www.ohca.com FALL/WINTER 2024 The Oregon Caregiver 25 PROFILE you’re a new nurse, things may be different than what we learned when we were in school. That would be the core of it. It leads to the best outcome for the residents if you can collaborate with your team members and have a good relationship with your residents and your residents’ families. What goals does your community have for the upcoming year? We are aiming for the gold AHCA/ NCAL Quality Award! This year we got silver, and last year we got bronze, so, the focus of the clinical team is to expand the wellness of the resident to help us achieve this goal. We are looking into focusing on daily exercise activities. At most facilities, these kinds of activities have to be put aside, because they are either short staffed or there aren’t caregivers to cover this part of the activities of daily living (ADL). We recently hired a new staff member who focuses solely on resident exercise. Since hiring them, some of the residents have came to me and asked, “Can I also do my exercise?” It can be difficult for certain residents, because they are either bed bound or chair bound. The extent of the activities they can do are mainly desk activities, like dice games and card games, and they don’t have a lot of movement. But, when we started implementing this home exercise program, we quickly saw the outcome. We saw how their mood changed during the day. I’m sure that this is going to continue to help them a lot. Your community recently had a deficiency free survey, in addition to winning the AHCA/NCAL Silver Quality Award you mentioned. What does this mean to you? What advice would you give to other communities who want to achieve this? It means a lot to all of us. We are so happy to have this recognition. It’s a testament to the hard work, collaboration, and the dedication of each and every member of the team. I would advise facilities who are striving for similar recognition to prioritize continuous education, because that is how they are going to get the updates, and how are you going to meet the standard. Also, talking to your team and getting their ideas, collaborating, and brainstorming. That is the culture that we have here. That’s what got us this recognition. That’s the core. Consistency, teamwork, the commitment to your work—that passion. Those are the qualities necessary to achieve these awards. Michelle was recognized for her dedication to the sector at the 2024 OHCA Annual Convention Awards Luncheon, where she won Nurse Leader of the Year in Community-Based Care.
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