How To Use Chronic Disease Education To Build An Elite Staff
Kenyon HomeCare Consulting • March 16, 2021
According to the CDC, chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in our country. In 2012, approximately half of all adults in the United States suffered from at least one chronic health disease. What’s worse, one out of four adults had two or more of these life-altering conditions. If that’s not enough to grab your attention, consider the fact that seven of the top ten causes of death in 2010 were chronic diseases. Chronic Disease Education Many elderly adults suffer from numerous chronic illnesses, which are on the rise in the United States. This epidemic results in the majority of healthcare dollars being spent on the diagnosis, treatment, and management of these diseases. Where does your healthcare organization fit into the picture? With the increase of chronic conditions, clients and their families need elite caregivers who are properly trained to help care for and manage their chronic illnesses.
Chronic Disease Education and Your Staff
When considering how to create an elite staff that is certified to offer the specialized care that clients with chronic ailments require, consider setting guidelines regarding which employees should participate in your chronic disease education program. To maximize the chronic disease education you provide, choose employees who have shown loyalty to your organization, as well as a desire to succeed and move forward in their careers. Some factors to take into account when making your decision:
Time on the job – While length of employment doesn’t always equal ability, or even loyalty, it’s a good indicator as to which employees are likely to remain at your organization. These are the people who make good candidates for your chronic disease education program.
Reviews – Yearly reviews are a good place to look when determining which employees might make up your elite staff. Those who consistently achieve good reviews display their willingness to work hard, as well as their ability to get the job done well.
Future goals – If you’re unaware of your employees’ goals, you need to ask questions. Those who plan on staying with your organization long-term or want to advance their careers in the healthcare field are good candidates for advanced training.
nce you’ve created guidelines for choosing your elite caregiver team, take the next step toward success by providing easy-to-access, sufficient chronic disease education. .
Chronic Disease Education and Your Bottom Line
By building an elite staff, you give your organization an edge over your competition. Clients, their families and referral sources seek knowledgeable caregivers who can help manage client conditions, recover from setbacks, avoid hospitalizations /rehospitalizations, and prevent complications. While employing an elite staff benefits your clients, it also significantly benefits your organization – and your bottom line. Here are a few of the many ways:
Higher employee retention – As an owner or manager, you know the stress employee turnover has on an organization. It costs time and money to find and train replacements, and to fill in the responsibility gaps during the transition. When you provide advanced education, employees are happier because they see a career path within your organization. Happy employees lead to less turnover. To maximize this effect, consider providing additional benefits to staff members who complete the education and become elite employees. Such benefits can include:
Paid vacation
Increase in pay
Health insurance
Recognition on name tags
Increase in referrals – When your organization is known to have an elite staff, clients and professionals alike will send more customers your way. It’s a simple, effective project that yields significant results.
When you’re ready to make the jump toward building an elite staff, chronic disease education is the first step. Take a look at Aide University today to learn about the numerous benefits of providing chronic disease education for your aides.
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For home health agencies, a regulatory survey is not just an inspection—it's a high-stakes assessment of your commitment to patient safety, quality care, and operational compliance. Since repeat surveys are unannounced, the goal is to cultivate a culture of "survey readiness every day." Preparing your agency for a successful survey requires proactive planning, meticulous documentation, and full staff engagement. Below are the steps to build for continuous compliance. 1. Develop a Survey team: Preparation starts with designating a core team responsible for the survey response. Clear roles ensure a calm, organized, and efficient process when a surveyor walks through the door. Each person needs to know exactly what they are responsible for and what metrics they need to track to be sure the agency is always ready for a survey. The Administrator/Survey Lead: Must be present for the entrance conference. This person is the main point of contact, handles high-level questions, and maintains a professional atmosphere for the organization with the agency staff and with any surveyors. Director of Clinical services/ Supervisor: This team member is responsible for assuring all documentation is reviewed and appropriate. This includes OASIS accuracy, that the plan of care matches the OASIS findings, and visit documentation follows the plan of care. ICD-10 Coders: This team member reviews the OASIS and matches it with the discharge summary to assure accuracy of OASIS (along with DCS or Supervisor). The coders also verify the ICD-10 code accurately reflects findings of the OASIS. Clerical Support: Staff is responsible to all personnel records monthly review for required documents and all new employees for same while reporting any missing documents (e.g. updated license, auto insurance, driver’s license etc.). Create plans and have operations in place to communicate at least a month in advance to employees when items need updated. This person is also responsible for managing the logistical needs when the surveyors are on site (e.g., Wi-Fi password, workspace, etc.) to create a buffer for management. They also discreetly communicate critical questions to the Survey Lead. The team member acting as Survey Lead is considered the survey readiness team leader. Promoting survey readiness should include regular monthly meetings with all of the survey readiness team members. Each team member should be ready to report on the status of their responsibilities and any data to support their findings. These findings include: a. Status of OASIS accuracy and any staff who need training. b. Planned OASIS training that provides regular updates on areas where staff continue to struggle. c. Plan of care with matching visit notes d. Personnel files and any updates when employees are not responding to the request for documents e. Status of continuing education per state or federal requirements f. Yearly evaluations with supervisory visits to support evaluation. Supervision needs to pay particular attention to hand washing according to policy and standard infection control procedure when getting in an out of bag, with client contact, or coming in and out of the home. This remains one of the primary findings by surveyors. g. Evidence of yearly required continuing education such as: • Infection control • Patient Rights and Advocacy to uphold dignity and autonomy • Emergency Preparedness with response protocols; evidence of bi-yearly practice drills for a potential emergency • Medication Management and safety to prevent errors • Updated relevant health care regulations and policies • Cultural competency to enhance communication and care for diverse populations. All data collected by the team members may need to be sent to the compliance manager and may become part of a plan of correction for the Quality Assurance program.  Should you need assistance with survey readiness, please continue to part 2 of this series and call Kenyon Homecare Consulting at 206-721-5091 to help you get there!
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