CASE STUDY


Continence Care Bundles Enhance Resident Care, Service and Satisfaction


Resident-specific supplies delivered direct help improve continence care


The Organization – Benchmark Senior Living Benchmark Senior Living provides residents of the New England area with a variety of senior living options, including Independent Living, Traditional Assisted Living, Assisted Living for the Memory Impaired (including Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care), and Respite Stay programs.


Their organization includes more than 50 locations that span Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Pennsylvania — featuring residences in the greater Boston, Hartford, New Haven, Providence, Philadelphia and Cape Cod regions.


Assisted Living Services include: » Assistance with daily tasks » 24-hour care staff » Medication management » Continence management » Restaurant-style dining » Weekly apartment cleaning and linen services


» Local transportation services » Full calendar of activities


Benchmark Senior Living approached Medline to develop a program to provide continence supplies to their residents in all of their facilities. Benchmark’s Quality Resident Services program rigorously assesses senior living standards in each of their communities on a regular basis. In addition, a licensed nursing professional oversees care in every Benchmark community that offers assisted living or nursing care. They


support a promise of consistent excellence in quality and safety through a holistic approach that looks at management, staffing, and thorough communication.


The Challenge Over the last several years, the average age of Benchmark residents has increased and their health needs have become more acute. This includes up to 30-40 percent of residents experiencing some level of incontinence, including assistance with toileting. Although continence care is an essential service provided by their nurses and aides, in the past, Benchmark generally left the responsibility of providing incontinence supplies to the residents or the residents’ family members.


This process had several drawbacks, including: purchasing incorrect incontinence products for the residents’ individualized needs, forgetting to purchase supplies, and running out of supplies. It was not unusual for a resident who ran out of supplies to borrow from a neighbor, or the facility might have some products on hand to help out. In either case, the product was probably not totally designed for the resident’s individual needs.


With residents responsible for their own supplies, not only would they run out of certain items, they often didn’t provide supplies for the caregivers like creams, exam gloves and wipes, which made providing quality care more challenging.


Additionally, when Benchmark facilities purchased supplies to keep on hand in case of emergencies, there was no mechanism to track these expenses and bill them back to the residents. As a result, the supplies were considered an operational expense rather than a revenue generator. There was also no specific space or organized area set aside to store the extra supplies. Instead, they were kept in an office, closet or any available empty space.


Additionally, when Benchmark facilities purchased supplies to keep on hand in case of emergencies, there was no mechanism to track these expenses and bill them back to the residents. As a result, the supplies were considered an operational expense rather than a revenue generator. There was also no specific space or organized area set aside to store the extra supplies. Instead, they were kept in an office, closet or any available empty space.


As the demand for continence care grew, Benchmark Senior Living received consistent feedback from their frontline nursing staff about the pressing need for an organized and reliable way to provide continence supplies to their residents.


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