Achieva helping OMNI staff optimize time spent with residents

Engagements teaching front-line staff how to maximize time for residents' benefit

January 29, 2010 -- Deron Hamel

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - A series of educational engagements delivered by physiotherapy provider Achieva Health is helping front-line staff members at 11 OMNI Health Care-owned homes learn how to optimize the time they spend caring for residents.

During Jan. 26-27 presentations to staff members at Riverview Manor, Achieva Health care co-ordinator Julie Leduc worked with the team by explaining ways they can make the most of their time to produce the best resident outcomes.

As part of the sessions, eight areas were focused on to help staff members optimize resident care. Areas touched on include enhancing resident communication, passive range-of-motion, active range-of-motion, dressing/grooming, eating/swallowing, bed mobility, transfers and ambulation.

These areas are also components assessed through the Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set (RAI-MDS 2.0), the funding model consisting of 450 questions for each long-term care resident, which is being implemented by Ontario long-term care homes this year.

RAI-MDS is designed to track the time it takes to care for every resident and their required care level.

"We talked about how (these areas) are introduced to the work already in their routines and how we can go about providing some of the care so that the RAI-MDS minutes are captured and they're optimizing their CMI (case mix index) score," explains Leduc, following the Jan. 27 presentation at the Peterborough home.

Through the presentations, front-line staff members are learning how to incorporate certain exercises that enhance mobility for residents into their daily routines.

For example, when Leduc discusses passive range-of-motion exercises with groups, she explains that front-line staff members can work with residents on exercises during bathing routines.

If a resident has an arm that they can't move on their own, for instance, health-care aides can be taught to move the limb while bathing the resident. This will then be reflected on RAI-MDS as having completed passive range-of-motion exercises, while providing the resident with bathing time.

"It's about how they can build it into the routine that they already have," says Leduc.

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