Larry Minnix, AAHSA’s President & CEO, talks with NextGenWeb about technology and the future of aging services.
First there was the slow food movement, now there is a push for slow medicine.
“Grounded in research at the Dartmouth Medical School, slow medicine encourages physicians to put on the brakes when considering care that may have high risks and limited rewards for the elderly, and it educates patients and families how to push back against emergency room trips and hospitalizations designed for those with treatable illnesses, not the inevitable erosion of advanced age.”
Slow medicine helps older adults make decisions for themselves when it comes to treatment. According to the article quoted above, this mission is much more easily accomplished when a person lives in a retirement community. Healthcare communities, like Kendal at Hanover, develop a relationship with the patient that includes finding out their wishes for their end of life care. The example below demonstrates how slow medicine works.
…at Kendal — which offers a continuum of care, from independent living apartments to a nursing home — death and dying is central to the conversation from Day 1.
So it was natural for Ms. Gieg to stay in touch with Joanne Sandberg-Cook, a nurse practitioner there, during her husband’s out-of-town consultation.
“I think that it is imperative that none of this be rushed!” Ms. Sandberg-Cook wrote in an e-mail message to Ms. Gieg. The doctor the Giegs had chosen, the nurse explained, “tends to be a ‘do-it-now’ kind of guy.” But the Giegs’ circumstances “demand the time to think about all the what-ifs.”
Ms. Sandberg-Cook asked whether Mr. Gieg would want treatment if he was found to have cancer. If not, why go through a biopsy, which might further weaken his voice? Or risk anesthesia, which could accelerate her husband’s dementia?
“Those are the very questions on my mind, too,” Ms. Gieg replied. The Giegs took their time, opted for no further tests or treatment, and Charley came back to the retirement community to die.
Conversely, many people who rely on home and community based health care or use no services at all, may not have the luxury to use the slow medicine movement. They are much more likely to call 911 when having a medical emergency which makes it more difficult for them to use less invasive procedures.
With so many life extending medicines and procedures, our culture can become fixated on living as long as possible without looking at the quality of life of the individual and their wishes. How does your organization balance the wants of the individual with potentially conflicting wants of family members? Does your organization subscribe to the slow medicine movement?
The Pioneer Network has posted the presentations from their Culture Change symposium online. The presentations are on the following topics:
- Private vs. Shared bedrooms in Nursing Homes
- Lighting: Partner in Quality Care Environments
- Nothing is Traditional about Environments in a Traditional Nursing Home
- Low Cost Practical Strategies
- Creating Home in a Nursing Home: Fantasy or Reality?
- National Fire Protection Association: Codes and Standards Making System
- History, Use and Application of NFPA 101®, Life Safety Code®
- Strategies to Encourage and Nurture Culture Change
- Culture Change Initiative in Oregon
- Individualized Care Pilot for Nursing Homes
- CMS and Culture Change
Click here to see all of the presentations. Use them in developing your culture change initiatives.
The Colorado Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (CAHSA) honors members who have innovative Quality First programs. 2007 was the third year of the awards. Videos of the award winners are available on their site. Click the links below to view the videos.
The award winners are:
Christian Living Communities; “Pinewood Project”; Click here to watch video
Good Samaritan Society Fort Collins Village; “Video Care Plans”; Click here to watch video
Seniors’ Resource Center; “Strategic Plan”; Click here to watch video
Good Samaritan Society Fort Collins Village; “Character First Movement”; Click here to watch video
Seniors’ Resource Center; “Coordinated Care Model”; Click here to watch video
Marycrest Assisted Living Center; “Traumatic Brain Injury Educational Series”; Click here to watch video
Jewish Family Service of Colorado; “Colorado Senior Connections”; Click here to watch video
May is just around the corner and with it comes Older Americans Month. This year’s theme is Working Together for Strong, Healthy and Supportive Communities. Why not combine your Older Americans Month event with your AAHSA Homecoming event?
The Homecoming toolkit is full of ideas that will work for both celebrations. A few of them are:
- In view of Memorial Day, honor your community’s veterans. If your community doesn’t already do so,
partner with other civic organizations to plan an event. It’s a good time to have a community-wide picnic. - Sponsor an interfaith service to honor the oldest members of your community. Partner with your local interfaith council or reach out to several churches and synagogues in your community to schedule an Older Americans Month interfaith worship. Whether you publicize it as an “open” event or issue invitations, be sure to include local leaders and elected offi cials and if it’s feasible, give them the opportunity to offer either comments honoring your seniors or an inspirational message.
- Develop a senior story hour. Many of your residents and seniors have rich memories (some good, some bad and some simply funny) about your community’s history. Ask them to share these memories and the roles they played. Invite your neighbors to hear these stories and to share their own, as well.
Click here to get your materials for Older Americans Month and your AAHSA Homecoming toolkit. Don’t forget to let us know what you are doing so that we can share it with other members.
Happy Earth Day! In honor of the earth, please watch this video. It is discusses how each of us can help save the environment.
To find out more about how you can help, click here. Visit Green Seniors to download fliers and find out what older people are doing to help the environment.
Sarah at AAHSA’s Future of Aging blog is wondering what younger people’s opinion is on caregiving and how our country pays for it.
Here are the 5 questions she is asking:
1. Do you worry about how you and your parents will pay for the care your older loved ones may need in the future?
2. Are you worried about how our country will cover the baby boomers’ health care costs as they age?
3. Do you worry about how you will pay for own health care when you get older?
4. Do you worry about how you would pay for care and assistance if you had
a major accident or illness?
and finally
5. Which of these four situations concerns you the most?
If you know a young person who’d be willing to share their insights, pass along the survey to them. Their responses will help us move our forward our plan to make affordable to care a little faster.
Tomorrow is National Healthcare Decisions Day. The initiative is meant to “encourage patients to express their wishes regarding healthcare and for providers and facilities to respect those wishes, whatever they may be.”
Organizing a celebration in your community is a great way to gain public recognition and more important, showcase your commitment to ensuring older adults’ care and service preferences are met.
The initiative’s website lists many great outreach opportunities to help educate people about creating advance directives. The following are just a few ideas they list:
- First and foremost, lead by example…be sure you have thoughtfully considered and made your own healthcare decisions known.
- Next, make sure everyone in your organization is informed about NHDD (including staff, board of directors, volunteers and others) and ask for their involvement to promote NHDD in your community. (Suggestion: Have staff wear a sticker that says “Ask Me About Advance Directives!” See sticker template located above in the Outreach Resources section.)
- Set up an exhibit about NHDD at your main entrance and offer information about advance care planning as people come by.
- Distribute NHDD promotional materials and advance care planning educational brochures at upcoming community events or health fairs.
- Give a presentation to community organizations (i.e. Rotary Club, senior centers, workplace settings, faith communities, libraries, patient or family support groups, neighborhood associations) and to the public promoting NHDD and offering advance care planning resources.
- Sponsor a community event or “town hall’ meeting about advance care planning. Big events are more likely to generate media coverage than small presentations and they offer an opportunity for more in-depth dialogue with your community.
I came across an article this morning that reminded me that it really is the little things that make life great. The article discussed natural waking in nursing homes.
One resident who was interviewed summed up my thoughts on it well. She said “I worked all my adult life, and I’m due this.” Being able to choose when you get up and/or eat breakfast helps set your day off to the right course. A course decided by you.
While there are some hurdles to overcome when switching to a system of natural waking, it seems like the end results for the residents are positive. The author notes that some of the residents still wanted to remain on their old schedule but about 2/3 wanted to change to waking up on their own schedule.
Have you modified your wakeup procedures? What sorts of challenges and rewards have you gotten from changing it?
As an organization that puts quality first, you know the importance of telling your story. Use your AAHSA Homecoming Week event to highlight your community involvement; talk about your activities and commitment in your speeches and mention them in your event materials. AAHSA Homecoming Week isn’t simply about hosting one event; it’s about sharing your good work with the community-at-large. Your Quality First initiative works hand in hand with this effort.
Quality First Connections
Highlight Quality First Element #4. Community Involvement by planning:
- Volunteer opportunities
- Social accountability programs that benefit the local community
- Activities with local business or faith organizations
- Public policy activities
Align with Quality First Element #10. Public Trust & Consumer Confidence to earn trust with:
- Residents and families by sharing their stories with your neighbors
- Employees by including them in the festivities
- Trustees and board members by showing them what you do everyday
- The media by teaching them more about your commitment to your community
- Policymakers by developing your relationship with them
Need more information?
Access additional Community Involvement and Public Trust resource materials in the “Resources” section of www.aahsa.org/qualityfirst.
Or find other quick Homecoming Week event ideas at www.AAHSAhomecoming.org.
Don’t forget to click here and let us know what you are doing for Homecoming.
