How can we get our staff to realize we know they care deeply for their residents? Also, how can we show more support, and get ideas from them for improving resident care?
Many facilities I know of implement “Angel Rounds” and “Angel Meetings.” Angel rounds are conducted by ALL of the department heads. They go to the dining rooms, make rounds on each floor/wing and go in and out of resident rooms. They look for staff doing an exceptional job, or rooms that look especially neat, residents who are dressed very nicely, or perhaps their shoes have been polished and their hair done nicely.
The leaders praise the staff member at that exact time, and compliments would go to nursing, environmental services, dietary, maintenance and activities staff, too.
We had a little “Wing Card” we could give staff members to prove they were complimented. These cards could be saved to be redeemed for gifts ranging from childcare vouchers to manicures or lottery tickets.
We also would hold Angel meetings every two months with each staff member to ask how things were going, if they had enough supplies, how other staff were doing, etc. If they suggested a change or addition that we later implemented, they also were rewarded with a $250 gift card!
Staff were eager to think of items that would improve resident quality of life and perhaps make their jobs better.
After seeing that these meetings were productive and not just “another meeting,” they looked forward to them and would plan well and even come with notes, pictures and a list of suggestions to present at the face-to-face meetings.
We saw a huge improvement in staff morale and the quality of care provided.
From the October 2021 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
