Getting a Good Education In Expecting the Unexpected
BY KENYA MCCULLUM
From the time we are schoolchildren, the notion that we need to be prepared for any emergency has been instilled in us, to help us think through possible problems and have a plan to tackle them if a worst-case scenario actually happened. You can see this principle in action in se-
nior living communities, which are tasked with not only implementing protocols that keep residents safe, but also in providing training so staff members can be ready to act on those protocols at a moment’s notice. From fires to hurricanes to power outag-
es, all bases need to be covered in staff train- ing so employees can provide the support residents expect and deserve. Different communities handle training
in different ways, based on factors includ- ing geographic location, specific needs of their residents, and even the layout of their buildings. In addition to this, communities are often growing, and the climate and other conditions are changing. There’s no one right way to prepare, but sharing tactics and tips can help spark adjustments and innovations to handle the shifting environment. To find out what different senior living
communities are doing to prepare staff as well as residents for when disaster strikes, we spoke with two organizations that shared the details of the training they provide.
THRIVE SENIOR LIVING Training that works for new situations Last year, Texas experienced unprecedented freezing weather and ice. But even though it was something senior living communities had never before faced, the Thrive Senior Living staff had a plan to handle it. Thrive uses a combination of online
modules, in-person training, and drills to focus on giving employees information they
need to mobilize quickly in response to any situation that may come up. Luckily, its communities didn’t have to
carry out an evacuation during the freeze. However, it was an all-hands-on-deck event, with employees ready to move no matter what happened thanks to the emergency plan they have in place and the training that has been provided on how to use it. “They have a binder in place, and every-
one’s trained to what’s in this binder—where you would evacuate to, and who you would call for transportation if there is an evac- uation,” says Elaine D’Antonio, Thrive’s vice president of clinical and compliance. “That’s very community-specific—it could be evacuating to a hotel, another commu- nity, a school gym, or a church.” But training is also designed to prepare
employees for the many different types of needs residents may have in an emergency. Thrive, which has nine communities in four states, provides specific services for memory care, so all employees receive National Insti- tute for Dementia Education (NIDE) training designed to help them work with residents that have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. “It’s a certification that we require for all team members. It’s stated on our website, and believe me, people hold us to it,” D’An- tonio says.
“So we have chosen an individual who
used to work for Thrive to provide all that training for us. She does four sessions a month and anyone can jump on from the community. What’s really cool about it is it’s not just the experience team, which is how we identify our CNAs, nurses’ aides, and med techs. It’s everybody: We ask the housekeep- ers, chefs, cooks, servers, everyone to get it, because we’re all at some point coming in contact with a resident with dementia.” This NIDE training has not only in-
fluenced the way employees interact with residents on a regular basis, but also has contributed to the updates that were made to emergency protocols themselves. “One thing we learned through NIDE
training is that green is typically one of the last colors you lose as you’re going through the dementia process,” says Michael Patrick, property experience market lead at Thrive. “With that information, a lot of communi- ties are changing their exit signs to green letters, so that way, in case of emergency, residents are still able to see the signs.” In addition to receiving instruction after
being hired, Thrive employees are required to retake training every year. Because there is so much information
for employees to digest, Thrive tempers the need to conduct training in a timely
“We have this expression at Thrive: You have this freedom in the framework of your leadership to say what works best for the community, the clientele, and the team members and their learning styles. So we really do give people the ability to be flexible, but there’s still a cutoff.”
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