2011 Annual Report - Presbyterian Homes & Services

Optage Home & Community Services
Home and community services offered by
PHS have grown exponentially over the
past three years. These services began as
Creative Independence in-home care and
senior dining services. Now, Optage home
and community services is the new Creative
Independence. The purpose of Optage is
to build a “Bridge to Optimum Aging”. Optage
services also include hospice, primary care,
and care management.
The goal of Optage is to fulfill the mission
of PHS to enrich the lives of older adults
through services that reflect the love of
God. In-home care now meets the needs
of 500 clients monthly. Congregate dining
centers have opened in seven Twin Cities
Area counties and an average of 8,120 home
delivered meals are being brought to 1,400
clients every week. Optage Hospice enrolled
its first patient in 2010 and has expanded
to 50 patients at the time of this report.
Patients and their families are reporting
high satisfaction with the responsiveness
to needs, Christian compassion and timely
communication with families and other
caregivers.
Optage House Calls is our primary care
“virtual” clinic bringing health care services
into residents’ homes. Our initial focus is on
older adults living in PHS senior apartments
and assisted living who are considered
“home limited”. We aim to offer House Calls
in PHS communities across the Twin Cities
metro area, and then expand to include
nursing home residents and home-bound
older adults. A key component of our care
will be adoption of the “health care home”
model utilizing care managers and an
interdisciplinary process to truly meet our
patients’ personal goals of care.
JOHN MIELKE, MD
CHIEF MEDICAL
OFFICER
Focus on the Future Resident
In 2011 we faced a drastically changed
economy, a more educated consumer and
increased competition. It was a time of
incredible change and opportunity.
How could we create a “guest-centered” culture
in which all staff is focused on the importance
of future residents? We had strong leadership
and housing professionals who were filled with
passion and persistence. Tools and systems were
the missing pieces.
A national consultant whose approach
aligned with our mission, vision and values
was brought in. Through the help of weekly
coaching, a relationship-centric system was
piloted at 10 PHS Twin Cities metro area
communities. Although fairly straightforward,
this approach requires high commitment and
personal ownership from staff in order to:
• Be available. Back-up teams are selected
and trained so that inquiring callers will
reach a human rather than voice mail.
• Connect with inquirers, learn their unique
needs and situations, and offer advice and
guidance.
• Encourage inquirers to visit the community
and personalize the visit to meet their
individual needs and desires.
• Assess situations and determine the logical
next step to walk with inquirers through
the complicated decision-making process.
Over the 10 month pilot, organizational
census increased by 2%. More importantly,
the positive feedback we received from
future residents and their families gave us
the encouragement needed to roll out the
system throughout all of PHS. Today, two
PHS employees have been trained as coaches
and all PHS communities actively participate
in the system.
DEB BLACK
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OF MARKETING
perspectives 21