Staffing up with an RCPC

Headnote

How one new staff position produced many benefits

RCPC, as acronyms go, doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. In our organization, though, it stands for improvementspecifically, the Restorative/ Care Planning Coordinator. This is a new staff position aimed at:

improving resident care and services;

enhancing the facility's functional capacity; and

maximizing functional capacity and potential of our work force.

To Change or Not to Change...

The evolving health care system in our country has created an abundance of challenges for its practitioners, all of which begin and end with the inevitability of change. The purpose, therefore, of staffing initiatives such as cross-training and multi-tasking is to have as many workers trained to accomplish as many different and varied tasks as possible-in short, to do more with less-thus leading to productivity gains allowing for a more competitive posture in the evolving health care system.

The nursing home care industry of the 1990s is confronted with these challenges in the context of a traditional suspicion of things new and different, of a fondness for the safety and predictability of the status quo. The realities of reimbursement and the survey process help make this so. Unfortunately, change is a reality, and one which will increasingly dominate our world. And the major focus of change in the long-term care industry will be on manpower and work force issues.

Twelve months ago, The Village at St. Edward took a major step in bringing about a significant change to the structure and function of two major components of its nursing department: restorative nursing and documentation of care plans and the MDS Plus. The process was not pain-free, but we believe it has truly allowed the organization to function more efficiently and flexibly in these two very key areas.

Restorative: The Problem

Our 100-bed SNF had always operated under the traditional arrangement for the provision of restorative nursing services: one nurse ran the program. She was paired with a restorative aide who was very committed to and involved in the program. It was an arrangement which allowed for the tight control and sharp focus which very...