Selective Application of Technology Improves Quality of Service and Care

SARA from Status Solutions

February 2008

Several Kendal affiliates have recently begun implementation of a system from Status Solutions called SARA (Situational Awareness and Response Assistant). SARA is an automated alerting system that connects to various systems being used in the community (such as nurse call, fire and smoke detection, and heating and air conditioning systems). When issues arise with these systems (for instance when a resident pushes a call bell for assistance or a smoke alarm triggers) this automated alerting system can send voice and text alerts to pagers, email, cell phones, home phones and external email. This makes it possible for staff and residents to be notified of important events at any time or place. Staff members can quickly address safety and security concerns or environmental problems before they turn into emergencies. READ MORE About Kendal Installations.

Collage: The Art and Science of Aging

Collage is the application of the first computerized suite of valid and reliable assessments for use by Continuing Care Retirement Communities to measure and optimize the physical, mental and social well-being of their independent senior residents. Kendal affiliates are using Collage Assessments to develop individualized service plans for residents of independent living. READ MORE About Kendal and Collage.

AccuNurse®

Kendal at Longwood in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, became a Beta testing site in 2004, with funding from the National Institutes of Health, for a product called AccuNurse, a voice activated communication program. READ the final NIH report. Having experienced excellent outcomes, AccuNurse was fully implemented in skilled care at Kendal at Longwood and nearly 20 Certified Nursing Assistants have been trained to use the program. The program has been greatly enhanced since the Beta testing and is now being implemented in other long term care settings, including our own Crosslands and UPMC Senior Communities. (See recent article in Long Term Living magazine. Kendal at Longwood hosted UPMC staff as they explored this program for their settings.) The objectives of AccuNurse are to increase accuracy, efficiency and quality of care provided by staff and to reduce costs by decreasing staff overtime.

AccuNurse includes headsets connected to belt-worn computers that communicate over a wireless network with an AccuNurse server, which contains care plan information for all residents. Nursing assistants speak into the headsets to request care plans and record information about the care they are providing. AccuNurse converts their speech into real-time reports that are used by Kendal nursing staff and management for monitoring resident care and staff progress. According to Celia Agustin, Administrator, “Our nursing assistants can listen to the care plans and document at the point-of-care much more effectively – with little effort, no writing and no computers.” READ MORE about Kendal and AccuNurse.

EQuIP for Quality ™ - a Quality First Initiative

EQuIP for Quality, a continuous quality improvement software, is being used throughout the Kendal system in conjunction with MDS assessment data to assess the multiple, complex needs of residents in skilled care and to identify areas of concern early enough to develop and implement preventive treatment plans. The program, based on clinical research studies, can predict falls, pressure ulcers, and urinary tract infections and, as a result, staff are able to intervene to prevent adverse outcomes. EQuIP can identify inconsistencies in data entered in the MDS which allows nursing facilities to improve accuracy.

EQUIP is an internet-based software system that utilizes up-to-date MDS data to provide Quality Measure/Quality Indicator reports to our staff on a 24/7 real-time basis. It also allows Kendal's skilled nursing facilities to compare their data to that of other facilities in their state, as well as to a large national benchmark database of over 1,200 nursing homes. EQUIP offers access to technical and clinical experts to assist in interpreting data and in identifying best practices to improve outcomes. It was developed by New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (NYAHSA) and is endorsed by The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) for their Quality First initiative.