Many nursing homes that were operating under the principles of culture change before the COVID-19 pandemic have been able to maintain or even expand their efforts to focus on resident quality of life and person-centered care during the pandemic, according to newly released results of a survey of nursing home administrators and other staff members.
In fact, 60% of survey respondents said they have been able to maintain most culture change measures during the pandemic.
In January and February, nonprofit Altarum fielded a survey of nursing home administrators and other staff members at communities affiliated with the Green House Project, the Pioneer Network, the Eden Alternative, and the Live Oak Project. Results, representing responses from 62 nursing homes across 30 states, were published Monday in a special report, “The Sustainability of Person-Centered Care During a Pandemic: How COVID-19 Impacted Culture Change Efforts in Nursing Homes.”
The organizations sought to determine whether nursing homes identifying as “culture change” facilities “have continued person-centered practices and protocols during an era when infection prevention and control have necessarily become much more dominant,” according to the report.
“Our results suggest that while severe, the impact of the pandemic has fortified the drive of staff in culture change homes to continue to adapt — not to revert to traditional, institutional-style care practices,” the report authors wrote.
Other survey highlights:
- 87% of respondents said their homes had no restriction on visitors in March 2022.
- 81% said they reconfigured or updated indoor space to better facilitate COVID-safe gatherings.
- 77% said they maintained or expanded efforts to learn and support residents’ interests.
- 61% said they expanded support for virtual communication, such as assistance with video calls and e-mail.
“Altarum is very pleased to learn that the creativity and flexibility inherent in person-centered care enabled these nursing home leaders to continue, and even expand, practices like resident choice in daily routines and supporting visits from people important to residents, during the pandemic,” Sarah Slocum, program director for delivery system transformation at Altarum, said in a statement. “We believe that person-centered care is key to resident quality of life and to nursing home quality improvement overall.”
Despite the positive trends, respondents said they have faced challenges during the pandemic, with many reporting that they had to scale back group outings, intergenerational programming, resident input into mealtimes and menu selection, and other principles of nursing home culture change.
“Culture change homes showed that it was possible to maintain at least some person-centered practices during a pandemic in tandem with workforce shortages. Despite an imposed focus on safety, isolation, and infection mitigation, culture change homes fought to maintain a level of person-centeredness,” the authors wrote, calling for culture change practices and protocols “to move beyond the ad hoc phase.”
“We urge policymakers to move swiftly to incorporate culture change learnings that can accomplish the twin goals of improving emergency preparedness and resident safety while simultaneously assisting millions to enjoy a better life in their final years,” they said.
