Moving an aging parent into a skilled nursing center or an assisted living community is one of the toughest choices an adult child can make. While they will want the best living conditions and quality of care for their parent, even the best senior care communities have their problems which lead to complaints. A lot goes into building and maintaining the census. One particular area that might make a big difference is reducing common problems and complaints.
Senior Care Communities Are Hybrid Living Spaces
Generally speaking, the majority of senior care organizations across the country strive to deliver the best care and experiences for their residents. The very nature of senior care sets up situations in which problems and complaints will arise. These are hybrid places where older adults with physical health problems and cognitive decline live and receive some level of medical care. In other words, they are ripe for problems.
One Challenge After Another
The senior care industry isn’t without its many challenges. Many are external like ever-changing regulations, tighter profit margins, and staffing shortages. Others are internal including inadequately trained staff and the push to provide higher levels of care and complex treatments with fewer resources. Financial penalties for rehospitalization are always looming. Fewer Medicare dollars keep management up at night. Negligence claims have increased over the past few years at the tune of millions of dollars.
Common Problems & Complaints
While some problems may be valid, perceptions made by residents and families may also be at the root of numerous complaints. Here are some of the most common complaints made in senior care today:
- Slow response to call lights
- Poor quality and variety of food
- Not enough care staff
- Poor quality of care staff
- Poor attitudes and low morale of staff
- Boredom and feelings of isolation
- Not enough opportunities to get out
- Restrictive visiting hours
- Lack of social interaction
- Disrupted sleep
- Disregard of personal choices and preferences
- Not enough influence in the plan of care
While there may be other issues like lost personal items, roommate issues and so on, these are the ones that tend to receive lots of negative attention in the community and media, thereby tarnishing the facility’s reputation and ultimately hurting the census. What can be done to turn things around?
The Importance of Nursing Assistants
The largest department in any skilled nursing home or assisted living community is nursing, and within that department, the largest bulk of employees are nursing assistants. They are with residents far more than any other staff member. They provide personal care and assistance with hygiene. They wake residents up in the morning and tuck them into bed at night. They make their beds and help in countless ways on all three shifts. They are the face of senior care.
Relationships Matter
Because of this, nursing assistants should be trained exceptionally well to handle any problems or complaints that arise – and to do so with professionalism and a sense of urgency. Most complaints are usually small and could be handled quickly. It is when issues are ignored that they increase in severity. Nursing assistants can develop genuine and loving relationships with their residents and their family members. When residents and families know that staff care and are sincerely doing their best, they are less likely to complain.
A Task for Everyone
Of course, nursing assistants aren’t the only ones who should be solving problems. It takes the entire staff, who can take a survey of the most common problems and complaints in their care community. Every facility is different. Some will have more problems in one area and others will have fewer. The first step is to ask residents and families what these issues may be and then create an initiative to effectively handle them.
Some Simple Solutions – Call Lights
After taking a survey of the top complaints in the community, organize a plan to tackle them. Get key staff, mainly nursing assistants, involved and ask for their input. If call lights are in issue, stress the importance of prioritizing which residents’ needs come first. Drive the concept of urgency home in every training. When an elderly person who is bound to a wheelchair has to go to the bathroom, there is little time to wait!
It’s all About Food & Presentation
If food quality and variety are the problems, work with vendors who have better quality foods and teach the kitchen staff to enhance the presentation of each and every dish that goes out. For example, a rule of thumb in dining is to make sure there are at least three different colors of foods on a plate. Get creative and cater to the majority of residents living in the community. Think about what foods are most favored by particular cohorts of seniors.
No More Boredom
To tackle boredom, the activity director or quality of life director should be at the helm, teaching the entire staff how to have fun and get engaged with residents. Most residents don’t want to be involved in constant activities, instead they want to be seen and heard. They want to feel like they belong and are part of something of quality. It doesn’t take much time to stop, sit down, say hello and spend a few minutes in a genuine conversation with a senior.
Preferences and Choices
If a care community really engages in person-centered care with great detail, most of the resident’s choices will be honored. Again, taking a survey to see what residents want most is important. As new residents move in, ask them about their likes and dislikes, food preferences and what time they like to wake up and go to bed. It’s the small stuff that will matter most to them and their families.
Final Thoughts on Reducing Complaints and Increasing Census
Happy residents and families tell other potential residents and families about how wonderful this or that senior community is. Even though it’s a tough decision to make, adult children who feel that their parents are living their best life will not look for trouble, complain as much, or call their attorneys! Do some housekeeping. Take some surveys. Solve the most common problems today and grow your census tomorrow.