At Parker Health Group facilities, they knew full well what just about everyone knows in long-term care: You better have your infection control protocols up to par — especially during a public health emergency.
As a result, they did more than just pay attention to it. They became experts at it, throughout the building. In fact, improved hand hygiene became the target of an initiative that earned Gold at the McKnight’s Tech Awards for Skilled Nursing in the Quality category.
Parkers’ five homes deployed BioVigil Hand Hygiene Solution in early 2021. The wearable (i.e., badge) provides cues to care partners via audible, visual, and vibratory reminders when they have not performed hand hygiene, whether by washing with soap and water or using an alcohol-based sanitizer. When a care partner performs hand hygiene, they pass their hand in front of the badge and the icon will turn green. If hand hygiene is not performed within a specified time, the badge will remain red.
This technology not only improved hygiene habits but also made contact tracing more efficient and accurate. Since each “badge” is linked to the employee wearing it during their shift, any staff who test positive for COVID-19 or are ill in any way, can be contact traced to all the resident rooms they entered and those they provided care for. This has been invaluable in being able to quickly identify any potentially affected residents so that rapid actions can be taken if necessary.
“Parker Health Group is deserving, not only because they over-achieved their outcomes, but also their overall commitment to resident and staff safety,” said BioVigil President and CEO Sanjay Gupta. “Rather than focusing solely on compliance, the team set a high bar in creating a culture of safety by focusing on engaging and educating, and communicating the value of hand hygiene to residents and staff.”
Parker Health Group achieved overall hand-hygiene compliance at or above 95%, staff time savings and efficiency versus direct observation, and positive feedback from care partners and family members was chosen as the Gold winner for. These outcomes also improved resident, family, and care partner satisfaction and experience.
Other winners in the Quality category of the Skilled Nursing track were:
• Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation, of New Hyde Park, NY, won the Silver Award for its educational video resources intended for residents
• Bronzes went to Garden Spot Communities, of New Holland, PA, for its “Sonic Journeys” web application and Momentum at South Bay for Rehabilitation and Nursing, of East Islip, NY for its application of the Vios ECG monitoring system
Read about the Quality category winners in the Skilled Nursing track on the McKnight’s Senior Living website and in the Home Care track on the McKnight’s Home Care website.
See a list of all 2022 McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards Skilled Nursing track winners here.
The Platinum sponsor of the 2022 McKnight’s Tech Awards + Summit is KARE. Gold sponsors are iN2L + LifeLoop, IntelyCare and Saiva.To view the virtual awards presentation and recordings of the Summit webinars, visit mcknights.com/100422techawards.
