the associated symptoms forever, a single vaccine will only protect you for a limited time, even against even the specific strain it’s designed for. Renew those immune defenses annually.

MYTH: I need to schedule an appointment with my primary care physician to be eligible for a flu vaccine.

FACT: Your primary doctor is certainly a great resource for vaccines and any questions relating to them. However, in recent years several other sources have emerged as viable alternatives, some of which may actually be more convenient.

If you want another option, consider checking an urgent care facility, college or public-school health center, pharmacy, or your local health department. Many of these offer low- or no-cost vaccines to children and adults. Appointments are common, but not always required; some walk-ins may be allowed. Regardless, plan ahead if you can and contact one of these places in advance to confirm their vaccine policies and procedures.

¹ https://www.nfid.org/resource/2024-national-survey-attitudes-and-behaviors-about-influenza-covid-19-respiratory-syncytial-virus-and-pneumococcal-disease/

² https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/acip/app/safety.htm 

Email us. We want to hear from you!

Taking a cue from the Case Management Society of America, on October 13-19 Prime Care Technologies will be celebrating National Case Management Week! We hope your team will join us in recognizing the incredible impact case managers have on healthcare.

We know how valuable case managers are, and how critical their day-to-day work is in preserving the high quality of care at your facilities—that’s why we developed our managed care MASTER solution for them.

We’re so grateful that your case management team trusts our software to keep track of their workflow and produce better patient outcomes. Their feedback ensures we’re always iterating and improving our service, so we want them to know how much they’re appreciated.

So thank you for the support you’ve shown to your case managers. Our managed care MASTER team is constantly inspired by their wonderful work.

Do you have a Case Manager you would like to recognize? Let us know! 

What am I doing, and why am I doing it?  

This isn’t an uncommon question for any 22-year-old. When I first joined the post-acute sector as a young professional and a recent college graduate, I found myself asking this question a lot. Why join this industry, when most of my firsthand life experience until now has been so far removed from it?

I found my answer during an overnight stay at Christian Living Communities’ Holly Creek Continued Care Retirement Community (CCRC). Recently, with little more than a vague goal of getting some ground-floor perspective on what such a community might offer its residents, I spent 24 hours as a resident with Christian Living. To call the experience ‘eye-opening’ would be an understatement.

My arrival at Holly Creek resembled my first steps onto a college campus excited to see what would be in store for me and again wondering “what am I doing”? When I stepped into the reception area, my nervous energy quickly dissipated thanks to the immediate aura of warmth and compassion coming from the Holly Creek admissions staff who greeted me. I’ve stayed at a fair number of hotels in my short career, and most of them can’t hold a candle to Christian Living when it comes to quick and stress-free check-ins. The admissions team floored me with their uncanny ability to ease the nerves of new arrivals.

To more closely mirror the experiences of long-term care residents, I was assigned a wheelchair, with a primary diagnosis of a non-weight bearing hip fracture that required me to stay off my feet for my length of stay. With my new wheels, I reluctantly let myself be escorted to my suite – which was quite a step up from my first college dorm, by the way. The temperature was mild, the amenities were numerous, and the La-Z-Boy recliner was a revelation to a newly chair-bound twentysomething.

The staff at Christian Living was second to none. During my brief residency, I was looked after by nurses Desta and “T”. They went above and beyond in making sure new arrivals like me got acclimated to their new environment. Evals and check-ins were common without being intrusive, and their cheerful banter kept a light atmosphere throughout the night.

Desta and “T” weren’t the only Christian Living staff who impressed me. As the day continued, I seized the opportunity to have one-on-one chats with CNAs, social workers, administrators, the Director of Nursing, and even the on-site chaplain. All of whom exhibited a joyous passion and dedication to their roles, which require a great deal of flexibility when attending to a broad spectrum of resident needs. I saw many residents whose level of assistance varied, and I couldn’t help but feel inspired by the staff’s relentless patience and attentiveness at each of those moments.

As I felt my 24-hour tenure at Christian Living winding down, I reflected on those moments more and more. This, I thought, is what working in the senior care industry requires—a deep and abiding understanding of the day-to-day life of these residents, with all the little frustrations, struggles, and triumphs that accompany it. It requires inherent selflessness of character. It requires discipline and empathy in equal measure. Seeing those qualities in the Christian Living team—and seeing that devotion and delight reflected right back at them from their residents—sealed the deal for me: this work is worth it. If you do it well, it will always be worth it.

So, with my stay concluded, my wheelchair and I soon parted ways. That self-imposed confinement was the only thing about my visit that I wouldn’t miss. Standing up from it, I was struck by the privileges of my youth in a way that had never really hit me before. I suddenly imagined an older version of myself, similarly confined but unable to spring out of his chair after an arbitrary time limit. I want to do my part in making senior living communities like Holly Creek a haven for the hurting and a sanctuary that any elder will be thrilled to call home. 

Thanks to Christian Living Communities for allowing me to visit and pick their brains for a night. I’m grateful to them because they helped me to answer those two questions that had been needling me since I joined the senior living field. What am I doing? I’m making a difference for people who never stopped mattering. Why am I doing it? Because it’s worth it, and it always will be.

We have more coming next week; email us; we want to hear from you!

Thank you, Christian Living Communities’ Holly Creek Continued Care Retirement Community (CCRC), for inviting and welcoming Evan Clark to stay at your facility! 

Technology has certainly advanced in recent years, but it’s still an imperfect system. So what happens when technology fails? Who are the real masked heroes? 

This week, it's all about giving technicians in tier 1 and 2 support their flowers!

In times of IT failure, technicians are the first line of defense. They are trained to quickly identify the root cause of the problem and take appropriate action to restore functionality. They possess a deep understanding of the systems they maintain and can navigate through complex technical issues with ease.

Technicians are an essential part of any organization, responsible for ensuring the smooth operation of various systems and equipment. They play a crucial role in maintaining and repairing IT infrastructure, including hardware, software, and network components. Their expertise and knowledge are vital in troubleshooting issues and resolving them efficiently.

Technicians play a proactive role in preventing IT failures due to their approach to risk management. By conducting regular inspections, performing routine maintenance tasks, and implementing preventive measures to minimize the risk of system failures, technicians are able to identify potential risks and issues that may arise during the course of a project and develop strategies to mitigate them. By identifying and addressing potential issues before they escalate, they help ensure the continuous operation of critical IT infrastructure and help prevent problems from escalating into larger ones that could lead to project failure.

Moreover, technicians are excellent problem solvers. They possess strong analytical skills and the ability to think on their feet. When faced with an IT failure, they can quickly assess the situation, devise a plan of action, and execute it effectively. Their resourcefulness and adaptability are crucial in maintaining business continuity.

In summary, technicians are the unsung heroes of an organization's IT department. Their role in ensuring smooth operations, minimizing downtime, and preventing IT failures cannot be overstated. Recognizing their value is essential for businesses to appreciate the crucial role they play in maintaining the efficiency and effectiveness of IT systems.

We have more coming next week, but we'd love to know who else YOU think deserves the spotlight!  Email us, we want to hear from you!