By Michael Cummings
Administrator at MRC the Crossings
Topic: Culture, Risk Management, ROI
An invigorating culture with many connections, compassion, and love is a great deterrent to potential large loss claims and lawsuits.
I have been a healthcare administrator the past 12 years. I have found that the organization that engages with it’s associates, truly cares for the organization, and focuses on the well-being of residents and associates, leads to fewer claims. We have been very successful utilizing strong nursing practices as well as the Eden Alternative to create a 5 STAR environment with outstanding results.
Creating a healthy, resident centered community proves to be cost effective, fun, energizing and make life worth living for residents, families, volunteers, associates and the leadership team. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has focused on this initiative and recognizes the Eden Alternative, the Green House Model and Pioneer Network as models to follow to create a resident-centered approach as part of the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) discipline.
Risk Management and Potential Loss Mitigation
I started my career as a risk manager and commercial insurance underwriter focused on large and small commercial risks with the goal to minimize physical or financial claims a company faces. When analyzing a risk, underwriters utilize many tools to measure whether a company has a healthy outlook or not. We would analyze a company’s financial statements, market stability, severity potential and management structure. We evaluate a company’s physical plant, safety policies and procedures, current and past inspection logs, past violations, financial stability and management engagement in relation to day to day operations. The best risks to underwriters are those where management is engaged and creating a healthy culture for all employees.
Nursing Home Administrator
As an Administrator, our organization takes intentional steps to know and understand the needs of the residents, the associates working with the residents and the responsible parties. We are always involved in community activities while making sure to keep up with administrator tasks and compliance. It is important for the entire leadership team to be involved in the daily resident and family engagement and to be able to address concerns immediately.
Culture – Knowing your people and creating a winning culture where all residents, families and associates are saturated in the culture and feel valued.
The culture focuses on associates working as a team, is clear that all employees understand the work expectations, and helps them to provide their best effort when interacting in the community. In the case of Methodist Retirement Communities, we utilize a value system which utilizes the acronym, ICARE – Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence. Each associate is expected to work together to make the community successful.
We train all of our associates on the practices of the Eden Alternative Principles® and Domains of Well Being® when recognizing the needs of each resident. We make sure that each associate can communicate with the residents that they are in a safe place, understand the residents’ needs, we will do our best to connect them with others in a meaningful, loving and caring way. We make it a point that all of our residents are a part of their own decision – making process. We smile and engage with our residents and anyone we come across to let them know that we are all in this together to make life better for our elders.
We live by the foundational goal to not only eliminate the three plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom, and to connect with each person we encounter to make them feel valued, loved and cared for. We look for outward signs of joy, which includes smiles, laughter, hugs, comfort and music. It is not uncommon for us to hear laughter in our comforting, joyful and vibrant community. Along with our outstanding nursing care we are able to minimize the possibility of a claim or lawsuit which can cripple any facility. I am truly thankful for the Eden Alternative these past three years when we became an Eden Member. A strong culture is worth it and it is important to create a great community.
Resource: Return On Investment White Paper from The Eden Alternative.
About The Eden Alternative
Our Mission: To improve the well-being of Elders and their care partners by transforming the communities in which they live and work.
The Eden Alternative offers educational opportunities, consultation and a proven approach to honoring Elderhood – with resources for Elders and their care partners to elevate well-being.
About Michael P. Cummings, LNFA, CPASRM, CDP
Michael is a Licensed Nurse Facility Administrator and has been trained as a Green House Guide. He worked as a commercial insurance underwriter and broker for many years analyzing physical and financial risk for hundreds of different corporations in the United States and abroad.
He holds the designation of Certified Professional of Aging Services with a focus on Risk Management as well as the Certified Dementia Practitioner designation. Currently Michael is the Administrator at MRC The Crossings, an Eden Growth Member in League City, TX.
