“Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities need new strategies to help them manage their resources more effectively,” advises Laura Gunter, Business Development, New Concepts, Essity Americas. “Caregivers often express that they are pressed for time to adequately provide enough individual-ized care. With a growing elderly population, it is unlikely this situation will improve in the near future. Integrating the use of simple, innovative technologies into the care routines may help caregivers bridge the gaps,” she says.
Essity, the maker of TENA® incontinence and skin care products, is attending the marcus evans LTC & Senior Living CXO Summit Spring 2016, in Los Angeles, California.
What clinical evidence can be leveraged to encourage positive change in a LTC or senior living facility?
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is placing more focus on patient outcomes which includes preventing functional decline in a resident’s ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADL). Facilities need more in depth information about their residents if they are to objectively steer their decisions towards more desirable outcomes in care while effectively managing cost and staff time.
For example, with bowel and bladder management, residents are predominantly on a set toileting schedule which is not always appropriate for the resident or time effective for the staff. Essity has a sensor-wear product that can automatically track an individual’s voiding patterns and volumes over 72 hours, helping staff to get a better idea of how to plan the care. Caregivers have reported that they feel more motivated to use new technology when they see that it can help them make changes that benefit the residents.
How could care practices be more effective and efficient?
For continence care, it can be by creating a toileting schedule that more closely matches the resident’s specific needs. It cannot be comfortable for residents to sit in a chair waiting because there is no one to take them to the toilet when they need to go. It is also not efficient for staff to take ten residents to the bathroom when only five need to go at that particular time. It could be more productive to reallocate that wasted time to other care-related activities. If staff could more accurately assess toileting requirements and absorbent product needs, residents may be able to stay more comfortable and drier longer. Fewer incontinence episodes could also potentially reduce the risk of skin irritations which can occur when residents are experiencing incontinence.
How does this impact the facility’s bottom line?
At the moment, most facilities are only able to observe and chart the times when a resident was changed but that does not indicate when the resident actually voided. There is no recorded pattern of the resident’s actual voiding activity or volumes. Understanding the patterns and adjusting the plan of care accordingly may help reduce product consumption, the demand for heavy absorbency products and the time caregivers are spending managing incontinence. Our goal is to provide innovative solutions that support resident-centered continence care for achieving better and more cost-effective outcomes.
About the LTC & Senior Living CXO Summit Spring 2016
The 10th Long-Term Care & Senior Living CXO Summit is the premium forum bringing senior level executives and solution providers together. The Summit offers an intimate environment for a focused discussion of key new drivers shaping the long-term care industry. Taking place at The Ritz Carlton, Marina del Rey, Los Angeles, California, February 11-12, 2016, the Summit includes presentations on ACO inclusion, improving efficiency and profit margins, reimbursement management and reducing readmissions.
www.longtermcaresummit.com
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