Show #381 Airing Sunday, 4/1/07
Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz knew there was no place like home. But if you or a loved one must leave home to enter a nursing facility, you’re definitely in for a big change. You sure won’t be in Kansas anymore. But now there’s a new model of care that puts the “home” back into nursing homes. Here to explain is our very own wizard of helpful information, Dr. Alice Petrulis, medical director of Ohio KePRO.
Question: What is person-centered care?
Answer: It's a change in attitude in nursing home care. It's recognizing that the person lives in the nursing home, that they are a resident rather than a patient. That those who work at the nursing home should be revolving around the schedule of the residents, not the other way around.
Ohio KePRO's goal is to educate nursing facilities about person-centered care.
Question: Can you give us some examples of person-centered care?
Answer: Sure. Sleeping patterns are very individual to each person, as are mealtimes. In a nursing home that has not embraced person-centered care, residents may be awoken on a schedule convenient to the workers. They may all be fed at a certain time. The hallways may be vacuumed while residents are sleeping. (Sleep deprivation can cause irritability, anxiety, and depression, all of which can lead to falls or the lead to more medication.)
In a person-centered facility, residents can sleep and eat when they want to eat or sleep. Care revolves around the individual resident's personal schedule.
There are actually many different models for person-centered care. One, called the Eden Alternative, really focuses on making sure residents do not feel lonely, helpless, or bored. Homes that adopt this model may allow residents to have pets, or may have a pet for the home. One such nursing home in the area has a childcare facility located inside the building. The kids often interact with residents, visiting, performing songs for them, etc.
Question: Is person-centered care expensive for nursing homes to enact? Are nursing homes moving in this direction?
Answer: Person-centered care does not have to be expensive. Sure, if a home decides to build a childcare center, the cost of the construction may be high. But it does not cost money to change the mindset of the home.
About 10 percent of the almost 1000 nursing homes in the state of Ohio have moved toward adopting the person-centered model.
Question: How can you find out if a nursing home has adopted this model?
Answer: Ask. It's a valid question for prospective residents and their family members to bring up when considering a nursing home. Inquire what the home has done to be more patient-centered.
Question: How can you find a nursing home that has adopted this model?
Answer: Ask. It’s a valid question for prospective residents and their family members to bring up w hen considering a nursing home. Inquire what the home has done to be more patient-centered.
Question: Where can we learn more?
Answer: You can call Ohio KePRO to receive a free brochure from the Person-Centered Care Coalition, or for a handout on "Putting the Home Back in Nursing Home".
You can also look at the Ohio Person-Centered Care Coalition's website, which we'll give you next.
You don't have to follow the yellow brick road to learn more about person-centered care. You just need to give Ohio KePRO a call to receive these free handouts. The number's next. My thanks to Dr. Alice Petrulis.
