The Kansas Department on Aging (KDOA) is committed to ensuring high quality services for Kansas nursing home residents. KDOA developed an on-going initiative in 2002 to support nursing homes instituting non-traditional models of care with home environments, a movement known nationally as “culture change.” This initiative, entitled “Promoting Excellent Alternatives in Kansas Nursing Homes” (PEAK), takes a dual approach. The first is to recognize those nursing homes pursuing progressive models of care. The second is to provide education to nursing home providers on how to institute change and to document the value of innovative change in providing long-term care.
Apply for a PEAK Nursing Home Award today:
2009 PEAK Award Application (Word Document)
*Applications will be accepted through December 15th.
The 2008 recipients of the Kansas PEAK Award are:
Bolded homes have been recognized for culture change in prior year(s)
Facilities must submit an application for consideration for a PEAK Award. Finalists are visted by a panel of professionals before awards are determined. Application materials and instructions for the 2009 PEAK Awards will be posted here in the fall of 2008.
Award-winning nursing homes and awards sponsors will be recognized at the 2008 Governor’s Conference on Aging Services and the association conferences. In addition, the Governor will be signing a Proclamation declaring “PEAK Week” and plaques will be presented to the 2008 PEAK award-winning homes.
In order to meet the educational objectives of PEAK, KDOA contracted with KSU to produce educational materials to assist nursing homes. KSU has produced a booklet entitled “Pioneering Change in Kansas Nursing Homes.” This book has been distributed to all Kansas nursing homes and other parties involved in the nursing home profession and can be viewed at KSU’s website at www.k-state.edu/peak/. In addition, KSU staff have developed the following training modules, also available on their website:
Training modules still to be developed include Activities for Individuals with Dementia, Spirituality, Diversity, Community, and Physical Activity.
KDOA would like to thank the many sponsors and organizations that have supported this initiative, including the PEAK Advisory Board. Members include the following organizations:
Bill McDaniel, KDOA’s Commisioner of the Program and Policy Commission, has completed a case study comparing PEAK nursing home winners from 2002 – 2005 to non-PEAK nursing homes using the Nursing Facility Quality and Efficiency Outcome Incentive Factor as the measurement. The quality/efficiency factor is a component of the Kansas Medicaid nursing home rate-setting methodology that was implemented July 1, 2005, to provide a monetary incentive for favorable outcomes in the following areas: direct care staffing; operating costs; direct care staff turnover; staff retention; total occupancy; Medicaid occupancy; and Medicaid certification survey results.
Results of the study proved promising. Overall, a higher percentage of PEAK homes (63%) received an incentive factor ranging from $1 to $3 per resident day, compared to 36% of non-PEAK homes. To read the complete case study.
The PEAK initiative should prove to be even more exciting in the coming year. KDOA continues its contract with the Kansas State University’s (KSU) Center on Aging to develop training materials and provide assistance to nursing home providers transitioning to person-centered care. KSU will use the information received in this year’s PEAK applications as a basis for educational materials, and as inspiration for other homes to embrace change. KSU will continue developing the education modules and culture change newsletters. KSU also coordinated five regional culture change symposia in 2007 for Kansas nursing home staff and other interested stakeholders. A total of 369 individuals representing 74 Kansas nursing homes attended these symposia and evaluations were encouraging.
A grant issued to Meadowlark Hills provided partial funding for the development of a “Deep Culture Change Model” toolkit, which was released in 2006 and is now available through Kansas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (KAHSA) or Kansas Health Care Association (KHCA). Proceeds from the sale of this toolkit will be used to further promote culture change in Kansas.
KDOA has contracted with Kansas University Medical Center (KUMC) to develop a tool that will accurately measure culture change and then determine the impact culture change has on the quality of care. KUMC determined in a previous study that low turnover correlates directly with higher quality of care. It is believed that nursing homes that have adopted culture change will have lower turnover and, hence, better care. In addition, there are other quality measures that will be compared in this study to further determine the impact of culture change on nursing home residents’ quality of care.
KDOA continues to support the Kansas Culture Change Coalition, with the PEAK Initiative providing a part of the overall culture change activities.
For more information on the PEAK initiative, contact Amanda Barta at (785) 368-6685 or by e-mail at amanda.barta@aging.ks.gov.
For information on the educational component of PEAK, visit the KSU website at www.k-state.edu/peak/.