The Commonwealth Fund

Most nursing homes are regimented, medically oriented environments. To transform them into settings where the individual resident is the focus, nursing home executives and administrators need detailed guidance on creating and sustaining new clinical and management processes. This Picker Program Grant will develop a set of tools to effectuate change in nursing home culture. Employing a variety of information technology systems, they will include: a text on leadership development; specific operational policies, procedures, and programs; an integrated human resources system; and a comprehensive system of quality improvement. The tool set will be targeted to providers, administrators-in-training, nursing home consultants, and others seeking to improve the quality of life for residents in long-term care facilities. Cofunding will be provided by the Sunflower Foundation of Kansas and the Kansas Foundation for Medical Care; additional cofunding is being sought. http://www.meadowlark.org/index.html