Everything seems to be changing yet there's little effort to make change happen. Sound familiar?
Long Term Care facility managers are overwhelmed everyday with critical needs for making a stampede of little operational changes. Meanwhile, they are challenged to reduce costs while reading that Medicare cuts are just over the horizon. Something happens when staff is inundated with pressure, too many questions and not enough answers mixed with constant awareness of something unpleasant is about to happen. At some point... managers become catatonic and staff burn out. Emerging from this scenario is a status quo of acceptable slippage that crawls towards dissatisfaction that affect the ability to recognize real problems as catalysts to achieve new opportunities.
What are the status quo activities in your Long Term Care operations that have become sacred cows? Are current activities best practices simply because there hasn't been an interest to be accountable for a better solution?
In the past two weeks many articles such as the Wall Street Journal (Social Security, Medicare Face Insolvency Sooner, May 13, 2009) have highlighted cuts in Medicare. Yet little coverage has been given to solutions for facilities and their managers. Long Term Care businesses need to rethink marketing, operational methodologies, technology and care giving practices. Ask the tough question: 'are we doing things this way because we always have done it this way or is this truly a best practice?'
The Point: Today is the right time to make a difference and get ready for the fact that big changes will need to be made. Test the status quo not to find what's wrong but discover new opportunities to reduce expenses, improve resident outcome, increase staff satisfaction and profit margins to prepare for potential challenges in Medicare support.
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