Please drop by booth 1724 and meet GNP faculty members Renee Paulin, MSN, RN, CWOCN (left) and Dr. Heidi Keeler, Phd, RN (right) at the 2018 AHCA/NCAL Annual Convention and Expo. They’d love to visit with you!
Staff Competencies Session
This session provides attendees with an understanding of the key components required to construct a staff competency program as well as strategies for return demonstrations, how to evaluate the effectiveness of a program, and methods to measure staff competencies.
Join Heidi Keeler, Anna Fisher and Gail Sheridan on Wednesday October 10, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM and learn how to:
- Construct a staff competency program
- Appraise return demonstrations from staff
- Evaluate the effectiveness of a staff competency program
- Measure staff competencies
My RN is Smarter than Your RN: Case Study Benefits of the Gero Nurse Prep Program
This educational session will discuss how offering specialized training such as the Gero Nurse Prep course, aimed at preparing nurses for board certification in gerontological nursing through the American Nurses Credentialing Center, can bolster facility competency documentation.
Join Heidi Keeler, Anna Fisher, Angie Szumlinski and David Kyllo on Monday, October 8 from 3:15 PM to4:45 PM as they discuss:
- How ANCC credentialing and board certification in gerontological nursing can strengthen the ability to demonstrate overall clinical competence and improved resident outcomes
- How RNs can prepare for specialized gerontological care, using resources such as the GNP program, that has a documented 96% pass rate on the ANCC certification exam
- How using RN credentialing as a mark of clinical excellence and competency can give your company a competitive edge with referral partners, families, and residents
Gero Nurse Prep is going to the AHCA/NCAL Convention.
Gero Nurse Prep prepares RNs for the ANCC Board Certification exam in gerontological nursing and increases geriatric nurse competency by 24% based on pre- and post-course test scores. Visit with Dr. Heidi Keeler at booth 1724 to learn how Gero Nurse Prep can help strengthen your clinical performance and increase reimbursements.
National Falls Prevention Awareness Day
September 22, 2018, the first day of fall, marks the 10th annual National Falls Prevention Awareness Day, sponsored by the National Council on Aging (NCOA).
Falls are the leading cause of injury related emergency department visits for older adults, the major cause of hip fractures, and responsible for more than half of fatal head injuries. Numerous states and countries worldwide are now coalescing to address this growing public health issue; many are working closely with occupational therapy practitioners as key contributors to reducing falls.
This year’s theme, Take a Stand to Prevent Falls, seeks to unite professionals, older adults, caregivers, and family members to play a part in raising awareness and preventing falls in the older adult population. 48 states participated in Falls Prevention Awareness Day last year, joining more than 70 national organizations, including the American Occupational Therapy Association, other professional associations, and federal agencies that comprise the Falls Free© Initiative. If your organization participates in a falls prevention activity, please email fallsfree@ncoa.org to make sure you are counted by NCOA.
For a list of free resources, including the Falls Prevention Toolkit, go to
National Assisted Living Week Starts Sunday!
“Capture the Moment” is this year’s theme for National Assisted Living Week, which hopes to inspire residents to realize their dreams and seize the day. Simultaneously, the theme also supports reflection, as residents may look back on the pivotal moments in their lives. With the theme’s word play referencing photography, residents may refer to pictures or videos from their past.
The theme also aims to remind assisted living staff that often the little, everyday interactions with residents can deliver high quality, person-centered care. Assisted living communities across the country are encouraged to organize activities and events during NALW that help residents celebrate their past while also enjoying the present. Find out more at:
Addressing an Epidemic of Loneliness.
This New Directions in Healthcare podcast reports on what some public health officials are calling a plague of loneliness and its medical consequences.
What’s Next In Caring For Older People: The Age-Friendly Health System Movement
By Anna Chodos and William A. Haseltine
Our healthcare system needs to rethink how we care for older adults. Older adults have more complex needs than other populations, but they struggle to meet those needs within and across all care settings — from home to clinics to hospitals and long-term care facilities and back home again. Part of this is due to the medical and social complexity of older adults and their more frequent transitions, compared to other age groups, between healthcare settings. Despite our current ecosystem of electronic health records and quality measurement, the often frustrating reality is that much of what is important to older people is rarely captured in the data, such as quality of life, function and goals. One program alone will not fix this.
Enter the Age-Friendly Health System. Led by some of the best in aging and healthcare improvement, such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the John A Hartford Foundation, the Age-Friendly Health System is changing what it means to “age in America” with regard to healthcare. The Age-Friendly Health System describes itself as a movement to recruit and support entire healthcare systems to focus on the domains most important to quality healthcare for older people. These include the “4Ms”: mobility, medications, mentation, and what matters. This means making sure older people have a mobility plan when receiving medical care or in long term care; reviewing medications regularly to minimize harm; addressing conditions that affect thinking and are common in older people such as dementia, depression and delirium; and incorporating what matter to the person, such as their values, goals and preferences, into all care plans.
For the full article and references please go to:
Providers rethinking their emergency planning efforts.
Alzheimer’s Communication