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A Voluntary Campaign
PHI is pleased to support the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes campaign.
Advancing Excellence is an ongoing, voluntary, coalition-based campaign concerned with how we care for people living and recuperating in nursing homes.
The campaign has three clinical and five operational campaign goals, and includes workforce goals of reducing CNA, LPN, and RN turnover, increasing use of consistent assignment, and measuring overall staff satisfaction. [Read more] [Enroll in the campaign]
Workforce Goals
Frontline Staff
Staff can also join the campaign directly. Nursing home staff wishing to join as individuals will receive communication from the campaign and find resources for staff on the campaign’s website.
PHI believes strongly that quality direct-care jobs are essential to quality care. We therefore encourage nursing homes to select at least one workforce goal as part of their quality improvement efforts.
PHI has worked with employers for over 15 years to improve the training and supervision of frontline staff, reduce turnover, and better prepare organizations to deliver person-centered care.
Below we provide resources to assist you in meeting your goals. For more information regarding our training and consulting services, please contact us.
Goal 1 – Staff Turnover: Nursing homes will take steps to minimize staff turnover in order to maintain a stable workforce to care for residents.
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Staff turnover is not only expensive, it undermines the continuity of care which is essential to quality. PHI recommends several workforce practices that can improve staff stability, including recruiting the right people (pdf) as caregivers, establishing a strong peer mentor program, and implementing the PHI Coaching Approach to Supervision. Consistently, CNAs note that the most important factor in remaining in their job is their relationship with their supervisor.
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Additional resources to improve staff retention include:
- Advancing Excellence campaign resources
- 12 Steps for Creating a Culture of Retention: A Workbook for Home and Community-Based Long-Term Care Providers (pdf)
- Creating a Culture of Retention: A Coaching Approach to Supervision (pdf)
- The Cost of Frontline Turnover in Long-Term Care (pdf)
- Opportunity Partnership & Empowerment Network (OPEN): A Case Study of an Effective Employee Retention Project (pdf)
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At PHI, we believe that the relationship between consumers and frontline caregivers is critical to quality care. Consistent assignment strengthens this relationship and allows the consumer to have greater control over day to day activities. However, implementing consistent assignment involves changes at multiple levels within an organization. Particularly important is developing communication and problem-solving skills among frontline staff. In addition, nursing homes may want to consider implementing a flexible household model, which allows smaller groups of staff to have ongoing relationships with a small community of consumers.
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Additional resources to support consistent assignment include:
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Many factors contribute to staff satisfaction, but most important in our experience is ensuring that frontline staff feel valued and respected. Though gifts and awards can make staff feel good, they do not compensate for difficult relationships with supervisors, co-workers, and residents. Probably most important to staff satisfaction is a leadership team that is committed to participatory leadership and team building, mentoring, and positive supervisory relationships. Improving communication skills across your organization is a great starting point.
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Additional resources on staff satisfaction include:
- Advancing Excellence campaign resources
- Plan, Implement, Study, Act: PHI LEADS Evaluation (pdf)
- Improving Staff Satisfaction: What Nursing Home Leaders are Doing (pdf)
- Adult Learner-Centered Training: An Introduction for Educators in Home and Residential Care
- Webinar: Training Staff for Greater Impact (audio; may take a few minutes to load)
