Louisville, Ky., Oct. 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Infection control has always been paramount in the care, safety, protection, and health of our beloved residents at all our Signature HealthCARE facilities. The past two years have taught us many things in the medical industry about innovation, forward-thinking, and creating new technologies and partnerships to defend the lives of our residents, staff, and families. That is why we are truly honored to announce that our pioneering partnership with CareAscend has been awarded the top distinction of Gold, in McKnights 2022 Excellence in Technology Awards, in the Keep It Super Simple, or KISS category.
In November of 2021, Signature HealthCARE and CareAscend launched a digital evaluation and fit-testing app for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) paper form, which requires all staff to be appropriately fit tested for N95 masks. Signature HealthCARE and CareAscend worked seamlessly to create an innovative digital process through the CareAscend App, which now allows staff and Signature’s medical practitioners to electronically work with facility leadership to complete the OSHA Medical evaluation and fit-testing process for N95 masks. For our staff, this newly created process has shown to be more effective and efficient than the traditional, more time-consuming paper evaluation form. The new digital process saves staff many hours, if not days, and in our ever-changing and demanding environment, our dedicated medical practitioners thrive on convenience!
Dr. Arif Nazir, Chief Medical Officer of SHC Medical Partners, a joint venture between BrightSpring Health Services and Signature HealthCARE, and Amber Gensheimer, Director of Infection Control and Quality Management at Signature HealthCARE, lead Signature’s efforts in increasing efficiencies and efficacies in infection control. At the same time, they diligently follow the increasing requirements by the CDC, CMS, and OHSA. From this critical responsibility and focus grew the partnership with CareAscend in the creation of the digital app.
“Infection control and quality management is synonymous with quality care,” said Gensheimer. “We are always looking forward to new innovations and pathways to advance and revolutionize healthcare as we know it, for our residents, staff, families, and for our industry. We couldn’t be more proud that experts in our industry recognized that kind of forward thinking! And we’re not done yet.”
“We are thrilled that our efforts to continue to remove staff burdens using innovations like the CareAscend App, is being recognized and honored,” said Nazir. “With a partnership between our clinical teams and CareAscend, we have created a seamless, digital workflow for the medical evaluation process for timely fit-testing for respiratory use. It has saved our staff hundreds of hours of time, while promoting safety and compliance.”
Once staff complete the required OSHA fit-testing medical evaluation form electronically through the CareAscend App, the app then securely sends the completed form to the facility’s medical director, along with an electronic notification that review is needed. After the review is complete, staff is either approved for fit testing and use of an N95 mask or referred to another consultant for further evaluation.
"When we heard about the OSHA workflow automation idea, we were very excited as our CareAscend technical platform is versatile for that kind of workflow,” said Bharath Bynagari, CEO and Co-Founder of CareAscend. “Our team designed and developed this fully customizable system that is used by different types of customers including Signature HealthCARE. With the McKnights Gold Technical Award, I am very happy that all of our hard work has been recognized and I am very thankful for the Signature HealthCARE Team."
McKnights long-running awards program is a joint production of McKnights Long-Term Care News, McKnights Senior Living and McKnights Home Care and honors outstanding innovations in three divisions: Skilled Nursing, Senior Living, and Home Care. Each division was divided into four categories with Gold, Silver, and Bronze honors: Building Bridges, Innovator of the Year, Keep It Super Simple, and Quality. Winners were also recognized in the Tech Partner of the Year category for vendors. Nominations were judged by an external panel of industry experts.
If you have any further questions, please contact Ann Bowdan Wilder, Media, PR, and Communications Manager of Signature HealthCARE, at abowdanwilder@signaturehealthcarellc.com.
Signature HealthCARE is a family-based healthcare company with integrated services at each point of the continuum of care: Skilled Nursing, Assisted Living, and In-Home Care. The company’s organizational culture inspires nearly 12,000 employees with our foundational three pillars: Learning, Spirituality, and Innovation, plus our Sacred 7 Principles: Be Heroic, Embrace Teamwork, Show Compassion, Give Respect, Have Integrity, Encourage Positivity, and Be Patient. A growing number of Signature HealthCARE centers are earning five-star quality ratings, the highest classification from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and earneing QAPI accreditation. Signature HealthCARE has also been awarded a Best Place to Work honor under the Great Place to Work® Certification, for the past six years.
CAREASCEND is a secure, cloud-based workflow automation software platform to enhance compliance in regulatory reporting and streamline communication in all healthcare settings.
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