Now that the holiday season has come to a close, it’s a good time to look to prepare for the new year and develop goals for your facility. Planning is part of ensuring nursing homes are able to handle the challenges for a new year. This time of year is great for looking deeply at what is working and what is not working as well as considering what changes should be made.
Review
Do a general brainstorm and reflect on the past year by asking yourself some simple questions.
- What worked well?
- What worked somewhat well?
- What did not work at all?
After brainstorming, make two lists- Successes and Works in Progress. After reflecting on 2021, add the things that worked well to your Successes list and save them for implementing again in 2022. Look at the things that did not work and those that worked somewhat well and evaluate what went wrong. What were the weak spots? Was the timing wrong? Did you not have enough resources? After you determine what areas were responsible for the weaknesses, evaluate whether these things are readily fixable. If they are, then add them to your Works in Progress list to work on in the new year.
Evaluate
Take a hard look at the numbers. Pay close attention to information such as:
- Census
- Number of re-hospitalizations
- Budgets
- Employee turnover rates
- Ratings
Are the numbers a positive or a negative? It’s important to have a good sense of how your facility is growing or declining over a year. It also helps to go into the new year with tangible goals or financial targets.
Prepare
Take some time to brainstorm for the new year once you have tackled your evaluation of the previous year. Start the process by allotting a set time period to make a brainstorm list of all the projects or areas you want to address for the year. Include financial goals, processes or policies that need refining, To-Do lists, side projects you want to work on. Look at addressing areas such:
- Employee recruitment and retention
- Infection control
- COVID-19 guidance and policies
- Mega Rule Phase 3 requirements
- Staff education and training
- Emergency preparation
If you would like more resources to help you prepare for 2022, let The Compliance Store help by contacting us today. From care plans to the latest in regulatory information, we have the information to help make your 2022 a success.