The Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation has several other programs in place to improve the quality of care and quality of life for seniors and people with disabilities. In each case, we seek to partner with organizations that have similar philosophies and goals.
Culture Change
The Massachusetts Culture Change Coalition is part of a national movement that is transforming nursing homes into resident-centered communities. This philosophy nurtures the human spirit and promotes a living environment where older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers will thrive.
As part of its work, the Coalition sponsors regional forums that provide an opportunity for organizations and communities that have begun to implement culture change to share their experiences with others. These lively sessions provide resources, information, and valuable networking for individuals and organizations interested in learning more about the culture change movement.
The Coalition also acts as the Local Area Network for Excellence (LANE) for the national Advancing Excellence quality improvement campaign. In this role, the Coalition raises awareness and encourages enrollment in the campaign, acts as the communications relay point on the local level, and coordinates the provision of technical assistance for recommended interventions to improve quality.
Revisions have been made to the federal Guidance concerning Quality of Life and Environment. Tag F255 (closets) is deleted and regulatory language and Guidance moved to F461. To train surveyors in this revision, a training document is included with speaker notes from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Regional Offices and State Survey Agencies.
Falls Prevention
Falls are the sixth leading cause of death in people over the age of 65. Among seniors, falls are more common than stroke and can be just as serious. Falls cause more than 90% of broken hips, and only half of those who break their hips will ever fully recover. Click here to read more.
Among nursing facility residents, who are more frail than seniors living at home, the risk of falls can be even greater and potentially more harmful. That is why the Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation has made falls prevention a major priority and co-founded the Massachusetts Falls Prevention Coalition along with the Department of Public Health and the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts to raise awareness among senior care providers and others of the harmful impact of falls and the availability of successful prevention strategies.
MOLST
Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) is an expansion of the advance care planning process that has been implemented in several states. The objective of the MOLST model is to ensure that seniors’ end-of-life wishes are respected across all care settings.
Studies have shown that life-sustaining treatments and procedures are frequently administered in direct contradiction to the patient’s wishes. The MOLST program provides tools for seniors to use in ensuring that their wishes are respected and resources for health professionals in search of information on end-of-life issues. More information about the program is available on the Massachusetts MOLST website.
Through a grant from MassHealth to Commonwealth Medicine, the Massachusetts Senior Care Foundation and several partners are working to replicate the MOLST program in Massachusetts, beginning with a pilot program in Worcester that is currently underway