Membership
Meeting Minutes
2010
Jump to minutes: April 1, August 5
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MEMBERS PRESENT: James Baron, Tara-Lynne Bixenman, Meredith Burrus, Linda Jennings, Laurie Loughlin, Debbie Meredith, Kort Nygard, Linda Williams
GUEST: Carol Mace – State Government Liaison
TEAC requested the State Government Liaison’s presence at this meeting because discussion topics included the State of Tennessee.
Kort convened the meeting at 11:15 a.m
Linda J. stated that THCA (Tennessee Health Care Association) has been looking at recent deficiencies cited by state surveyors re lack of restraints and feels it must warn member facilities about this possibility because of the potentially steep fines they could incur, especially in light of the upcoming reductions in Medicare reimbursement. Laurie wondered why homes were being cited for lack of restraints when CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) had approved the QSource “Advancing Excellence” pilots, one of which is to eliminate the use of restraints, which has been quite successful. Carol interjected that there are a lot of new state surveyors who have not been through any culture change training yet, and that this will be addressed, and also that state surveyor training is one of the uses of federal CMP funds that we are requesting. In the interim, she suggests that, for residents who are competent, Tennessee long-term care facilities have a doctor’s note in each file stating that the resident is competent and has a right to self-determination and does not want restraints or intervention. She also reiterated her suggestion that we do presentations to the Board of Nursing and the Board of Nursing Home Administrators. Tara-Lynne thinks that CMS will need to make its pro-culture change stance more prominent before some homes that have not responded to it get on board. She also plans to find out from Laurie Gyscek which states have especially good relationships with agents of culture change and how those interactions work. Linda J. added that the public needs to be educated about the risks inherent in freedom of choice as well: we all love and demand our rights, but no one wants Mom or Dad to get hurt exercising their rights to do what they want.
Many Edenizing homes experience fluctuations in their culture change journeys. The discussion turned to how TEAC might help facilities stay on course. All agreed that more education is needed but that scarce resources make it difficult for homes to send employees to CEAT (Certified Eden Associate Training). Kort feels that training Administrators and Directors of Nursing, while crucial to the success of culture change, is not nearly enough. Meredith, the new Eden Education Coordinator, is determined to do everything she can to help Edenizing homes in Tennessee realize their full potential. She mentioned that few Certified Eden Associates take advantage of the offer to attend subsequent trainings for free to recharge and keep abreast of new developments. She hopes that members will take advantage of the training discounts offered in April per the flyer Laurie sent out to the membership. Both Tara-Lynne and Carol proposed setting up buddy systems for facilities and CEAs respectively so culture change advocates would have someone who is dealing with the same issues to share problems and solutions with on a regular basis. Kort posed the idea of having an annual gathering of CEAs. Debbie will add this to our federal CMP proposal. Linda J. advised asking colleges that offer health administration degrees to include long-term care culture change in their curriculums to groom the next generation, and finding out from the Eden Home Office how they help Eden homes reenergize when they start to lag in their culture change efforts.
James told the group that Every Day Living’s census has increased to 5, all of whom are mentally disabled veterans referred by the VA, which still provides medical services on an outpatient basis. Because this small family business started up at the same time as they received the Eden grant, they have always had a hands-on approach and created a family atmosphere at this house in the country. James is involved with the Rejoice School of Ballet, whose students sometimes perform for the residents. They also have outings to the movies. Meredith made the observation that because they have applied culture change principles from the beginning, they have not had to unlearn institutional model behavior.
Linda W. said that computerized mahjong is all the rage at Ivy Crest Assisted Living. Linda loves the game herself and decided to introduce it to the residents, working with each one who wanted to learn how to play and operate the computer, even 2 who have been partially paralyzed from strokes. They started with 1 computer and now have 3 to accommodate all the players. Bingo is also a favorite, especially when candy bars are the prizes. Also, the Pulaski library has asked the residents to replicate the ornaments they made for last year’s Ivy Crest Christmas tree, which are clear balls with different colors of paint put inside to slosh around and mix. And students from Martin College have been getting to know the residents.
Carol revealed that Wharton Nursing Home at Uplands will be having an open house for its new homelike duplexes on 04/17/10, with the dedication being on 05/07/10. And Jefferson County Nursing Home will have the open house for its Green Houses on 05/06/10. Dr. Bill Thomas will attend that ceremony. Completion of these structures marks a definitive advance of long-term care culture change in our state, with more to come before the end of the year when Ave Maria’s Green Houses are constructed.
Kort informed the group that the Eden Alternative Research Committee has been reactivated and he has once again been asked to chair it. As part of the Path to Mastery, the committee will be taking an in-depth look at the 7 domains included in the well-being measuring process.
Laurie announced that TEAC’s other-than-Eden-Alternative educational event for this fiscal year will be the “Xtreme Aging” seminar by the Macklin Institute. It will be held on Friday, 06/04/10, and nursing CEU credit will be available. Debbie has secured a room at Bordeaux Long-term Care in Nashville for the event. Laurie will send the invitation out in mid-April. Admission will be free to TEAC members who are employed at long-term care facilities in Tennessee or who work for agencies or organizations involved in long-term care in Tennessee. There will be a $10.00 processing fee for each attendee wanting to obtain CEU credit. Space will be limited to 30 participants.
Kort adjourned the meeting at 1:25 p.m.
Mark Your Calendar:
1. CERTIFIED EDEN ASSOCIATE TRAINING – Wednesday, 04/07 – Friday, 04/09/10, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., at Ben Atchley Veterans Home, 1 Veterans Way, Knoxville; to register, go to www.edenalt.org or contact education@edenalt.org.
2. TEF BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING – Friday, 05/07/10, at 10:00 a.m. somewhere in East Tennessee TBD
3. TEAC VIDEOCONFERENCE – Thursday, 06/03/10, 11:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.
4. XTREME AGING SEMINAR – Friday, 06/04/10, 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at Bordeaux Long-term Care, 14114 County Hospital Road, Nashville
5. 5th EDEN ALTERNATIVE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE – Sunday 06/13 – Tuesday, 06/15/10 at the Westin Tabor Center, Denver, Colorado
6. TEF BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING – Thursday, 07/01/10, 7:00 p.m.
7. TNAHSA ANNUAL MEETING – Monday, 08/02 – Wednesday, 08/04/10 at the Cool Springs Marriott, Franklin; for more information, contact Ashley Walker at awalker@tnahsa.org.
8. TEAC MEMBERSHIP MEETING – Thursday, 08/05/10, 11:00 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.
9. TEF BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING – Thursday, 09/02/10, 7:00 p.m.
10. TEAC VIDEOCONFERENCE – Thursday, 10/07/10, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
11. TEF BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING – Thursday, 11/04/10, 7:00 p.m.
12. TEAC MEMBERSHIP MEETING – Thursday, 12/02/10, 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Submitted by Laurie Loughlin
MEMBERS PRESENT: Tara-Lynne Bixenman, Meredith Burrus, Stephanie Gibbs, Wanda Hicks, Laurie Loughlin, Kort Nygard
GUEST – Carol Mace – State Government Liaison
TEAC requested the State Government Liaison’s presence at this meeting because discussion topics included the State of Tennessee.
Kort convened the meeting at 11:00 a.m.
Kort told the group that the Southeast Advocacy Center for Elder Rights (SACFER) is bringing Dr. Al Power to Chattanooga for a seminar in November and, since Carol had previously suggested Dr. Power as a possible guest speaker for our annual non-Eden educational event this fiscal year and he will be available, proposed that we set up our event on the day following SACFER’s session. He asked several members to explore possible venues. He explained that SACFER’s mission is to educate the American population about long-term care options other than the medical model. Laurie stated that we need to do something to improve attendance at our offerings, and Wanda said that could be accomplished by media coverage.
Kort also announced that he and TEAC members Joe and Melanie Adair are launching a multimedia program entitled “A Call to Action: Moving from Ageism to Sageism”. The package includes 2 DVDs, a book and an instruction manual that can be used for a short presentation (1 hour) or a longer presentation (3.5 hours). Members interested in finding out more about this set can contact Kort at knygard2@gmail.com.
Meredith announced that there will be a CEAT (Certified Eden Associate Training) in Brighton 09/22-24/10 hosted by Covington Care Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. (For more information, see Item #4 in the “Mark Your Calendar” section below.)
Stephanie reported that this transitional year following the Choices Act, through which Tennessee became the first state where Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) provide a complete continuum of care for qualifying residents whether they reside at home or in long-term care facilities, is proving to be very busy in a positive way and that lessons learned are turned into improvements as their services expand.
Laurie shared a newspaper sidebar about the rebuilding of a senior citizens center in Johnson City where there was a protest because the new center will be multigenerational versus strictly for seniors, and some of the seniors view this as a loss. It struck her because this is contrary to the wishes of many seniors to remain connected with their communities at large. Other members pointed out that the article did not include the viewpoints of seniors not partaking in the protest.
Tara-Lynne informed the members that Tennessee’s Quality Improvement Officers (QIOs) have been meeting with state surveyors in both the East and West jurisdictions to discuss the 2 Advancing Excellence pilot programs, “Decreasing Pressure Ulcers” and “Reduce Restraints”, to help ensure that the surveyors and QIOs are providing a unified approach to nursing homes.
Carol passed out the sessions schedule for the upcoming AHFSA Annual Meeting. (For more information, see Item #3 in the “Mark Your Calendar” section below.)
Kort adjourned the meeting at 1:25 p.m.
Mark Your Calendar:1. THCA ANNUAL MEETING – Sunday, 08/29 – Wednesday, 09/01/10, Knoxville Convention Center; for more information, contact Linda Jennings at ljennings@thca.org.
2. TEF BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING – Thursday, 09/02/10, 7:00 p.m. at Sole Mio Restaurant, 311 3rd Avenue South, Nashville.
3. AHFSA ANNUAL MEETING - Monday, 9/20 – Wednesday, 9/22/10, at the Hilton Hotel, 121 4th Avenue South, Nashville. For more information, visit www.ahfsa.org.
4. CERTIFIED EDEN ASSOCIATE TRAINING – Wednesday, 9/22 – Friday, 9/24/10 in Brighton. For more information, contact Meredith Burrus at education@edenalt.com; to register, go to www.edenalt.com and click on “Upcoming Training/Events”.
5. TEAC VIDEOCONFERENCE – Thursday, 10/07/10, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
6. TEF BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING – Thursday, 11/04/10, 7:00 p.m.
7. TEAC MEMBERSHIP MEETING – Thursday, 12/02/10, 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.Submitted by Laurie Loughlin