Local Projects
Current Projects
CCMU Culture Change Initiative supports Culture Change using a partnership model pairing surveyors with nursing facilities to plan and implement person-centered/directed practices. Twelve nursing homes are part of this initiative. The work of these partnerships has been highlighted at M.O.V.E. educational meetings and in the DVD, “Transforming Your Dining Services,” produced by M.O.V.E. For more information Contact Lynda Crandall, RN, GNP, at lynda.g.crandall@state.or.us
Oregon Local Area Network for Excellence (O-LANE) is part of the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes campaign (see resource list). This voluntary campaign monitors key indicators of nursing home care quality, promotes excellence in caregiving for nursing home residents, and acknowledges the critical role of nursing home staff in providing care. The O-LANE has provided training on staff retention and reducing pressure ulcers by improving transitions between hospitals, nursing homes, and home.
Enriched Clinical Learning Environments through Partnerships (ECLEPs) builds capacity for nursing homes and assisted living facilities to be excellent clinical learning sites for nursing students in the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education (OCNE). Through extensive, existing community-academic partnerships, ECLEPs provides LTC staff with essential knowledge and skills to enhance their practice setting and support students’ learning. Four facilities have participated in the program and provide enriched LTC clinical education sites for up to 16 nursing students annually. ECLEPs is a program led by Oregon Health & Science University and funded by the Northwest Health Foundation.
Jobs to Careers provides work-based learning and career advancement opportunities for direct care workers (DCW) in assisted living facilities (ALF). An occupational profile was developed in an earlier project using ACT WorkKeys® job analysis of the entry-level DCW job. Twenty-seven modules were developed to assist DCWs gain entry-level competency and is being implemented in 5 ALFs. The grantee of this 3-year project is Portland Community College and funding is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson and Hitachi Foundations.
Nursing Home Collaborative, Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence. The “Nursing Home Collaborative” (NHC) was formed in 2007 through support from the John A. Hartford foundation and the Atlantic Philanthropies. The NHC is a unique collaboration among the five Hartford Centers of Geriatric Nursing Excellence and partners from the nursing home industry, major long-term care nursing organizations, and the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The mission of the NHC is to strengthen the professional practice of nursing in skilled nursing facilities and to improve the quality of care and life that they provide. The focus of the NHC is to stabilize, grow and increase the competencies of the RN workforce in nursing homes; improve the leadership, geriatric and quality improvement skills of RNs; create new care delivery models to meet the needs of nursing home population; decrease turnover among all members of the nursing team by creating desirable work environments; and assist NHs to achieve recognition for excellence in nursing services through ANCC’s “Pathway to Excellence™ Program.”
OGEC Resource Center, is part of the Oregon Geriatric Education Center, a consortium of the Oregon Health & Science University, Portland State University, and Oregon State University. The Resource Center maintains a collection of over 1,500 resources, including books, videotapes, DVDs, games, bibliographies, and other instructional materials. The Resource Center serves a variety of professionals in applied fields and in higher education.
Completed Projects
Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence Best Practices Initiative (BPI), 2002-2003. Partnering with Seniors and People with Disabilities, the BPI sought to incorporate values, personal preferences, and meaningful activities into the care of those served in 10 long-term care facilities. The project and lessons learned are presented in Crandall, L., White, D. L., Schuldheis, S., & Talerico, K. A. (2007). Initiating person-centered practice in long-term care facilities. The Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 33 (11), 47-56.
Better Jobs Better Care (BJBC) Demonstration Project, 2003-2006. BJBC was national demonstration and research initiative funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In Oregon, more than 20 organizations partnered to improve recruitment and retention of direct care workers through intensive workplace change efforts in eight long-term care organizations. The Oregon BJBC initiative emphasized building person-centered environments for both workers and residents. Multiple practical tools and resources, including those developed in Oregon, are available through their website.
Leading Edge Network, 2005-2008. This was a collaborative effort between SPD, Acumetra Health (formerly OMPRO), OHSU Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing, Better Jobs Better Care, Oregon Health Care Association, the Oregon Alliance for Seniors & Health Services, and nursing home providers implementing Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 8th Scope of Work. The focus was on staff recruitment and retention, resident satisfaction, person-centered care, and improvement of the following quality measures: physical restraints, high-risk pressure ulcers, depression and chronic pain. The tool, “Mapping the Culture Change Journey,” was developed by the Leading Edge Network and is available in Quick Tips & Tools