A word from our sponsor:  

The First 30 Days...

70% of claims occur in the first 30 days. Seven out of 10 reported incidents occur in the first 30 days of a new resident admission. DON'T be part of these statistics.

Many think that the longer a resident is with a community, the higher the chances of an incident occurring. Statistics show that the opposite seems to be true. Communities need to take careful precautions when admitting a new resident. They need to learn as much as possible about the history of the resident, through careful review of the resident admission agreement and care plan for the resident. They must also see that all care providers are familiar with areas of concern detailed in these documents. All new residents should be given an orientation of the facility, and then carefully watched for the first 30 days of residency in your community. Documentation of any unusual or suspicious activity (or observations) should be noted in detail, and reported to management and all care providers. The family and physician should be informed of these observations as well, so that necessary changes can be made if needed. It takes time for a new resident to feel comfortable in a new setting, become accustomed to a new routine and meet new people. It also takes time for the staff to get to know the new resident: are they prone to fall, are they on a new medication that may result in side effects, are they likely to wander, do they sleep walk, etc. Unfortunately, sometimes the admission process does not expose everything that we would like, in order to create a safe environment for a new resident. Therefore, this 30 day observation period is critical for the resident, the community and the staff.

For your FREE Best Practice Tools including sample policies, procedures, and form, e-mail kathi@pcalic.com, visit our website at www.pcalic.com or call 1-800-673-2558.