A2 - PRAIRIE POST - Friday, January 20, 2012
Swift Current
Survey results help to improve care in long-term care facilities
Inside this week: We have a
couple of books to look at this week. Despite its scary title, Texas author Dan Martin’s Apocalypse: How to Survive a Global Crisis, is an interesting read and a
handy reference book. Prairie Post’s Rose
Sanchez talks to him (Page A20). Matthew Liebenberg talks to Gregg Drinnan who has written a book on the Swift Current Broncos (Page A27).
What to know this week:
It’s Literacy Day in southeast Alberta Jan. 21. People can check out the Medicine Hat Library from 2-4 p.m. This program is co-sponsored by Medicine Hat Public Library and L.E.A.R.N. Free: please drop in! For info call: 403-502-8526. It goes at the Medicine Hat Public Library Theatre, 414 First Street S.E.
www.mhpl.info
What you thought last week:
We asked this week: Did you like the trades the Swift Current Broncos made prior to the deadline? Results: Yes, all of them were good deals, excited. — 33%; No, didn’t get anyone who could help us now. — 20%; No, should’ve dealt veterans for draft picks, prospects. — 20%; No, need a goalie once Groenheyde is gone. — 26.7%. Next week: What is your reaction to the U.S. officially rejecting the Keystone Pipeline?
Look for the new poll question every Thursday on:
www.prairiepost.com
Here’s what we featured online this week:
BY MATTHEW LIEBENBERG —
mliebenberg@prairiepost.com The Cypress Health Region is getting ready for the next
survey of the quality of care provided at its 12 long-term care facilities. The survey is distributed annually to family members or friends because not all residents are able to complete a survey on their own. The questions cover issues related to the treatment and care of residents as well as the family experience with staff during visits. Janelle Bartsch, who is the interim decision support consultant in the performance and quality management department, said the survey is a useful tool that helps Cypress Health Region to provide patient and family- centred care. “It’s very interesting for us to see a little bit more of
what our family members and friends are thinking of the residents care,” she said. “That’s exactly why we do the survey so that we can know how we’re doing.” The questionnaires will be distributed early in February and people will have at least two weeks to complete and return them. Each questionnaire is mailed to the person who receives a resident’s monthly invoice because there is no other centrally-accessible database with information on all primary contact persons for long-term care residents. Bartsch said the response to the previous survey, which was conducted in November 2010, was good for a mail-out survey. The response rate was 60 per cent with 223 out of 362 people returning the questionnaire. The results from that survey were released November
2011. The 2010 survey represented an important change from previous years, as it was redesigned to make information more reliable and valid over time. “Previous to that all of the facilities were kind of doing their own surveys,” she said. “Instead of it being more of an individualized process it’s a regional survey now.” The questions in the 2012 survey will be similar to the ones asked in the previous one. This will make it possible to identify trends in the data over time. In a few cases changes have been made to questions. “We had to make some clarifications on the questions because of the uniqueness of our region in regards to some of the things, but it’s very much the same,” she said. The results from the 2010 survey indicate 78.7 per cent of
respondents felt their family members are always treated with courtesy and respect while 74.5 per cent felt their family members are always treated with kindness. As with each question in the survey, the results on kind
Photo supplied by Cypress Health Region
Licensed Practical Nurse Cami Olfert speaks to a resident at a Cypress Health Region long-term care facility.
and caring behaviour vary between facilities. The ones with the lowest ratings on one or more of these questions were Swift Current Care Centre, Palliser Regional Care Centre and Ponteix. “We need to investigate further to see what it really is
that makes certain facilities below others,” Bartsch said. “More importantly though we have to see if those results are consistent over time.” Most respondents have not seen any rude behaviour by a
nurse or aide towards a relative or another resident. While 90 per cent said no, 10 per cent said they did see such behaviour. The report noted such “highly undesirable behaviour” will receive attention. The majority of respondents (58.4 per cent) indicated their family members always looked and smelled clean during visits, but one in four respondents felt their family members did not always look and smell clean. The report emphasized it is an area where improvements can be made in all the facilities. Questions were asked about the appearance and
Country music artist Katie Love Hess will perform in Swift Current Jan. 28, as part of a fundraiser for the Swift Current Community Youth Initiative.
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cleanliness of the care facilities. Overall two out of three respondents felt the public areas were clean and the rooms of family members looked and smelled clean, but the results varied by facility. While Mankota, Eastend and Leader scored high, respondents felt a need for improvement at Swift Current Care Centre and Palliser Regional Care Centre. These two facilities also received the most comments about its deteriorating state. In reply to questions about activities and therapies, 75 per cent of respondents said activities meet the full potential of their family members’ abilities and interest. Bartsch said the Cypress Health Region was surprised by only two out of 10 respondents indicating their family members received physical or occupational therapy. “Having spoke with therapies and activities staff, what might be more the issue is that the family and friends just don’t know or they don’t understand the therapy that is indeed happening with the residents,” she noted. “That was one of the questions that was maybe not specific enough for our region.” Responses to questions about receiving information
from staff and communication with family members indicated there is room for improvement. “That’s definitely one thing that jumped out,” she said.
“That’s something that can definitely be remedied and be made better in the future.” Six out of 10 respondents indicated they always received
information from nurses and aides as soon as they wanted while 40 per cent did not. Once information was received, nearly eight out of 10 felt the information was always easy to understand. One in four respondents who were unhappy with care indicated they did not approach facility staff because they were concerned staff would take it out on their family members. The full report is available online at the Cypress Health
Photo credit
Special Care Aide Tammy Thompson helps out a resident at a Cypress Health Region long-term care facility.
Region website under publications and reports, where it is listed under service reports. Copies have been distributed to all the long-term care facilities. For any questions, contact the Cypress Health Region Quality Department at 306-778-5422.
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