Training Seminars in Indiana and Kentucky

I am very excited to let you know that I will be conducting four training seminars in Indiana and one in Kentucky April 29th through May 5th 2008. These will be sponsored by Health Care Excel, the federally designated Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Indiana and Health Care Excel of Kentucky, Inc., the medicare QIO for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Both QIOs are participating in a federal initiative to help nursing homes improve the quality of care for residents. Contracted with the Centers for Medicare Services (CMS), the Indiana and Kentucky QIOs provide nursing homes with educational materials and technical support for reaching quality improvement goals.
Improving the quality of life for the residents of longterm care facilities is challenging. Not only do we want to maintain ADLs but we also must consider the residents emotional and spiritual health. Every effort must be made to inspire, motivate and enrich the lives of those in our care.
Programs like Benevolent Ballet which utilizes a 'person centered care' approach along with 'empathic engagement' to motivate residents to participate in the prescribed exercises seem to go a long ways towards these goals.
I am looking forward to working Health Care Excel and then other QIOs to meet with and train their client longterm care facilities in this unique program.