LeadingAge Minnesota recently recognized the Minnesota Veterans Homes with all three of its first ever ICan Quality Improvement Awards.

The Fergus Falls Veterans Home won first place for its “Admissions Process” project. The Silver Bay Veterans Home won second place for “Wound Care Supply Standardization” and also won third place for “Walking Rounds.”

“The Minnesota Veterans Homes have always taken great pride in the quality care, services and support we provide to our Residents and for striving to continuously improve,” said MDVA Quality Director Paula Newinski. “We know that to be successful, quality improvement needs to be everyone’s job, and we look toward staff across our organization to identify when there are opportunities to improve and welcome ideas for how we can take action to address those opportunities to improve care, quality of life and joy in our work.”

Jonathan Stone, Fergus Falls Veterans Home Administrator, explained that the “Admissions Process” project was designed to improve both Resident and staff satisfaction with the entire admission process. A multi-disciplinary team of 25 – including RNs, LPNs, CNAs, Maintenance, Housekeeping, Social Workers and leadership – were involved in the project.

The Minnesota Veterans Home – Fergus Falls admissions Performance Improvement Project (PIP) multidisciplinary team during the ICan awards celebration in November.

Dani Donner, Silver Bay Veterans Home Administrator, highlighted the two winning projects submitted by her teams. The “Wound Care Supply Standardization” project team focused on staff having difficulty finding wound care supplies, resulting in wasted supplies and staff time. The wound care supplies were cleaned from the four med rooms separately and reorganized with staff setting par levels to maintain consistency. Staff satisfaction surveys indicated that floor staff liked the new process, and the project achieved a significant cost savings of approximately $6,000 for just one type of wound dressing. The staff-led project also resulted in staff validation, inclusion and improved staff morale.

The Silver Bay Veterans Home also developed “Walking Rounds,” a project to encourage clear communication regarding Resident-centered care. Nursing Assistant staff now receive report at the beginning of the shift, then walk to specific Residents with their peer from the previous shift to monitor quality metrics. The result is increased communication between Nursing Assistant care partners, above-standard Resident cares, a decrease in shift-to-shift incomplete tasks, and better communication to other nursing staff.

“Teams undertaking projects as part of the ICan Quality Improvement Contest demonstrated a commitment to creating a culture in which all staff are empowered to identify opportunities for improvement and work together to implement effective solutions that positively impact the resident they serve and their broader community. Congratulations to the Minnesota Veterans Homes’ ICan teams for undertaking such meaningful and impactful projects and to the broader organization for supporting staff in participating in the ICan program,” said Julie Apold, LeadingAge Minnesota Vice President of Quality & Performance Excellence.

The ICan Quality Improvement Contest is a new program within the LeadingAge Minnesota Quality Program created to provide quality improvement tools and strategies for staff to think about opportunities for improvement in a solution-focused way. Staff help lead the improvement projects that are implemented over several months.

Silver Bay Veterans Home Wound Care Supply Standardization Team Members: Lollie Cooper, LPN; Dawn Midbrod, LPN; Lu Tedrick, RN Sr./WCC; Kim Osmundson, RNS/WCC; Brenda Hagen, RNS. Not pictured: Rennae Houle-Burns, DON; Kathryn Rosha, ADON; Tina Lundberg, CSAS; Jennifer Fisher, RN Sr.