Preparing for the Hurricane season

With less than 90 days until the beginning of the 2006 hurricane season, leaders in long term care in Southern states gathered recently to share their experiences from the 2004 and 2005 seasons, looking at how the care of frail, elderly and disabled residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities along the Gulf Coast was affected by either evacuation or staying in place.

“Hurricane Katrina made everyone take notice,” said LuMarie Polivka-West, a senior director at the Florida Health Care Association. “But we’re moving beyond sharing lessons learned to partnering with our colleagues in formulating mutual assistance plans, developing better training materials and crafting regional response strategies for the future.”

Members of the summit shared their insights with government agencies about what it means to prepare for physical disasters while attending to the medical needs of very ill, very old and very fragile patients and residents. Several at the summit agreed that volunteer and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should be better integrated into the federal response. The government should engage NGOs in its planning process and provide them with necessary support as part of a joint response.

Communication skills

The Fountains, a nursing home in Tucson, AZ instituted a staff training program called “Keep a Friend,” that motivated staff to adapt their communications styles to build relationships with others, according to Nursing Homes magazine.

The workshop helps staff members communicate more effectively with residents and their family, as well as colleagues.

“Associates learn the importance of active listening, engaging in conversation, correct tone voice, body language, empathy and eye contact,” says June Hussy, The Fountains vice president of public relations. “When practiced and incorporated into daily interactions, these skills help to improve teamwork and overall service and care, which in turn improve associate, resident and family satisfaction.”