According to NHQualityCampaign.org, Consistent Assignment occurs when residents are consistently cared for by the same caregivers, particularly CNAs and nurses. Consistent assignment has been shown to increase caregivers’ familiarity with residents and to strengthen relationships between caregivers and both residents and their family members.
Why is Consistent Assignment so Important in Long Term Care?
Many residents of long term care facilities are constantly dealing with changes in themselves as well as their surroundings / environment and caregivers. All of this change often leads to issues and lapses with care and decreased job satisfaction for staff. Improper care, staff burnout, neglect, poor nourishment, missed medications, and the inability to deliver person-centered care are all issues that occur when there is a revolving door of staff and nurses and when they are not consistently assigned to the same residents.
At Heart to Home we have worked hard at creating an environment conducive of consistent assignment. We orientate each staff member to each resident in great detail. We discuss residents likes / dislikes, preferences and meet regularly with our core group of CNAs and RNs. In addition our staffing is done in a consistent manner where each resident is paired with the same staff days, evenings and overnights. This leads to deep meaningful relationships between staff and residents. The outcome? Our staff love their jobs (and it shows!), residents experience person-centered care, low staff turnover, changes in residents condition are addressed more rapidly, improved communication (both staff to staff and staff to family)... and most importantly it creates a family-model of care where staff care for each resident as carefully and lovingly as a family member...
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