Louisville, KY., Nov. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Even in the most idyllic circumstances, the skill of effective communication can be difficult, unclear, and a real challenge between individuals, and even more so between industries. Add to that a pandemic, and its corresponding chaos and restrictions, and communication is often inhibited further. But it is these challenges that conversely inspired a collaborative endeavor between two leaders in the skilled nursing industry, Signature HealthCARE and Genesis HealthCare, who together developed a framework for interprofessional collaboration during a pandemic and beyond.
“As a duty and a promise to our residents, and to protect our staff from this pandemic, we needed to learn and implement effective strategies fast,” said Dr. Arif Nazir, Chief Medical Officer for Signature HealthCARE. “Knowing that Signature and Genesis both were aligned in this mission, the top clinical leaders came together to define an approach for effective information sharing and collaboration within and between organizations.”
At the height of the pandemic and thereafter, the post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) industry took a significant hit, affecting the whole of the industry, financially and operationally. Signature and Genesis discovered that, beyond promoting quick action and collaborations within one’s own company in battling a pandemic, interprofessional communication, and sharing key recommendations across companies to help the whole, was judicious and in fact, imperative.
“When faced with unprecedented challenges involving a pandemic that placed post-acute care in the eye of the storm, and the initial absence of an evidence-based playbook, we all needed to find better and faster ways to work together, to innovate and solve important issues as they arose,” said Dr. Richard Feifer, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Genesis HealthCare. “Efficient collaboration within and across organizations and stakeholder groups has been absolutely critical in our efforts to care for our patients and protect our staff.”
Within the healthcare landscape, discussions regarding promoting intra-organizational collaboration were focused on three key domains: Bridging Gaps that may be professional, social, physical, task-related, or regarding communication; Negotiating Overlaps, regarding staff and their responsibilities within or across organizations; and Creating Strategic Spaces, to interact and intermingle with collaborative staff and team members. This defined framework was further explained in an article released by the collaborative team from Signature and Genesis clinical leadership called, “Lessons in Collaboration from the Management of Pandemic in 2 Large Skilled Nursing Facility Chains”. The article was published by the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA). To read the full article, click here.
Signature HealthCARE and Genesis HealthCare, hope their collaboration in developing this framework is an example, catalyst, and firm foundation for a change in the landscape of collaborative healthcare, for now and in the future.
“There are areas where healthy competition is needed among companies to advance clinical care models,” said Nazir. “But the pandemic highlighted many more areas, where healthy collaborations will help us attain the vision of best care in context of the pandemic, and beyond”.
“In a Public Health Emergency, it is essential that providers of all classifications band together to combat a virus that claims the health and lives of our communities,” said Annette Wenzler, Chief Nursing Officer of Signature HealthCARE. “It indeed was our sharing and collaboration of information, expertise, and ideas that gave us a win in many ways in this fight, despite these tragic and challenging events in our history.”
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Signature HealthCARE is a family-based healthcare company with integrated services at each point of the continuum of care: skilled nursing, home health, assisted living and in-home care. The company’s organizational culture inspires more than 12,000 employees with three pillars: Learning, Spirituality, and Innovation. A growing number of Signature HealthCARE centers are earning five-star quality ratings, the highest classification from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and 100+ Signature HealthCARE locations earned QAPI accreditation. Signature HealthCARE was also awarded the Great Place to Work® award for the past five consecutive years.
Genesis Healthcare, Inc. is a holding company with subsidiaries that, on a combined basis, offer services to more than 250 skilled nursing facilities and assisted/senior living communities in 23 states nationwide. Genesis affiliates provide high-quality post-acute care, long-term care and assisted/senior living services in the local markets in which they serve. All facilities follow a universal staff COVID-19 vaccine requirement to protect patients, residents, families and fellow colleagues. Genesis subsidiaries also supply rehabilitation therapy to approximately 1,100 healthcare providers in 43 states and the District of Columbia. References made in this release to "Genesis," "the Company," "we," "us" and "our" refer to Genesis Healthcare, Inc. and each of its wholly-owned companies. Visit our website at www.genesishcc.com.
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