A strategic effort to change the culture at a Bessemer nursing home is achieving results.
The process began almost four years ago when Trina Vines became administrator at Oak Trace Care & Rehab Center. She set off on a mission to do things differently and place the focus on the center’s residents. Trina knew she had a partner for the journey when she met Director of Nursing Phyllis Sturdivant who wanted make the same changes.
From left to right: Oak Trace Director of Nursing Phyllis Sturdivant, American Health Corp. COO Laurence Baird and Oak Trace Administrator Trina Vines.
In that short timeframe, the 79-bed skilled nursing care center has been honored by its peers, recognized as a leader within it’s company and in February received high marks on its annual government survey and inspection. After spending several days on-site reviewing all aspects of Oak Trace’s operations, a team from the Alabama Department of Public Health declared the center to be “deficiency free.”
“It makes me more proud than ever of the team we’re developing at Oak Trace,” Trina said. “We’ve made remarkable gains in a short time because the people at Oak Trace want to do things differently. They know that there’s a new way, a better way and they are fully on board with culture change and real partners in that journey.”
The government inspection is an incredibly detailed process. The team reviews medical records, resident care plans, activity and social services programs, dining services and more. They also interview residents, family members and employees. Only those nursing homes meeting all of the more than 140 criteria set forth by the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are declared “deficiency free.” No other type of Alabama health care provider receives the high level of oversight skilled nursing care centers do.
American Health Corp. CEO Gary Stein and Oak Trace Administrator Trina Vines.
“Knowing that the standards set for us are very, very high and that we’re held to those standards with annual surveys, should give someone a lot of confidence in choosing a nursing home,” Trina said. “Someone looking for a care center should know we will only be able to do what we do if we meet those high standards.”
This year’s inspection presented a unique challenge because it occurred during the Valentine’s Day celebrations. Instead of seeing it as an inconvenience, Oak Trace staff used it to demonstrate their dedication to the residents.
“It’s not fair to the residents to disrupt their plans so that we can stop what we’re doing and get information to surveyors” Trina explained. “We kept everything going and crowned our Valentine King and Queen in the midst of getting things together for the surveyors. It was also good for the surveyors to see all of that happening which is meaningful to the people who live in our home.”
Building a Track Record of Success
The deficiency free survey in the latest in a string of Oak Trace success stories dating back to when the center was selected to present it’s “Music & Memory Program” at Alabama’s Best Practices in August 2014. The “Music & Memory Program” helps people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia to connect with their past by listening to personalized music. Alabama’s Best Practices is a peer-to-peer learning event where nursing homes that have developed a unique resident quality of life or health care improvement program present before a large crowd of nursing home employees.
Oak Trace followed up its 2014 success by presenting “Walk & Roll” at Alabama’s Best Practices 2015 with its sister nursing home Terrace Oaks Care & Rehab Center. For “Walk & Roll,” residents staff of the two nursing centers work together to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research.
From left to right: American Health Corp. COO Laurence Baird, Oak Trace Housekeeping Director Martha Parham and Oak Trace Administrator Trina Vines.
The crowning achievement occurred in January 2016 when Oak Trace was named the top performing center of the year by its parent company, American Health Corporation. It was the second year in a row Oak Trace won the prestigious award and signified the changes begun four years ago where taking hold. Also, Oak Trace Housekeeping Director Martha Parham was named American Health Corporation Housekeeping Director of the Year.
When Trina reflects on Oak Trace’s recent accomplishments, she puts the focus on what matters most – the residents of Oak Trace.
“You can’t do anything alone and you can’t do it by yourself,” Trina said. “Music and Memory is about the residents. Walk and Roll is about the residents. You have to do the right thing and your staff has to buy in to taking care of people. We celebrate the good times and enjoy what we are doing for the right reasons.”
Trina is always willing to share the Oak Trace’s good news and challenges other long-term care professionals to do the same.
“Sometimes the only impression people have of nursing homes is when something happened to one person many years ago,” Trina explained. “I would like to encourage people to share the good stories and the good things that happen in our homes. I think it would be a very good idea to share that with our friends and family.”
