Saying goodbye was unique this time. I had slipped up and informed the administrator that driving out of the parking lot for the last time was always the hardest part. When it came time for me to exit the facility for the very last time, I was surprised to find the entire staff waiting at the front door to walk me out to my truck. I told the administrator that this did not make it easier, and she simply said “tough shit”, with a mischievous smile on her face. We all hugged and cried as we said our “Good-byes”.
My husband has encouraged me to keep a journal of all projects/improvements that I accomplish at each facility so that I can reference it later. I have not done this, but maybe I should. I am pasting an email that I sent to the previous administrator here (for my easy reference later).
>>>>>>>””I have compiled a notebook for easy reference to the items below along with other data that may be useful. I will leave it behind on my desk.
Agency/Contract Staff: All contract staff have been rerouted to come through our contracted vendor. All other agencies were notified that we would no longer be accepting any candidates outside of our vendor. They were informed that their current staff would need to be renewed through our vendor. Most of the agency staff have converted over, but a few remain to finish out their contracts (they have also been informed of the transition). I have created a notebook in Microsoft OneNote for easy reference of all contracted staff with their beginning and end dates (this notebook has been shared with you so that you have access). Going through our contracted vendor should save the facility a substantial amount of money since their rates are significantly less. They also bill us a flat rate, so any overtime for these staff will not affect our bottom line. All the overtime for contract staff will need to be pulled out of the cost reports since they are not truly an added overtime expense.
Med B Supplier: I have signed a contract with a Med B supplier. The clinical representative’s contact information can be found in my notebook. The representative has been granted access to our EHR so that she can review records and order all urological/ostomy/wound supplies. She will handle all the ordering/billing of Med B for these supplies. This should provide a substantial cost savings for the building.
CGM: I partnered with a supplier to get a CGM for all the residents that would qualify. This should provide a substantial cost savings for the building because it should eliminate the need for diabetic supplies such as glucometer strips and lancets. There are currently 3 residents approved and 2 residents pending approval. The rest of the diabetic residents need to be re-evaluated for the need of continued frequent glucose monitoring. They should be able to decrease the frequency to daily, weekly, and/or monthly instead of QID.
Hoyer Slings were ordered to replace the ones in the facility that were out of compliance. They have all arrived and are currently in the central supply room. A request has been placed with maintenance to install hooks behind resident doors to keep their sling in their room. The slings will need to be labeled with name and date that they were entered into service. All other slings on hand need to be destroyed. The laundry department needs to be notified that these items should not be placed in the dryer. I have inlcuded a list of appropriate sizes/types of sling to be assigned to each resident (see notebook).
Hospice Supplies: I have contacted our current hospice providers regarding incontinent/urinary/DME supplies. They have each verified what supplies will be delivered on a routine basis. We will need to monitor them to ensure that they begin doing so. This should provide a substantial cost savings for the building.
Medical Records: I had IT create an email for all medical records to be scanned to. All hard charts have been converted and uploaded to our EHR. There is a folder at the nurse’s station for all daily documents. Right now, the night nurses are scanning them in every night. The scanned documents are uploaded by me or CSR daily. I have also created a new process for SBAR. Our previous process included an increased use of paper. The new process will utilize an assessment that is already present in our EHR. This should alleviate some of the care coordination issues and should also provide some cost savings for office supplies -paper/hard charts/dividers/staples/plastic sleeves, etc.””<<<<<<<<<<<
I drove for 4 days straight (up to 14 hours/day) to get to my destination in time to start my next assignment. I started at the eastern most point of the United States and drove nearly to the west coast (only 2.5 hours away from the Pacific Ocean -I will gladly save that for another day/another trip). It’s by far the furthest that I have ever driven by myself. It was oddly disorienting to cover that many miles in such a short time. Wookie was a real trooper throughout the grueling miles and we were both super glad to arrive safely and see “the Dad”, Wilson, and Pearl.
Leave a Reply to ANorthingtonCancel reply