Spring Summer 2018

The Oregon Caregiver Spring/Summer 2018 www.ohca.com 10 out of the options they find that and think ‘this is something I would like to get into.’ It also gives them a greater appreciation of people who work in those positions,” she said. This even applies to the executive levels. “When our caregivers get to sit in on a CQI (Continuous Quality Improvement) process meeting, they get a greater understanding of why it’s important for documentation to be correct and timely, for example,” Merino said. Cynthia McDaniel, CEO of ElderWise, teaches OHCA classes and regularly observes leadership in facilities. McDaniel said that when it comes to leadership it’s important that communities have a mindset of, “we’re all in this together.” McDaniel said when she goes into a community and is looking at what adjustments might need to be made to help create better care, the first thing she looks at is the systems in place. “Rarely do people want to do something wrong; it’s generally the system that doesn’t support the person correctly,” she said. These systems can weaken at several points during the process, such as in training. “My tenets of leadership are the ability to listen and notice, and identify what’s needed, and to guide, coach, support, and sometimes direct,” McDaniel said. ElderWise is often called into a community as a result of a survey, with a goal of getting the community ready for a re-survey. This requires doing a root- cause analysis and systems review in order to recommend changes and oversight, McDaniel said. “It may be looking at their staffing, and if they’re having difficulty recruiting and retaining staff, it would be to look at the systems of how they recruit, how they train, and how they supervise; and then make recommendations related to that,” she said. Though their tactics and strategies may differ somewhat, our experts were clear: by developing leaders within organizations, long term care providers are not only preparing for tomorrow but also improving quality today. Providers who understand this are well positioned to provide high quality care for their residents into the future.  » PROMOTING QUALITY THROUGH LEADERSHIP, CONT. “My tenets of leadership are the ability to listen and notice, and identify what’s needed, and to guide, coach, support, and sometimes direct.” — Cynthia McDaniel, CEO, ElderWise FEATURE