A newsletter for the employees of the Jewish Home and Care Center, Chai Point and Sarah Chudnow Community
Kulanu - All of Us. Together.
All About QAPI
October 2015 WELCOME New Team Members CP Dewita Chambers, Nursing Emily Leynez, Dietary Elias Ramos, Plant Operations Suzette Travis, Reception SCC Jessica Berger, Nursing Tamisha Dixon, Nursing Tonjilaya Hood, Nursing Lamesha McFarland, Dietary Shayla Johnson, Nursing Odessa Knight, Nursing Carl McKinley, Nursing Preshus Rankins, Nursing Emily Rudkin, Nursing Adalgisa Vogel, Nursing Chadwick Wells, Dietary Monica Wells, Nursing Ashley Woods, Hospitality JHCC Evonne Armstrong, Nursing Kathy Biles, Nursing Elizabeth (Liz) Brach, Foundation Shaunza Fifer, Finance Tameka Johnson, Nursing Sally Lee, Nursing Latasha Stanton, Nursing Starr Thomas Winzer, Nursing Cyril Timbas, Dietary Tiffany Vance, Nursing Marquita Williams, Nursing
Two JHCC employees in the break room are having a discussion about resident care and practices….here is a little bit of the discussion: Moishe: Have you heard about a meeting called QAPI? Shayna: Isn’t that pronounced “Crappie”? Moishe: No, not the fish, “QWAAAAPEEEEEEE!”
Shayna: Really, tell me more! Moishe: The activities of QAPI involve members at all levels of the organization to identify opportunities for Elaine Dyer improvement; address gaps Administrator, JHCC in systems or processes; develop and implement an improvement or corrective plan; and continuously monitor effectiveness of interventions.
Shayna: QAPI! I don’t know; what is it? What does it do? Moishe: It is like Quality Assurance combined with an improvement plan. A really good way to remember this is QA + PI = QAPI. Shayna: But what does it do? Moishe: I can give you a quick definition. It is a data-driven, proactive approach to improving the quality of life, care, and services in nursing homes. Like finding out what really happened in an incident so systems can be put into place to make sure it doesn’t reoccur in the future. That is a fancy name for “root cause analysis”… like asking “why” “why” “why” repeatedly, you finally drill down and get the answer!
Shayna: Oh, what does that mean for me? Moishe: Well, most times the people who do the job have better ideas about how to do it, or systems that can check if you are doing it right. Only, no one asks their opinion. Well, this committee or having the idea to look at something, and to study it, shows us the need to do it differently. We can come up with different strategies or audit tools or customer service surveys to have a better quality of life for our residents. QAPI uses different personnel in smaller groups or “steering committees.” Together they form a team. Generally, each team should be composed of interdisciplinary members. For example, a concern with medication administration should include continued on page 4
PERSONNELLY SPEAKING | October 2015 | 1