In this episode of the Nursing Home Podcast, we explore the risk management side of marketing for healthcare facilities with Christina Woldrick, director of Risk Management at Friends Services Alliance. With over 30 years of experience, Christina shares insights from her transition from medical malpractice defense to healthcare risk management. We delve into the implications of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 on senior living communities and discuss common forms of discrimination and the concept of reasonable accommodation for disabilities. We further discuss the risks concerning fair housing rules in marketing, the potential pitfalls in targeting particular groups, and the importance of educating staff and residents about their rights. Lastly, Christina emphasizes the importance of discussing and defining risk tolerance within the healthcare community to avoid potential legal issues. Summary The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing choices and lending based on protected class status. Senior living communities are considered housing providers and are subject to the Fair Housing Act. Refusing admission or denying reasonable accommodations for disability can lead to litigation and monetary settlements. Senior living communities must meet the essential requirements of tenancy, including paying rent on time, keeping the unit clean, and obeying community rules. Reasonable accommodations should be provided to residents with disabilities to help them meet the essential requirements of tenancy. There are parameters and rules surrounding reasonable accommodations, such as reviewing and signing off on scooter rules or having construction requirements for accessibility. Failure to comply with the Fair Housing Act and provide reasonable accommodations can result in reputational damage and legal consequences. "Providing reasonable accommodations is not only a legal requirement but also a moral obligation to ensure equal access and fair treatment for all residents." #HealthcareMarketingRisks #FairHousingAct #SeniorLivingCommunities

In a climate of constantly expanding work options for nurses, how do you keep your in-house staff from leaving? Sara Well, founder and CEO of Dropstat, describes how the pandemic impacted retention of nursing staff and explains how her company is working with healthcare organizations to solve their in-house staffing shortages.

With the growing healthcare staffing shortage, many organizations can’t keep up with day-to-day patient outreach. Eric Alvarez, Founder & CEO of Grapefruit Health, explains how his company is employing clinical students to alleviate these low acuity but highly necessary tasks.

Is it possible to keep your staff from leaving even if the facility down the street pays a dime more? Erica Coleman, CEO of Clinton Area Care Center, states that creating an atmosphere of care and transparency will make staff want to stay and the only way to make this happen is through your own attitude and actions.

Thinking about home health care for you or your loved one but don't know how to get started? Sam Gopinathan, CEO of New Wave Home Care, explains how home care works, how to pay for it with long term care insurance, and why it is important to seek out home care agencies over private caregivers.

Do you want to start a senior care home but don't have the sufficient funds to invest in a multi-million dollar venture? Lindsay Mclaughlin introduces the concept of residential assisted living homes and explains why they can be a good option for those who want a more personalized and hands-on experience in the senior care industry.

What should you do if you're a Clinical Liaison and you are instructed by your administrator to fix your facility’s census? Nebras Hayek, assistant Vice President of Gentell, Inc., gives some strategies that can be used to improve census numbers and target specific issues that are hindering a facility’s progress.

While it might be tempting to spend time and energy making a plan for staffing recruitment, you must be able to stick to that plan no matter what. Avi Richman, Director of Labor Management and Recruiting at Vita Healthcare Group, states that consistency and follow through on planned processes is the only way to ensure that they work at all.

What if the only thing keeping a would-be experienced and passionate healthcare worker from becoming a CNA was money? Athena Kan, CEO of Dreambound, understands that one of the largest barriers preventing people from becoming CNAs is finding funding for a training program.

How can one of the most widespread mental health conditions be one of the least covered during trainings of similar neural conditions? Dr. Jennifer Stelter and her business partner Jessica Ryan explain how providing engaging training about dementia can increase employee retention and give caregivers essential skills when helping those with this all-too-common condition.

Picture this: a category five hurricane converges on a city. The streets are crammed with the traffic of evacuees. Yet, rather than helping these panicked people, the number of traffic cops is increased by sevenfold to ensure they are all given speeding tickets. Dr. Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, best selling author and a major authority on infection control and prevention in nursing homes, explains how this illogical scenario is essentially what took place in nursing homes and senior care facilities who were targeted by infection control surveyors during the early days of COVID-19.

*** SOLO EPISODE *** Although most of the episodes are interview format, I decided to change this one up a bit and try a solo episode and see how it goes :) No one wants to work these days across all industries and nursing homes were hit particularly hard. In this episode, we discuss 5 practical tactics you implement today to start moving towards a future that's more stable with more consistent staffing.

U.S. regulations require a long term care facility to be “home like,” but what can employees and professionals really do to make sure their residents feel at home. Jennifer George M.P.T. explains that in order to make residents feel at home, employees and professionals must strive to give them as much independence as possible. To recognize their opinions and decisions and abide by them.

With so many different means and components of internal and external communication in facilities, it is often difficult to direct the right messages to the right recipient at the right time. Ryan Galea, CEO of VoiceFriend, explains how this dynamic software can unite all the stakeholders of a facility and serve as one system to streamline everything that is being said.

What happens if the worst-case scenario transpires, and your facility is sued under The False Claims Act? Attorney Jana Volante Walshak, a partner at Fox Rothschild LLP, walks us through this taboo subject and explains how such a situation can be addressed and prevented.

Despite the importance of quick and seamless communication in senior care, the industry is woefully behind in its technology adaptation. Terry Wall, founder senior-care-centric communication platform Carefeed, explains how his company is innovating a space that's not known to be so innovative.

What if you could throw the progression of a patient’s Alzheimer's with just a change in lighting, or increase their quality of life with a few added design elements to a room. Jean Makesh, CEO of the Lantern Group, holds that there is a difference between surviving and thriving and has made it his mission to design programs and buildings that allow residents to truly thrive!

Over the past few episodes we have examined how to maintain personnel, but what about hiring them? Adam Lewis explains that in order to attract the healthcare job seekers of today, job postings need to read like advertisements that tell a story, rather than just a bland list of position requirements.

You’re a young but experienced nursing home administrator who's ready to make a go of it and become an operator, but how do you acquire a facility? Jeffrey Davis explains how to navigate the nursing home real estate market and find an economical deal with a partner willing to back them financially.

While we have learned quite a bit on the show about the pressures CNAs have to endure and why so many of them leave for other professions, we have never actually heard from a CNA. Quanisah Bernard gives us a first hand account of her experience as a CNA, why she ultimately left, and what made her stay at one special facility for fourteen years.