As professionals in the long-term care industry, have you ever heard residents complain about their unpleasant experiences while receiving care? If the answer is yes, we have a question for you. Do you think the caregiving team was working as a unit? Today, CareStory is going to discuss team collaboration.

The Bad News

Based on research published at NCBI, if care staff don’t work smoothly as a team, the community will begin to notice challenges with day-to-day care as a result.

First of all, caregivers may unintentionally overlook symptoms, such as unmanaged pain, dietary issues, sleep patterns, etc. This not only decreases the level of trust between the resident, the family members, and the staff, but it also greatly reduces the resident’s quality of life. Another issue that will present itself due to poor team collaboration is that Nurses may mix up medication among different residents. This happens more than you think, and is a mistake that could cost someone their life. Perhaps the issue we are currently seeing the most of in communities is that residents are being ignored and experiencing limited companionship and interaction.

These scenarios are very real, and may potentially lead to conflicts between residents, their families and everyone else involved in their care.

The Good News

However, if your long-term care community does have challenges with team collaboration, there are things you can do to improve, and quickly at that.

The first thing you can do is learn more about the residents. Get to know their life stories. Even the process of discovery will personalize interactions. Next, administrative staff can set long-term and short-term goals for the team. It is also important to identify how all team members can work together and help each other accomplish these goals. Another thing you can do is set up and consistently update records of important information, such as milestones, setbacks, and achievements. Everything should be easily accessible and in one place so staying up-to-date is simplified. Finally, to improve communication between seniors, the caregiving team, and family members you can adopt CareStory (we had to say it) to make sure everyone is on the same page about everything that matters.

Just know, team collaboration is an ever-changing and ongoing journey that makes the world of difference in any long-term care community.

RESOURCES:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2665/

How to Help a Senior’s Caregiving Team Work Together

https://www.seniorsmatter.com/caregiver-team-planning/2492267/
https://www.aplaceformom.com/caregiver-resources/articles/caregiver-duties
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/create-a-care-team-in-5-steps-195525.htm
https://www.brynmawrterrace.org/sites/brynmawrterrace.org/files/LTCcommunication_Tips.pdf