IMPROVING CAREGIVING PRACTICES

The desire to honor and support more fully the caregiving connection between direct-care workers and their clients often motivates home care agencies and long-term care faciliates to want to change their caregiving and workplace pratices. The process however is challenging, because staff are used to doing their jobs in a particular way. Often agencies are using practices that were put in place for reasons no one remembers, but everyone is afraid to change because they fear there is a regulatory reason behind the origin of the practice.

PHI consultants have worked with numerous health care organizations to facilitate a change process. Most importantly, we have found that it is important to engage all staff, from managers down to frontline workers, in the process of examining current practices and determining the kinds of changes the organization would like to implement. This "buy in" throughout the agency is critical to overall success.

PHI offers organizational support in four key areas related to initiating a change process to improve cargiving practices:

• Reviewing mission, vision, and values
• Identifying and adopting client-centered caregiving practices that match institutional values
• Involving frontline staff in care planning and organizational decision making
• Developing specialized and advanced curriculua for aides
  

For more information concerning these services, please contact PHI's Vice President, Christine Rico, at: 718.402.7446 or christine@paraprofessional.org.