THIS MONTH WE WELCOMED 17 ADMINISTRATORS, DIRECTORS, AND STAFF TO OUR LATEST LIVEWELL LEARNING COLLABORATIVE (VLC).
VLC participants come from:
The Springs Living, Lake Oswego
Skylark Assisted Living and Memory Care, Ashland
Guardian Angel Homes, Post Falls
Rose Linn Vintage Place, West Linn
Check out the Fall '23 VLC participants' enthusiasm in this brief welcome video!
They are diving into the five core elements of LiveWell: Engage, Empower, Explore, Excel, and Evolve. In the first sessions, they’ll focus on applying emotional intelligence and a growth mindset to the challenges they currently face, learning from one another’s experiences.
We know that belonging is essential to creating a culture of excellence, so our facilitation focuses on ensuring that every leader sees and hears every person on their team. This is what the first “E” – Engagement – means in practice.
PSU WANTS TO HEAR FROM DIRECT CARE WORKERS!
The LiveWell team works strategically with organizations that share the desire to improve the quality of care and quality of life for those living and working in long-term care. We’re pleased to share the announcement below from Portland State University's (PSU) Institute on Aging (IOA) seeking direct care workers for a study on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. It will benefit all who live and work within Oregon's residential care communities.
PSU will be conducting a study for the Oregon Department of Human Services Aging and People with Disabilities (ODHS/APD) to better understand current and former direct care worker experiences in assisted living and residential care settings. This study will focus on cultural humility, belonging, and inclusion, as they relate to sustaining the workforce and promoting quality care.
PSU’s IOA will host interviews with current and former direct care staff, residents, administrators, and management company representatives from assisted living and residential care settings across Oregon to hear their stories and experiences. The interviews will be held virtually over Zoom and digitally recorded. Participants will remain anonymous, and their responses will not be associated with their name or place of employment. The information will be summarized and presented in a report to ODHS.
Current and former direct care workers and residents will receive $50 for their time.
If you have any questions or if you would like to be considered for participation in the study, you can call or email the study coordinator, Dani Himes at 503-725-6902 or cbccws@pdx.edu
Why should you join a learning cohort and do LiveWell?
LiveWell also helps retain staff and build community. Communities that do LiveWell have a 60% decrease in staff turnover. LiveWell improves the quality of life for staff AND residents. Residents have fewer falls and fewer medication errors, while staff experience fewer workplace injuries.
LiveWell communities reduce their costs. Reduced falls and increased staff retention help communities save an average of $135,900 annually.
LiveWell also helps you create the kind of communities where staff and residents thrive together. Where literally everyone works in sync to innovate care, nurture dignity, build community, and honor elders. It is possible. We can do this if we focus on five core principles:
ENGAGE: LiveWell offers practices and tools that include everyone, which helps staff and residents build an equitable and inclusive community. Every person knows that they belong and are a valuable part of making their community a better place to live and work.
EMPOWER: These same practices and tools improve teamwork and communication, making it easy for people to take meaningful action in order to improve the care and safety of residents and staff.
EXPLORE: Curiosity about new ideas, technologies, and ways of living and working is key to becoming an innovative learning organization.
EXCEL: LiveWell-trained teams know what excellent care looks like, use their strengths to model excellent teamwork and communication, and are skilled in best practices of tracking measuring, root cause analysis, and tests of change.
EVOLVE: Over time, organizations that are committed to excellence and a growth mindset find learning opportunities everywhere. They develop a culture that sustains continuous improvement, nurtures innovation, and above all ensures that everyone belongs.
Wishing you the happiest of Holidays,
— Barbara, Steve, Andy, Marcus, Cecilia, Whitney, Ann, Miles, and Judy, and Ana