Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, employers have spent a lot of time analyzing the potential impact on their business. However, many of the changes were not in full swing until 2015, when the ACA’s reporting requirements, employer mandates, and restrictions on benefit arrangements were actively implemented.
CliftonLarsonAllen has learned some lessons, and as a result we have identified three areas to focus on to help next make next year’s efforts more efficient.
LifeBio captures life stories in senior care and health care settings. Quantitative research on LifeBio finds that participants have higher feelings of happiness and satisfaction with life as a result.
LifeBio addresses emotional and spiritual wellness. LifeBio increases purpose and meaning as people share their life lessons, values, and just everyday experiences. This leads to lower hospitalization rates (people with higher purpose are hospitalized 17% less) leading to lower health care costs.
LifeBio is also used for social engagement and social wellbeing with groups meeting in LifeBio 101 classes over a period of 8-12 weeks, gaining support and deep friendship.
Definition of Wellness
LifeBio defines wellness as tapping into the essence of the human spirit. Through life stories, we see people who may have physical challenges but they are still WELL--experiencing feelings of connection, purpose, and meaning every day.
From the perspective of mind, body, and spirit, LifeBio impacts all three but especially
addressing the needs of challenging the mind and touching the spirit (getting to the heart of this amazing, unique individual).
LifeBio believes that wellness is not the absence of disease but a feeling of understanding one's own self and what makes one feel fulfilled to enjoy life.
Types of Providers Currently Utilizing the Product/Program:
• Adult day care
• Affordable housing
• Assisted living
• Dementia care/Memory care
• Health Insurer
• Home care agency
• Home & community-based services
• Hospice/palliative care
• Hospital
• Independent living (market rate)
• Life Plan Community
• Nursing (long-term care)
• Nursing (rehabilitation/short stay)
• Senior center
• University
Dimensions of Holistic Wellness & Wellbeing
Brain
The hippocampus area of the brain is lit up when people are sharing their life stories by tapping into long-term memories. Dr. Gene Cohen once said, "Autobiography for older adults is like chocolate for the brain." We challenge people to think back to recall people, times, and places that only they can share.
Community
LifeBio builds a community spirit as people get to know each other deeply either 1 on 1 or in groups. Whether it is a volunteer meeting with a resident (in senior living) or client (in hospice settings), a relationship is formed when the life story starts to be shared. LifeBio's group opportunities such "What's Your Story" sessions where people answer a Story Card question that is posed OR LifeBio 101 classes build a strong sense of community over a period of weeks. People become extremely close during these classes especially and can become a support network for their new friends.
Creative Engagement
University of Alabama students couple LifeBio with art classes with those who have dementia. They are asking the right questions to bring out the stories – while watching the person also tell their story through art. At the end of LifeBio 101 classes, there are often displays and celebrations where people creatively put together photos, memorabilia, and their written story to share with other participants or the community at large. Art and story go hand in hand.
Environmental
LifeBio brings people together by helping them have new conversations. Not the same old talk about weather, health, sports, or food. The environment changes as people feel much closer because they KNOW each other and LOVE each other more. To KNOW is to LOVE. LifeBio has many examples of staff, family, or volunteers becoming extremely connected to residents/clients/patients. The story is a perfect reason for people to talk and become closer.
Lifelong Learning/Intellectual Health
LifeBio is used in lifelong learning with LifeBio 101 classes offered over 8-12 week periods. Some classes continue to even meet after the initial course. People are learning about themselves and others as they share historical information and just what life was like when they were younger. They are learning how to deeply listen to other people and how to express themselves in writing and in speaking to the group. Not only is LifeBio's class talking about the past, but the latest LifeBio 101 asks questions the PRESENT and what they would like to accomplish in the FUTURE.
Mental/Emotional
Research conducted by Iowa State University has found a statistically-significant improvement in happiness levels and satisfaction with life in LifeBio participants---even when they just answered 20 life story questions. An earlier study also found that mini-mental scores improved for those involved in LifeBio over a period of 8 weeks. There are examples of elders regaining their will to live when LifeBio was offered to them in a nursing home or assisted living environment--they were reminded of their accomplishments and it affirmed their lives. LifeBio is not always for everyone, but the majority of people enjoy reviewing and sharing life stories.
Social
LifeBio brings people together and helps them see what they have in common. New conversations result from the interesting, not "normal" questions that are asked in the LifeBio approach. With group weekly activities or LifeBio classes, new bonds are formed that last long after the class sessions end. People may think they have nothing in common and then they find out they have a LOT in common. Also, people appreciate others who are different as a result of understanding. People laugh and cry together as they share their stories using LifeBio. It is effective in groups or one on one.
Spiritual
LifeBio touches people deeply at a spiritual level. People commonly share the roller coaster ride of life and the joys and challenges along the way. They share their deep beliefs and how their faith has helped them get through these tough times. People record what matters most for their children and grandchildren. They also share their favorite scripture, poems, and incredible advice with future generations. This creation of a lasting legacy is very powerful and gives people a feeling of great peace. They have said what they want to say!
Staff Wellness
Staff are impacted by LifeBio as they really get to know people. Staff began their work in this field for the PEOPLE and so many tasks take them away from the relationship at times. LifeBio helps them quickly connect by seeing a summary of a person's life story so that they can focus on the whole person (and not just the physical care) much more easily. They want to know these amazing people and not learn things about them at their memorial service that they wish they knew when they were alive. LifeBio helps!
Vocational
LifeBio gives people a very important job to do. Nine out of ten people have NOT written their life stories yet. So many people have no lasting legacy (maybe genealogy charts, but no STORY). Families are craving this information but not sure how to get it. We see people who have been looking for a way to tell their story and now, with LifeBio, they really get the job done. Some continue to work on their LifeBio for years! And they love continuing to recall stories or looking through photos to find one that goes with the story. Great work!
Individual Assessment
LifeBio's "About Me" or "Life Story Guide" formats are used to gather the life story data. This is a tried and tested approach (with NO physical health information included) to gather biographical data. This can be done online or in a physical paper format and later typed into LifeBio.com.
Benchmarking
Organizations can use LifeBio's standard research format to survey their participants before and after the LifeBio intervention. More and more clients are participating in research related to loneliness, purpose and meaning, depression scale, happiness, and satisfaction with life. Continuing forward, there will be more and more data to benchmark against.
Evidence-Base
Iowa State University has measured LifeBio with a quantitative research approach. A happiness scale question was asked and the Satisfaction with Life Scale was utilized with 50 participants over the age of 65. LifeBio increased happiness and satisfaction with life in participants and this was a statistically significant result. With communities concerned about loneliness, social isolation, and depression, LifeBio is an important tool to be utilized in care settings as an intervention.
Available Services & Materials
• Computer software
• Introductory presentations to staff and residents
• Literature and resources (white papers, etc.)
• Marketing tools (wellness related)
• Ongoing consultation
• Ongoing technical assistance
• Paper assessment(s)
• Pre and post tests
• Signature wellness programs
• Start up technical assistance
• Training materials (workbooks, computer modules)
• Virtual/Remote training
• Web-based assessments
Cost to Provider
Annual, one-time and ala carte fees
LifeBio provides various options for organizations. The common option is for organizations to become LifeBio Authorized Organizations and pay either a n annual or monthly licensing fee for access to web tools, training, support, and physical materials.
Additional Information
Please contact us at 1-866-LIFEBIO or 937-303-4576 or email us at info@lifebio.com so we can share options that will work for your setting. LifeBio is flexible based on your budget. We can do something together.
Each June the Medicare Payment and Access Commission (MedPAC) is mandated to produce a report for Congress that addressed refinements to Medicare payment systems and issues affecting Medicare including broader health system reform. The full report is located on MedPAC’s website. Of the nine chapters included in the June 2016 report, there are a few that touch on issues of interest for LeadingAge members.
Prospective Payment System for Post-Acute Care
One of the components of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act requires MedPAC to develop a prototype prospective payment system (PPS) that spans the various post-acute care (PAC) settings. Those settings include skilled nursing facilities, long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and home health agencies. MedPAC believes that a PAC PPS is both feasible and within reach as stated in the chapter and supplemental materials. The motivation behind the study includes concern over four separate PPS when there is a lot of similarity in patients across PAC setting, two of the payment systems incentivizing provision of therapy over treating medically complex patients, and the variation present in supply and utilization of PAC across different geographical areas. The chapter states that “a truly reformed PAC payment system will ultimately need to embrace episode-based payments to focus providers on the care need and outcomes of a patient throughout the episode of care and to dampen the incentives to furnish unnecessary services”. However, it goes on to state that prior to that type of reform payments that are uniformly based on patient characteristics can reduce program spending on unnecessary services. LeadingAge continues to be supportive of payment systems that accurately base reimbursement on patient characteristics. To accomplish that type of payment system it is of upmost importance that risk adjustment is done accurately and precisely, particularly in the cases of low volume and rural providers who lack the economy of scale to absorb large losses due to outliers. The next step in this process falls to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect and analyze common patient assessment information and submit a report to Congress recommending a PAC PPS. That report is expected in 2022.
Telehealth Services and the Medicare Program
An informational chapter on telehealth services is included to assist policymakers as they consider the role of telehealth in the Medicare program for the future. LeadingAge and the LeadingAge Center for Aging Services Technology (CAST) believe telehealth and telemedicine can help long-term services and supports (LTSS) and PAC providers carry out their mission to deliver integrated and person-centered care and services that support the health and wellness of residents and clients across the continuum. These technologies are key enablers of strategic partnerships between LTSS and PAC settings and hospitals, accountable care organizations (ACOs) and other coordinated care delivery models. While MedPAC has indicated mixed evidence of the efficacy of telehealth in the literature, the pool of evidence could be broadened. We believe that telehealth services ought to be more broadly available through the Medicare and other health payers, particularly as it can be a useful adjunct for our rural and frontier members.
CMS’ Financial Alignment Demonstration
In a chapter focused on issues for dual-eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, MedPAC provides a status report on the financial alignment demonstration project. This demonstration is a partnership between states and CMS to test new models of care for dual-eligible beneficiaries. There are currently 14 demonstrations in 13 states. The vast majority, 11 of 14, demonstrations are testing a capitated model using Medicare-Medicaid Plans (MMPs) that provide all Medicare and all or most Medicaid benefits. However, enrollment in participating states and plans has been lower than expected making it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of the demonstration early on. These projects are worth following for lessons that can be learned of serving the dual-eligible population in a coordinated managed care environment.
Finally, a chapter is included that focuses on improving efficiency and preserving access to emergency care in rural areas. LeadingAge Kansas alongside public policy staff from LeadingAge facilitated a rural issues forum that focused on the particular challenges rural nursing homes face in caring for residents and serving their communities. We believe that rural issues need consideration across provider types and settings as our members seek to house and provide care for people in rural and frontier areas that pose their own public policy and regulatory issues. A full summary of that meeting can be found on the LeadingAge website.
On June 9, 2016, LeadingAge Kansas and public policy staff from LeadingAge facilitated a rural issues forum that focused on the particular challenges rural nursing homes face in caring for residents and serving their communities.
The forum included a conference call with top officials of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS
participants included Evan Shulman, Deputy Director, Division of Nursing Homes; and representatives from CMS’s MDS, Nursing Home Compare and PBJ teams.
Provider
participants included representatives of 28 nursing homes located in Indiana,
Kansas, Minnesota, and South Dakota; and representatives of LeadingAge,
LeadingAge Kansas, LeadingAge Nebraska, LeadingAge Minnesota, LeadingAge Oklahoma, LeadingAge Iowa, and the South Dakota
Association of Health Care organizations (SDAHO).
Dr. Cheryl
Phillips, LeadingAge’s Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Health
Services, described the nursing homes participating in the call in terms of
their size and their place in their communities. She emphasized that the
purpose of the call was not to discuss payment issues or pending regulations,
but simply to enable the rural nursing homes to raise some of the particular
challenges they face in caring for residents. She and Even Shulman agreed that
CMS and providers have a common goal of high-quality care for nursing home
residents, even if they may see different ways to meet the goals.
Deb Barnes
from Lakeview Methodist in Fairmont, Minnesota noted that in Minnesota there
are 0.9 applications for every nursing home job vacancy. Her nursing home sometimes
is unable to admit people who need care because there are not enough staff
members. She described the staffing situation as uniquely dire and close to
collapse. She questioned whether there could be more flexibility or a reduction
in the paperwork necessary to meet survey requirements, noting that some
nursing staff have to be devoted solely to documentation rather than being available
to provide care.
Holly Noble
from Attica Long-Term Care in Attica, Kansas discussed the difficulty rural
nursing homes have in complying with physician visit requirements. As rural
physicians retire and no new doctors move in to take their places, both staff and
residents have to travel several hours to doctor appointments for no reason
other than to comply with survey requirements. She questioned whether medical
necessity could be taken into consideration, with a requirement for a physician
visit only if the resident has a change in medication or an MDS condition, or
other triggering factor. She also questioned whether appointments with a nurse
practitioner or physician assistant could substitute for physician appointments
or whether a longer period could be allowed between physician visits, beyond
the current 60-day requirement.
Neil Ostlie
from Prescott Country View in Prescott, Kansas, the only nursing home in the
county, described how a staff member has
to spend three hours driving a resident to a regulatory-required physician
appointment when the resident is not sick, nor had any change in condition.
Nate
Glendening from Philips County Retirement Center in Phillipsburg, Kansas
brought up the difficulty his organization has in finding clinical staff like
directors of nursing, infection control specialists, etc. He questioned whether
some of these clinical staff positions could be shared among nursing homes.
Evan Shulman
emphasized that the requirements of participation set minimum standards to
ensure that nursing home residents receive the services they need and
questioned whether standards should be lowered. Cheryl Phillips asked whether
there might be different ways to meet needs in rural communities. She noted
that nursing homes in rural areas are closing because they can’t meet staffing
requirements and pointed out that current requirements do not take into account
the size of a nursing home or its geographic location.
Mike Smith
from Wheat State Manor in Whitewater, Kansas, described the pressure his
nursing home often feels to admit someone with mental illness to the home’s
Alzheimer’s unit. Wheat State Manor prescreens all applicants to determine
whether their needs can be met, but Smith questioned whether younger people
diagnosed with severe mental illness or PTSD should be mixed in with a
population of elders with Alzheimer’s disease. If the home admits someone with
mental illness, problems can develop, but if the person is not admitted, they
will not get the care and services they need because there is nowhere else for
them to go.
Patricia
Raasch from Mission Village in Horton, Kansas described the related problem of
rural communities’ lack of psychiatric specialists and trained staff to treat
people with serious mental illness. She said that her nursing home wants to
care for community residents so that they can remain close to home, but the
human resources just aren’t there.
Evan Shulman
responded that CMS wants to work on these problems beyond today’s call, that we
need to figure out how people with mental health issues can be served,
especially given the potential for injury to themselves or other residents.
Cheryl Phillips noted that surveyors may cite nursing homes for deficiencies if
the surveyors can’t distinguish between dementia and mental illness.
Erica
Peterson from Sanford Chamberlain Care Center in Chamberlain, South Dakota
noted that her nursing home is the only long-term care provider in a three-county area. She questioned how CMS sees the role of information
technology and telemedicine in the long-term care field.
Evan Shulman
responded that there is a greater and greater role for telemedicine in
connecting providers to each other and to their communities. He cautioned that
it can’t be a substitute or an easy way out.
Jen Porter, SDAHO's Vice President for Post-Acute Care, brought up the letter the South Dakota government received from the U.S. Department of Justice about the state’s slowness in making home- and community-based
services more available under its Medicaid program. Jen said that SDAHO is
working with the state to expand HCBS options, but in rural areas it is hard to
discharge residents from nursing homes because services and caregivers are not
available in the community. She mentioned one SDAHO member that created a
traumatic brain injury unit so that South Dakotans who needed this kind of
treatment would not have to leave the state. Now the member is being criticized
for not discharging residents from the unit even though they would have no
support system in their communities.
Cheryl
Phillips brought up the rules on home- and community-based services for
Medicaid beneficiaries in residential settings, noting that in rural areas the
only affordable housing for seniors and people with disabilities often is
located on the campus of an assisted living facility or nursing home.
Evan Shulman
responded that there needs to be continued discussion, but that solutions may depend
on what the state is willing to do.
Liz Davidson
from LeadingAge Iowa questioned where various regulations stand.
Eric Shulman
discussed the new 5-star measures that will roll out in July. He said that in
developing them, CMS examined both the traditional survey system and the QIS
system to establish one unified system for the whole country, which he hopes
will roll out next year. He said that there will be no expansion of QIS
surveys.
With regard
to PBJ, he said that it will become mandatory in July. From what CMS has heard
so far from nursing homes that have voluntarily submitted data, a frequency of
every two weeks in accordance with a nursing home’s payroll schedule seems to
work best.
Judy Kregar
from Hill Top House in Bucklin, Kansas discussed the role of small nursing
homes in rural communities. They frequently are the area’s primary employer; in
Bucklin, one third of the town’s residents either live or work in Hill Top
House. The survival of small rural nursing homes is essential to residents’ quality
of life, since their friends and families are close by and can visit regularly.
Cheryl
Phillips commented that the reason for this call was to put a face on the
issues and discuss whether there are possibilities for flexibility in
rulemaking.
Evan Shulman
expressed appreciation for providers’ feedback, whether or not changes can be
made. He said it’s important to improve circumstances without changing quality
expectations and said that CMS wants to help nursing homes comply with
requirements.
Follow-up
issues: Evan Shulman restated the desire of CMS to explore better care models
“and resources” for mental illness in the nursing home, as well as how best to
deploy telemedicine in the nursing home setting.
LeadingAge and its members are very
interested in these further discussions.
With quality of care, financial performance and employee morale all directly tied to labor management, a focus on staffing can drive a competitive edge in 2016.
That's why we have put together a guide on staffing best practices that will allow you to tackle your challenges.
Read the following whitepaper to learn the actionable concepts such as:
In this webinar, learn how you can provide safer care for your residents while reducing falls. Direct Supply’s Senior Living experts will explain how to use assessment tools to individualize care while also improving your overall quality of care. You’ll also learn technological, environmental and design strategies that you can employ to reduce fall risk in your community.
This article was reprinted with permission from Direct Supply.
Learn how to choose furniture to suit the needs of your residents and staff in this webinar from Direct Supply. Their Senior Living furnishing experts will show you industry-specific and contract grade furniture that can work in your community. Best yet, these options are comfortable, stylish and inviting.
This article was reprinted with permission from Direct Supply.
Your best employees are your most engaged employees. They look forward to coming to work in the morning, feel liked and respected and have the interests of your community at heart as they work with residents and each other.
Skilled nursing and senior living communities report annual caregiver turnover rates of 50 and 29 percent respectively. In total, turnover is costing the long-term care industry $4.1 billion per year.
There are ways to buck the trend in this industry and we've pulled together some strategies to help.
In this FREE GUIDE we'll show you how to:
With more than 1,800 employees in 18 post acute care centers in Ohio and Michigan, executives at Altercare of Ohio know a thing or two about staffing and labor management. For Altercare, staffing and labor management are intertwined with the company’s strategic goals to improve quality, customer service and employee satisfaction.
Getting staffing right is critical for the company, especially with cost pressures and the growth of managed care business in post acute care. Dan Leamon, Vice President at Altercare, acknowledges the difficulties in dealing with these issues. “Our margins are being squeezed. We are facing challenges related to length of stay while more of our business is coming from managed care organizations. We continue to be challenged with the managed care rates as well as reimbursement reductions.” “All of this is going on, so we have to improve our cost management,” Leamon added.
Controlling Labor Costs
Because payroll expenses at Altercare represent more than 50% of the company’s costs, executives made the decision to increase their focus on staffing and labor management. That’s when they turned to OnShift, which provides staff scheduling and labor management software for long-term care and senior living.
Most of the facilities at Altercare were scheduling employees on paper or with a spreadsheet. “There was a main bulletin board with postings. Everyone would stand in front, trying to jot down days to work. They were frustrated, especially when they needed to make a change after the schedule was posted,” said Diane Geis, Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Altercare.
With OnShift, schedules are created and managed online. “It’s much faster and simpler with OnShift,” said Geis. Employees can access their schedules from any computer or right from their smartphones with OnShift’s mobile app. “We wanted employees to have their schedules at their fingertips and know in advance what their schedule is. If they have availability they can easily select additional shifts if they want to pick them up. That’s a great thing for employee satisfaction.”
Overtime was a major issue with Altercare’s manual scheduling processes. Leamon shared an example from Altercare of Hartville. “They were at 6.6% overtime prior to OnShift. Within six weeks of using OnShift, we were down to just 1% overtime. We are saving significantly.”
OnShift projects which employees will go into overtime and when, so managers have an opportunity to make changes before the overtime hours and costs are incurred. “In the old days, we would not know the accurate results of payroll until we actually ran the pay and people got paid. We were almost three weeks behind,” said Leamon. “With OnShift, being able to see those employees going into overtime in the future lets our supervisors make changes so they can select the best candidates and avoid unnecessary costs,” added Geis. To date, Altercare facilities have reduced their overtime to a facility-wide average of just 1.6%
Employees punching in early and out late had also increased costs. “We knew it was there but we just couldn’t measure it or address it,” said Geis. “OnShift has helped us see when staff are getting extra hours before or after the shift. Now we can adjust staffing and it helps with managing our costs and all of our analysis.”
Resolving Employee Call-Offs
With OnShift, community supervisors have tools to manage staff and attendance. “We experience more than an acceptable amount of call-offs at times. It is time-consuming trying to find replacements. OnShift helps us have better tracking of those call-offs in order to apply our policy compliance more fairly and consistently. With OnShift’s mass text and call message send out feature we can fill those shift vacancies much easier,” said Geis
Employee overtime due to call offs has decreased with OnShift. Altercare employees like the ability to select how they want to be communicated with via OnShift — text, email, automated phone call, or mobile push notification. In addition, managers now have more visibility into employee attendance. “We’re finding that the call-offs are not buried. They are much more public and we can see who’s calling off, when, and how they’re trending. They are much more visible to managers of a facility,” noted Leamon.
Adjusting Staff to Census
Fluctuations in census are a daily thing at Altercare communities. In 2013, Altercare had 4,585 admissions across communities. With such a high volume, staffing properly for both costs and quality care requires planning along with day-to-day attention.
Prior to OnShift, HR managers at the communities matched hours per patient day (HPPD) with census in the past. “In our world, we have to match payroll with census. With OnShift, they adjust staffing for the second shift based on what happened in the first shift. This has made a big impact on our budgeting and better compliance with our budget. Adjusting staffing to correct census levels has improved our efficiency, managed costs and still allows us to provide quality care to our customers,” said Geis.
At Altercare of Nobles in October, the census in the rehabilitation facility dropped by 10. “What we did there was manage our variance to budget with OnShift,” said Leamon. The facility was projected to be 133 hours over in pay. OnShift surfaced the overage from its staffing level calculations that consider census and nursing hours compared to schedules and labor budgets. “When we saw census going down, we reacted quickly and were able to avoid extra hours that weren’t required.” Altercare effectively reduced costs while still providing the right staff to deliver high quality resident and patient care.
Altercare addresses staffing and labor management with OnShift across all employees in all departments — dietary, housekeeping, laundry, administration — not just those in nursing. “OnShift is not just for HR. It’s a facility system. OnShift has empowered all of our department leaders to take control of their employee management. After all, you can’t manage a facility to budget as a whole without all departments.”
This is also helping Altercare prepare for the Affordable Care Act and the need to manage part-time workers to their part-time hours in light of the employer mandate. OnShift alerts schedulers in advance when part-time workers exceed their hours’ thresholds, so assignments can be adjusted. “We think OnShift is a great tool to have for healthcare reform. If we didn’t have this, it would be difficult,” said Geis. “With OnShift, an HR manager can get immediate recognition of who might need a status change, see it before the audit, and be proactive with the change.”
Satisfaction and Success
One of the keys to success at Altercare is adoption. Like with any new product, “you don’t buy it, turn it on, and hope it works,” said Leamon. A successful implementation requires people, processes and best practices. A Customer Success Manager from OnShift continues to work with Altercare communities after training. “The ongoing support and weekly phone calls are a very effective approach to make sure it’s implemented,” added Leamon.
Management involvement has facilitated success, along with a best practice that Altercare developed internally. “Chuck at Altercare of Mentor took OnShift and ran with it. His facility is over 200 employees and he made it easy for his employees to embrace,” said Leamon. Altercare of Mentor was one of the first facilities to use OnShift, and Chuck serves as an OnShift expert for the rest of Altercare facilities. He even spent time in other communities during their on-boarding periods. All of this has advanced adoption across communities.
The average Altercare community has nearly 400 logins per week. “This tells us about adaptability. OnShift can be accessed at home, from computers in the break room, and from smart phones,” Leamon noted.
The mobile app from OnShift has been a big hit with employees. With just a few taps, they can manage their schedule, pick up and request shifts, and request time off. “The staff was so excited when OnShift’s mobile app was released. We have heard great feedback. Most of our employees have smartphones. It’s become a way of life. They want an app for everything!” said Geis.
And with happy staff, Altercare communities, residents, and families all benefit. Geis is all for it, “When you have employee satisfaction they will enjoy what they are doing. They are more passionate about their jobs. They want to be there and provide the best quality care that they can. That’s better customer satisfaction. With OnShift employees are more satisfied and we have more efficient and cost-effective labor management. It becomes a complete cycle.”
The millennial generation is the largest generation in US history, yet a recent survey indicated that only 28% of senior care organizations have adapted their practices to attract and engage millennial workers.
In a talent market challenged by caregiver shortages and high turnover, providers must get things right with the millennial population to be successful.
Read this whitepaper to learn how to evolve your recruiting, engagement, and retention strategies to find and develop talent:
