This workbook offers guidelines and handouts for training sessions designed to help long-term care facility staff members develop skills to build teams and take on leadership roles, so that they can work together to create a positive environment that will serve as a foundation for sustained quality improvement.
The Organization: Wellspring, the University of Minnesota Department of Health Care Management, and Action Pact, Inc. The Audience: Long-term care facility staff The Issue: Quality of care in nursing homes is suboptimal. Bringing about sustained quality improvement requires not only improved clinical care but also a change in the "culture" of the nursing home. A new approach to nursing home care, known as the Wellspring Model, emphasizes this dual focus on clinical care and organizational culture change. Its impact can be seen in improved clinical outcomes, enhanced resident and family satisfaction, and reduced staff turnover. Successful implementation of this type of approach calls for strong team and leadership skills among long-term care facility staff, so that they can work together to create a culture where residents' quality of life is the top priority. The Intervention: The Champions for Care workbook outlines an eight-session course designed to improve leadership and teams skills. The workbook includes guidelines for training-session facilitators, as well as handouts for use during the discussions. The training sessions are divided into four sections: leadership, decision-making, people skills, and team skills. The "Share the Leadership" section includes guidelines for facilitating a team meeting that creates an encouraging environment for discussion about how to improve conditions for residents and staff. The guidelines offer talking points for discussion, and debriefing questions to assess the success of the meeting. Group handouts include a meeting agenda and "rules" for the discussion that will help ensure everyone has a chance to participate. The "Decision-Making" section offers guidelines for a session on building consensus that outline the necessary steps for consensus-building, including steps to be taken if the group is unable to reach a consensus. The "Growing People Skills" section includes guidelines and handouts for sessions on observing behavior, listening skills, and giving and receiving feedback. Lastly, the "Growing Team Skills" section offers evaluation tools and exercises that enable the group to "score" their team and discuss how they can work better as team. One handout in this section asks participants to rate the team on specific measurements such as whether "each team member has an equal voice" and whether "members make team meetings a priority." Champions for Care workbooks can be purchased on to www.culturechangenow.com. A single copy is $35 and a six-pack of workbooks is $150. For Further Information: To learn more, contact LaVrene Norton, MSW, Action Pact, Inc. at [email protected].