Steps Towards Stability: Part II

Provider Magazine

Last month, David Farrell, Vice President of Subacute Operations at Telecare, co-authored an article for Provider Magazine with Cathie Brady and Barbara Frank, co-founders of B&F Consulting. It is part of an ongoing series that provides ideas and solutions for retaining program staff.

There are multiple ways staff stability is essential to a program's success. "Staff stability is necessary to succeed in this performance business environment," the article states. "Healthcare payers and partners are increasingly focused on outcomes. Staff who work with the same residents and co-workers everyday can prevent avoidable declines. They recognize immediately when something’s wrong and can work together to address it."

The second part of this piece, "10 Steps to Staff Stability Part Two: Maximize Stability By Supporting And Engaging Staff," addresses two ways for companies to create a stable environment, maintain communication, and improve accountability among staff.

• Reduce stress and improve morale
• Create daily stability

You can read the current article here, and get caught up on steps one through five here. If you'd like to reach David directly with questions, please contact him at dfarrell@telecarecorp.com.

Helping the Homeless in Stanislaus County

Point in Time Count

Photo courtesy of the Modesto Bee

On Thursday, January 28, Telecare's Westside Stanislaus Homeless Outreach Program (SHOP) partnered with Stanislaus County Housing and Support Services Collaborative to conduct the county's annual Point in Time Count. 

See the full article on the Modesto Bee website.

The count is a part of a nationwide effort by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that requires the collected data for funding from the Supportive Housing Program. SHOP has participated in the homeless census for
10 years. 

Gathering information on the county’s homeless population and their specific needs helps Stanislaus Housing & Support Services Collaborative provide better resources for its residents. The survey includes questions regarding physical or mental illness, substance use, PTSD, domestic violence, how long the individual has been homeless, and the last place of residence.

Along with the count, consistent outreach helps maintain relationships, which is important when working with the homeless population. Telecare SHOP has three teams that work year round in partnership with each other as well as other agencies and service providers in the area to assist members with linkage to community resources. The Outreach and Engagement 1 team consists of two case managers who go out to those living in parks, rivers, and homeless shelters. Their Outreach and Engagement 3 team has a case manager and clinician that provide psycho-education and mental health services with the intent of reducing stigma in mental health and connecting people in the community to mental health resources. The third team, Latino Access, has a case manager and a clinician who specifically provide outreach and psycho-education on mental health to the county’s Latino population.

Taking Steps Towards Staff Stability

Provider Magazine

David Farrell, Vice President of Subacute Operations at Telecare, along with Cathie Brady and Barbara Frank, co-founders of B&F Consulting, co-authored an article for Provider Magazine’s January 2016 issue.

The piece, titled 10 Steps to Staff Stability, addressed the topic of high staff turnover in nursing care facilities, how it affects remaining staff, and the proper measures to fix the problem.

“Staff stability is the precondition for quality outcomes,” it stated. “Stability allows for staff to work consistently together with the same residents, so that they recognize early warning signs of changes in conditions and can act to prevent avoidable declines.”

The two-part piece highlighted the first five steps for achieving staff stability through the hiring process.

1. Look at the data.
2. Evaluate if the center can attract motivated, high performers.
3. Improve the local pool of candidates.
4. Improve the hiring process.
5. Improve and extend the orientation and welcome.

You can read the full article here and send any questions you may have to David through email.

Pay For Success in Mental Health Weekly

First PFS Initiative to Focus on Those Living With a Mental Illness

Telecare's Pay For Success (PFS) project has been featured on page one of Mental Health Weekly’s October 26 issue. PFS is Telecare's opportunity to share what we learned about people with mental illness and complex challenges.

The Santa Clara PFS program is being designed to serve residents with acute mental illness, who are among the highest users of the county's psychiatric emergency and inpatient services. It is a funding model where the government pays for services only if a service provider, Telecare, achieves clearly defined results.

"For this group, we anticipate reducing their predicted use of these acute and costly services by 35 percent," said Faith Richie, Senior Vice President of Development at Telecare.

Toni Tullys, MPA, Director of Behavioral Health Services at the Santa Clara County Health and Hospital System, praised Telecare’s impressive track record of developing programs that aim to reduce hospital stays, saying that Telecare has "the expertise of working with individuals with very high needs and developing, designing, and implementing services to support the needs of that population."

"We’re bringing government and philanthropy and the private sector together with the unique focus on innovations and outcomes," said Anne Bakar, President and CEO of Telecare.

Preliminary design and planning work is being done now. The program is scheduled to launch in 2016.