7 Ways Eldermark NEXT Can Help Manage High-Acuity Residents
There’s a looming crisis in the field of assisted living. As the vast Baby Boomer generation reaches its senior years, the demand for skilled nursing care is on the rise. That, combined with staff shortages among nurses and senior care providers, has culminated in serious issues relating to high-acuity assisted living care. As acuity levels increase and staff numbers decline, the burden on assisted living communities is reaching a breaking point.
Fortunately, with the right tools, senior living and assisted living communities can effectively manage resources through adaptable, acuity-based staffing. This ensures resident safety, increases efficiency, and leads to better outcomes. We’ll tell you how one end-to-end solution, Eldermark NEXT, can offer maximum value to high-acuity assisted living communities. But first, let’s take a look at how rising acuity rates present a challenge to caregivers and organizations.
The Challenges of High-Acuity Residents
Older adults, in general, have a strong desire to remain independent for as long as possible. But there may come a time when they can no longer complete the activities of daily living (ADLs) without assistance. High-acuity care may be needed for rehabilitation services after a fall or other accident, after a stroke, or in the case of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. High-acuity care can involve physical therapy, wound care, long-term care, and many other medical conditions. The goal is always to provide a safe and comfortable living environment and improved quality of life.
All assisted living and memory care communities are likely prepared for high-acuity residents, but as those numbers steadily rise, the burden can become overwhelming. Challenges of high-acuity residents include:
Rigorous Documentation
Comprehensive record-keeping is critical when it comes to high-acuity residents, as their needs can evolve on an ongoing basis. In these cases, accuracy is the top priority, but managing health records across a number of different platforms can lead to mistakes and errors.
Personalized Care Plans
There is no single standard of care for high–acuity residents, as they will each have individual needs based on their physical, mental, and cognitive abilities. It can be overwhelming to tailor a completely custom care plan for every single resident, and expect staff to learn and implement multiple plans.
Complex Medication Management
Medications can have a huge impact on high-acuity resident care. Timing and dosage can be critical, especially as some medications or combinations of medications can lead to side effects like confusion, elopement, dizziness, and falls. It is paramount that medications be monitored and administered exactly as prescribed, which can be extremely challenging in a community with large numbers of high-acuity residents.
Ensuring Compliance
Record-keeping is important not only to resident safety but also to meeting regulations and maintaining compliance. On top of everything else expected in high-acuity settings, compliance can sometimes be overlooked. In communities with no integrated EHR and senior living software, building out reports to maintain compliance can be especially challenging.
Ways Eldermark NEXT Helps to Address High-Acuity Care Needs
The real difficulty for many high-acuity assisted living communities is in using multiple technology vendors scattered across different, non-integrated software platforms. A comprehensive, end-to-end solution like Eldermark NEXT resolves many of the challenges listed above, by providing all the features needed to ensure resident safety and staff efficiently and effectively. How?
Comprehensive Electronic Health Records (EHR)
When all of your information is in one place, you can worry far less about errors and inaccuracies, and ensure you’ve got the best quality documentation for each and every resident. Even better, this EHR integrates seamlessly with all the other features on Eldermark NEXT, making it simple to input, store, and share information.
Enhanced Medication Management
Manage dosing and scheduling, track side effects, and ensure that every resident gets exactly what they need when they need it. Access every resident’s medication plan in real-time so nothing goes overlooked.
Real-Time Health Monitoring and Alerts
Keep an eye on all high-acuity residents by monitoring vitals and more for in-the-moment care. Know when emergent and acute care may be needed and adapt staffing levels to meet those needs. Use our WISDOM2ACT feature to monitor and communicate changing needs as they occur.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Use the built-in analytics tool, ElderSmarts, to collect data from your community and harness its power to gather actionable insights and make more informed choices. Predictive and prescriptive analytics tell you what might be coming, and what action you can take for maximum success.
Seamless Communication Tools
High-acuity assisted living residents have needs that can change in the blink of an eye. Make sure those needs are effectively communicated in real-time with a platform that is fully integrated and offers robust communications tools.
Regulatory Compliance and Documentation
Never let compliance lapse when you have a platform that makes reporting and documentation a smooth and seamless process. Our HIPAA-compliant software protects residents’ privacy and keeps your database secure, so you can generate the dashboards and reports you need to meet regulatory requirements.
Staff Training and Support
Want to minimize the hassle and headache of onboarding and training staff on multiple platforms? Eldermark NEXT can do just that. With a single end-to-end solution, you’ll cut down on time spent in the onboarding and adoption phase, ensuring staff members are empowered to do their best work.
The Impact of Eldermark NEXT on High-Acuity Care
What does Eldermark NEXT really mean for assisted living communities dealing with high-acuity residents? This powerful software solution can revolutionize the way you provide care. How?
- Higher level of care
- Greater operational efficiency
- Personalized medical care and care services
- Reduced caregiver stress
- Less risk of caregiver burnout
- Optimum acuity-based staffing
- Increased resident safety
- Improved quality scores and satisfaction from residents, family members, and loved ones
Getting Started With Eldermark NEXT
While high-acuity residents present more challenges than others, they also deserve the same high-quality care as anyone else. Eldermark NEXT can help you deliver that through acuity-based staffing and error-free care management. Our integrated and intuitive platform gets you onboarding quickly, so there’s no downtime and no additional burden to employees. Ready to learn more? Schedule your free demo today!
