The Solution As the need for continence care grew larger, Benchmark Senior Living was receiving consistent and growing feedback from their frontline nursing staff about the pressing need for an organized and reliable way to provide continence supplies to their residents. That’s when, early in 2012, Benchmark Senior Living approached Medline to develop a program to provide continence supplies to their residents in all of their facilities.


Their priority: focus on program logistics rather than seeing the program as an additional revenue stream. Why? Because the Benchmark team knew they had a real problem to solve and an opportunity to improve resident care. If they implemented the program correctly, their residents would receive quality continence supplies conveniently and at a cost savings, which would increase resident satisfaction. At the same time, Benchmark could reduce their operating expenses by eliminating the need to maintain an inventory of continence supplies. As icing on the cake, if this helped add to their revenue while still saving their residents on the cost of their supplies, it’s a win-win program for everyone.


Continence Care Bundles The program Benchmark Senior Living developed with Medline was a resident-specific Continence Care Bundle that contained specific supplies tailored for each resident. The bundle would be delivered to their facility labeled with the resident’s name so that they could discreetly deliver it directly to the resident. The bundle would include disposable liners, pads, protective underwear or briefs, as well as exam gloves for caregivers and cleansing wipes and protective skin cream.


Medline developed four different bundles based on the resident’s continence assessment: light, moderate, heavy and heavy plus.


Each bundle contains a 30-day supply of items unless the need for additional supplies was identified. Medline provides a wide-range of high quality supplies, as well as clinical andproduct expertise. Equally important,Medline has the distribution and logistical capabilities to confidently service all of Benchmark’s 50-plus facilities throughout the New England region. throughout the New England region.


Continence Management Assessment Benchmark Senior Living started by training their department heads, including resident care directors and traditional care directors. They are the supervisors of their assisted living facilities and oversee the frontline nursing and aide staff. They are also the people responsible for placing the orders for the bundles.


As part of their standard evaluation for each new resident, their nurses perform an assessment to determine the level of continence care and explain the Continence Care Program. The nurses ask the residents and/or family members a series of questions to help determine the appropriate bundle, including assessing the resident’s mobility and urine output. The residents are also measured and weighed to ensure they receive correct-fitting protective products, so they perform as designed and are comfortable to wear.


Medline sales representatives and product specialists are assigned specific areas within the New England region to help educate each facility on the products, the assessment process and the ordering method.


Residents and family members like the convenience of the bundles. They no longer have to worry about running out of supplies and remembering to buy them and guessing which ones are the right products.


A simple standard order form was developed for each facility to submit their monthly orders online. The resident’s name is included with each order along with the bundle type. The order is delivered directly to the facility, individually and discreetly wrapped with the resident’s name, so the nurse just has to drop the package off with each resident.


Convenience and Cost Savings The program typically saves residents between five and 10 percent on supplies they would normally purchase at a local pharmacy or “big box” retail store. But what Benchmark is hearing most from residents and their family members is that they really like the convenience. They no longer have to worry about running out of supplies and remembering to buy them or guessing which ones are the right products. Nor do they have to be embarrassed by purchasing continence supplies in a public store. With the bundles, now they have the confidence that the correct supplies are being delivered directly to their rooms. For their nurses and aides, they know that when they make a resident visit, their supplies, such as gloves and protective creams, will be waiting for them so they can provide quality care without delay.


The financial benefits for each facility include decreasing operating


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76