By Shelby Donahoo, Therapy Resource, Arizona
Month in, month out, COVID or no COVID, Sabino Canyon in Tucson, AZ, leads our organization in group and concurrent metrics. Averaging around 30% in both skilled and long-term care provision, it’s just become part of the facility culture. Executive Director Jaron Watson, DNS Quinny Mazzola, and TPM Dora Alvarez spoke to the Tucson market at an ED/DNS/DOR meeting last month to discuss.
“It’s about partnership,” they all said. “There aren’t ‘department goals’ but all-inclusive “facility goals.” Nursing is just as invested in rehab metrics as their own, and vice versa. There is an understanding of the benefit of group and concurrent for the residents and the facility from an IDT perspective, so it’s considered a group effort to achieve this metric.
Sabino Canyon runs an extremely busy skilled and long-term care program and services, so services need to be focused on function from day one. With a combination of group and one-on-one services, we get to spend more time with our patients overall, and our patients receive longer rehab services during a given day,” said Dora. This is a philosophy adapted with PT, OT and SLP.
With results creating buy-in from the Rehab team, a full understanding of more patient rehab time = better outcomes, and operational impact is discussed on all levels. Having patients up and ready for groups throughout the day becomes an expectation. Systems and flexibility are critical to this project:
● Each nurse’s station has a group schedule dry-erase board, showing time of group and patients scheduled for the group daily
● Rehab front-loads “on the unit” sessions the first few days of stay to incorporate much CNA training and sharing of individual patient goals
● Dry-erase boards with pictures of patient levels (mobility, device, etc.) are in each patient’s closet; Nursing uses a report sheet with diagnosis, precautions, etc. for quick reference as to patient concerns and assist needs
● Nursing, Therapy and Admissions consider the ability to do groups and concurrent treatment provision with roommate placement
Skilled long-term care groups have morphed into RNA groups. Self-ROM and AAROM groups are popular. Specific exercise groups are taught to Activities. One 3x/week exercise group is led by one of the residents.
Congrats, Sabino ,on your ability to “think out of the box” and amazing teamwork!