Sixty-seven percent of people over 64 who fall and fracture a hip will die within 2 ½ years of the fall
Topsfield, MA and Washington, DC (PRWEB) February 26, 2015
In an effort to enhance and maintain mobility as part of daily care in the nation’s Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living facilities Harmony Healthcare International, the leader in long term care compliance, reimbursement, operations and denied claims appeal consulting, as well as training and education programs and talent management teams up with Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes Campaign, a major initiative of Advancing Excellence in Long Term Care Collaborative. The Collaborative assists all stakeholders of long term care. The Campaign helps nursing homes improve the quality of care and quality of life for the more than 1.5 million residents of America’s nursing homes.
“Sixty-seven percent of people over 64 who fall and fracture a hip will die within 2 ½ years of the fall,” said Kris Mastrangelo, OTR/L, LNHA, MBA, President and CEO of Harmony Healthcare International, “A frightening statistic that led us to support encouraging and maintaining mobility in America’s nursing homes. We have chosen Mobility from among the nine Advancing Excellence Goals and we have committed our time and energy to promoting that goal to our client base and constituencies.”
With the mission of making nursing homes better places to live, work, and visit, Advancing Excellence has established nine goals:
Organizational Goals:
- Consistent Assignment: strengthening relationships among caregivers, patients and families.
- Hospitalizations: managing changes in condition safely without hospital transfers.
- Person-Centered Care: promoting choice, purpose and meaning in daily life.
- Staff Stability: retaining a knowledgeable and experienced staff.
Clinical Goals:
- Infections: implementing strategies that reduce the spread of infections.
- Medications: using medications appropriately.
- Mobility: enhancing and maintaining mobility impacts physical and psychological well-being.
- Pain: providing adequate pain management.
- Pressure Ulcers: assessing and addressing resident’s risk and skin reducing the incidence and severity of pressure ulcers.
“We ask nursing homes to select one organizational goal and one clinical goal and build toward perfecting those goals within the organization,” said Doug Pace, Executive Director, Advancing Excellence, “Currently we have 9752 nursing homes involved, that’s over 62% of America’s nursing home facilities.”
Each goal benefits residents, staff and the nursing home. The Mobility goal strengthens resident’s muscle and bones which makes fractures less likely in the event of a fall. Heart and lung function improve, sleep, appetite, independence and socialization increase. Residents walk, move, are more alert and avoid pressure ulcers and muscle wasting. As residents are more independent and empowered, staff relationships improve and staff spends less time providing direct assistance. The nursing home’s reputation in the community is enhanced by promoting a culture of safety, better quality outcomes and lower costs.
" Harmony Healthcare helps our clients get appropriate Medicare reimbursement, meet compliance goals and we train and educate on operations and care,” said Mastrangelo, “ Advancing Excellence goals help nursing homes build environments that are safe, secure and care-centered—our goals are completely in synch with what Advancing Excellence is achieving .”
About Harmony Healthcare International
Harmony Healthcare International was founded in 2001. With headquarters in Topsfield, MA, Harmony Healthcare International services clients in the skilled nursing, acute care, home health and assisted living markets with operational and compliance consulting, training and educational programs and talent management services. With a staff of accomplished healthcare clinicians who serve as consultants to For-Profit, Not-For-Profit, Standalone and Multi-Facility Chains across the country, Harmony Healthcare International has been ranked among the top 5,000 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. for 3 consecutive years by Inc. Magazine. Harmony Healthcare International, “We care about care.”
Visit us at: http://www.harmony-healthcare.com/
About Advancing Excellence
Advancing Excellence in Long Term Care Collaborative was founded in 2006 by a coalition of 28 organizations representing groups ranging from nursing home providers to quality improvement experts to government agencies. The Campaign now includes more than 62% of the nation’s nursing homes and has Local Area Networks for Excellence (LANEs) in every state and Washington, DC. Advancing Excellence provides support to those on the frontlines of nursing home care. Our nine quality goals and their related toolkits seek to improve the quality of nursing homes everywhere. More than 1.5 million residents of America live in nursing homes. The Advancing Excellence vision is that every nursing home resident in America experiences person-centered quality of life as a result of a stable and empowered workforce, dedicated to improving clinical and organizational outcomes and engaging in open communication and transparency.
Media Contact
Jon A. Di Gesu
Vice President of Marketing
jdigesu(at)harmony-healthcare.com
@JonDiGesu
(O) 978.887.8919 (C) 603.770.5731