ROSEMONT, IL — As facilities prepare for the implementation of Phase 2 for the Requirements of Participation in November, experts had a simple message for providers on Tuesday: If you are putting the resident at the center of the care plan and thinking about the care you would want, compliance with the new rules should follow naturally.
Kathryn Anderson, clinical nursing support and culture change leader at Providence Mount St. Vincent spoke about shared decision making within the new requirements. Her session at the Pioneer Network annual meeting was titled “Resident Choice: Embracing the Revised Conditions of Participation for Nursing Homes.”
The shared decision-making model involves:
• Choice talk: Let the resident know he or she has a choice.
• Option talk: Share detailed information with the resident about the options.
• Decision talk: Support residents while they explore what matters to them.
• Informed preferences: Give residents the opportunity to make a personal choice based on what matters to them and their understanding of the benefits and risks.
The model puts residents at the center of their care by allowing them to be part of the care planning process and emphasizing that they have a choice for how they will receive their care.
“We can’t abandon them if they make a choice we don’t agree with,” Anderson said. “They have the right to choose, including the right to make what others view as a bad decision.”
She believes this model supports resident autonomy by letting the healthcare staff build a good relationship with the resident, respect that the resident has individual competence and recognize that the resident has interdependence with others.
“Residents are the experts on their own lives,” Anderson emphasized.
An earlier session, “Honoring Individuality: Care Planning Beyond the Care Conference,” focused specifically on how to make care plans person-centered. This is increasingly important because the new requirements of participation put such a heavy emphasis on residents’ participation in their care plans.
A common misconception is that first-person language means person-centered, warned Denise Hyde, community builder at The Eden Alternative. Instead person-centered care plans should focus on positive language by using tactics such as emphasizing a patient choice rather than their noncompliance or utilizing language that focuses on strengths rather than weaknesses.
Care plans also should be easily understandable for the resident and the advocate, not just care team members. Hyde reminded the audience that it is the resident’s care plan and not the healthcare professional’s care plan.
The Pioneer Network annual conference concludes Wednesday.
