David Abraham, CEO of Beth Sholom Village and his entire team—everyone from director of nursing to dietary and maintenance—all interact with residents and family members to have a good handle on the day-to-day operations. Watching and being “hands on” is not enough, though, to be certain Beth Sholom Village’s standards are above and beyond the norm for the industry, which is changing and becoming more stringent. Abraham says he “intends to stay ahead of the curve by setting and tracking annual goals daily.”
Federal agencies such as Medicare recently began the process of evaluating health care facilities based on a series of standards—from cleanliness, dietary, and medication distribution to falls. The outcomes of these surveys are available to the public and can be useful information when choosing the best facility for a loved one.
Accountable Care Organizations play another role in why Beth Sholom Village goes to great measures to create and accomplish set goals. ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who voluntarily come together to give coordinated, high quality care to their Medicare patients to ensure that patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors.
BSV goals are set at the start of the fiscal year in July and are developed by all department heads and unit managers. Input from the staff creates accountability and a strong team work effort. Once goals are agreed upon and set, they become public. BSV posts monthly updates on their website www.bethsholomvillage.com and the goals are posted throughout the facility.
By the end of the last quarter, all goals were achieved. Fall reduction, for example, is very important to the wellbeing of residents since falls are common among the elderly. Precautions and safety measures must be taken to ensure that they are minimized. Beth Sholom had a goal of 10% reduction in falls and exceeded that by achieving 32% reduction.
by Marcia Futterman Brodie