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By bringing experience and evidence-based expertise to the table through eldercare management consulting, skilled crisis managers can help senior care communities improve safety and satisfaction.
According to LeadingAge PA, nearly one in four certified nurses and one in four certified nursing home vets in Pennsylvania are unavailable due to inadequate Medicaid reimbursement and the ongoing workforce crisis. For operators and administrators of skilled nursing facilities, crisis management consulting services are becoming increasingly invaluable.
What Pressures Are Pennsylvania Senior Care Services Facing?
One of the main difficulties for senior Care communities is the staffing crisis. Senior care communities across the state are forced to operate with chronic staff shortages, causing significant bed capacity reductions. Pennsylvania’s Department of Health recently implemented staffing ratios that require:
- One CNA per 10 residents on the day shift
- One per 12 in the afternoon
- One per 15 overnight
Given the ongoing staffing difficulties, many facilities struggle to meet these ratios. Those who meet the state requirements face difficulties managing labor costs.
Compounding the staffing problems is the fact that a large number of local nursing facilities have closed in the last few years, meaning thousands of beds that were once available are now unavailable.
What Does Elder Care Management Consulting Cover?
There are two main types of eldercare management consulting. The one you select depends on how far along your crisis situation is.
Operational Consulting
The first is operational consulting, which involves ongoing advisor support. The consultant evaluates the facility, its staff, and its procedures and offers expert advice on factors like:
- Staffing models
- Care systems
- Compliance
- Financial sustainability
- Communication
- Leadership
There are many reasons that facilities might pursue this kind of consulting. For example, they might be undergoing a recent leadership transition, or they might want to improve staff performance and boost customer satisfaction.
Crisis Management Consulting
The second service offered is crisis management. This is often necessary when a senior care community is in the midst of a serious crisis, such as a pattern of repeated complaints from service users or a failure in leadership.
In Pennsylvania, a common problem is that facilities are trying to do too much with too little staff, risking burnout and stress for nurses and causing potential safety and compliance issues.
Crisis consultants will visit the facility, quickly assess the situation, and provide a workable stabilization plan, generally offering support throughout the process as the staff works to implement the plan.
Generally, these services are offered by different consulting professionals, as consultants offering more proactive operational consulting operate under less pressure and have more options at their disposal, whereas crisis consultants need to think on their feet in a fast-paced environment.
Why Crisis Management Can’t Always Be Solved Internally
When eldercare professionals are experiencing a crisis, it’s tempting to try to address the problem internally. Teams often feel like outsiders won’t be able to understand how the facility works. But according to the Project Management Institute, internal crisis teams are simply too close to the problem to be effective.
Internal crisis management tends to fall into the following traps:
- They have close relationships with the people involved, so they can’t be objective
- They might’ve normalized issues like chronic under stagging
- Administrators can’t deal with the crisis while also analyzing it
External crisis consultants usually have professional experience in a similar area, but they bring a totally fresh perspective. They haven’t spent years absorbing your facilities culture, so they have the necessary professional distance to assess the situation clearly.
Bringing in a consultant doesn’t mean your team is incapable or at fault. It’s a standard practice in all kinds of crisis management situations because after a while, crises start to feel normal, and it’s impossible to see things clearly.
Crisis Management Helps Your Reputation
In senior communities, a crisis rarely stays confined within the facility walls. Seniors love catching up with friends and family, and when your facility is in crisis, no doubt it will come up in conversation. Sometimes, negative discussions about your facility will appear online on social media sites, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health Inspection reports are freely available.
Online, in the interest of transparency, any problems you have might quickly become public knowledge. A damaged reputation can make your community less desirable and could trigger increased oversight.
Engaging with a crisis management consultant doesn’t just help you solve the problem. It’s also a strong signal to the public that you’re taking a proactive and responsible decision in addressing the problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Engage With Senior Health Consulting Services?
It is best to bring in operational consultants before a problematic situation descends into a full-blown crisis. If internal management is getting overwhelmed with the number of problems and reacting to issues as they come up rather than using forward-thinking strategies, it makes sense to bring on a consultant to lighten the load.
Facilities facing poor performance in Pennsylvania Department of Health surveys might also bring on a consultant to help improve results.
When these same problems keep reappearing across multiple survey cycles, and the staff is locked into a pattern of solving problems on a shift-by-shift basis rather than having a long-term strategy, it is clear that a consultant could help.
When is Immediate Action Required?
The following specific incidents should warrant immediate action:
- A consistent pattern of G-level or above deficiency citations
- A voluntary or involuntary closure of a wing or unit
- A formal complaint investigation has begun
According to FEMA, the earlier you take steps to mitigate a crisis, early can significantly improve outcomes. The earlier you call someone like a crisis management professional, the more effective their response will be.
Beat Any Crisis With Eldercare Management Consulting
In Pennsylvania, life isn’t easy for those working in senior care services, while caring for older adults can be an incredibly rewarding and satisfying experience. When there are poor staffing levels and crisis after crisis, you can start to feel burned out. Eldercare management consulting can help.
Here at Senior Health Care Management, we’ve helped countless facilities like yours regain control by analyzing the care dynamic at your location. Contracted with the Pennsylvania Department of Health so we can understand your crisis from multiple professional angles. Contact us today, and we’ll discuss the specifics of your facility and set a date for us to meet.
