There are eight red flags that you should be aware of during your holiday visit with elders, according to Samara Elias, MSW, LSW, a social worker for the Parker Adult Day Center. Parker Health Group, provides aging services including nursing care, assisted living, memory care and post-acute rehabilitation in Piscataway, Highland Park, New Brunswick, Somerset and Monroe Township.
Safety measures to keep older adults sheltered in place have been critical during COVID-19. The need for ongoing medical care, however, hasn’t stopped.
Telehealth in senior care residences was a growing topic of discussion last year at LeadingAge’s annual conference, but the practice is now essential, industry panelists at the organization’s 2020 virtual gathering said.
A federal relaxation of HIPAA rules and expanded Medicare and Medicaid coverage has made it simpler for seniors to get care from a distance and avoid high-risk spaces such as hospitals.
Even though many senior care providers were able to roll out some type of telehealth solution in recent months, the efforts must be positioned to grow and evolve.
“We already knew this was a great option,” said Judy Collett-Miller, director of innovation technology at Parker Health Group, a New Jersey aging services organization that offered limited telehealth services before the pandemic. “These circumstances forced decisions quicker.”
She offered insights in a panel with Brett Ortega, vice president of community technology at HumanGood, a California-based operator of 22 senior care communities.
“We know the primary way the virus gets into a nursing home or an assisted living community is from staff — and it’s often those who work in more than one community or those who are going home to their families and unwittingly becoming infected,” Katie Smith Sloan, president of LeadingAge, recently told HealthTech.
This is why more providers have deployed thermal camera technology in the past few months. The subject was highlighted in several sessions this week at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting Virtual Experience, which will continue online Nov. 17-19.
By quickly screening an incoming employee or visitor for elevated body temperature — a common but not definitive symptom of COVID-19 — staff can deny that person entry to help prevent unintentional spread of the disease.
Infrared technology often calibrates against a “black body” accessory to indicate the difference between a subject’s temperature and the black body’s predetermined temperature. Some setups use multiple pieces of equipment; others are all-in-one touchless kiosks that print a wearable sticker after a reading is taken to confirm an individual is approved to enter.
Although the pandemic has prompted more providers to discover and deploy these tools, they can serve a broader long-term purpose during periods such as flu season.
“This is not a COVID-19 strategy; this is an infection control strategy,” Jim Dellapa, CIO of the Piscataway, N.J.-based aging services organization Parker Life, told LeadingAge audiences Wednesday.
[Note: this article quotes Parker's Director of Medicine at Parker at Monroe]
“In the midst of this crisis, we must do more to keep nursing home residents and health care staff safe as they shelter in place,” said Dr. Fred A. Kobylarz, a geriatrician at Rutgers RWJMS and director of the Parker at Monroe Nursing Home, who will assist with the training. “Nursing homes are not often first in line for personal protective equipment, and they need clear guidance and support to implement and adhere to standards.”
Who takes care of those who are taking care of others during the COVID-19 pandemic? Parker Health Group is trying to be the answer to that question for its own employees.
Officials at Parker, a long-term care facility that says it has a mission to discover ways to make aging manageable, said they realized early on during the pandemic that caring for the company’s own employees was important, too.
That’s why the Highland Park-based nonprofit has launched an emotional well-being program to give its nurses, dietary aides, recreation staff, financial services workers and others a space to share their experiences. Together, the more than 800 workers at its campuses in Piscataway, Highland Park, New Brunswick, Somerset and Monroe share the stresses and strains of serving others.
The New Jersey Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJ ACTS) at Rutgers University received a $5 million National Institutes of Health grant to launch outreach campaigns and expand access to COVID-19 testing for underserved and vulnerable communities throughout the state.
The Rutgers-led study called the New Jersey Healthcare Essential Worker Outreach and Education Study – Testing Overlooked Occupations, or NJ HEROES TOO, will be funded under NIH’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative, RADx Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program, according to the university.
The program supports research that aims to better understand COVID-19 testing patterns among underserved and vulnerable populations; strengthen the data on disparities in infection rates, disease progression and outcomes; and develop strategies to reduce the disparities in COVID-19 testing, according to NIH.
As we enter the fall season, the chance of resurgence in COVID-19 cases remains top of mind, especially for health care providers.
Just like we've seen in Britain, France, Germany and other European countries, New Jersey needs to be fully prepared for a second spike. For those who work in long-term care, it is our utmost responsibility to be ready and equipped with protocols that would limit exposure, based on lessons learned this spring and summer.
20 Recipients to be honored
CLICK HERE FOR PDF OF MAGAZINE EXCERPT
CLICK HERE FOR PARKER’S PRESS RELEASE ABOUT THE AWARD
ON OCT 5, 2020
The New Jersey Business & Industry Association is proud present the 2020 Awards for Excellence to 4 executives and 16 companies who have improved the quality of life in New Jersey in outstanding ways. NJBIA is honoring select employers from its membership for outstanding achievements in the following areas:
Executive of the Year
John Beacham, Toorak Capital Partners
Ashish Garg, Net2Source Inc.
Wendy Graeb, The Connection
Roberto Muñiz, Parker Health Group Inc.
EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD
For individuals who demonstrate leadership and passion while achieving business success.
Roberto Muñiz
President and CEO, Parker Health Group
CEO Roberto Muñiz has led the Parker Health Group, a nonprofit aging services organization, on a transformative journey over the past 21 years. What began as two nursing homes serving 100 people has grown into a diverse organization caring for close to 1,000 people daily through various aging service programs. This includes four nursing homes, assisted living and memory care facilities, post-acute rehabilitation services, adult day centers with medical and social programs, and a child development center that promotes intergenerational programming.
During this rapid expansion, Muñiz has kept Parker true to its mission of creating places where people can age in a home-like setting, whether they live at a Parker facility or in their own homes with supportive programs. In addition to his work at Parker, Muñiz serves on many healthcare boards and committees and is a Senior Health Fellow and instructor at Rutgers University, where he inspires students to consider careers in aging services.
SOMERSET, NJ – September 8, 2020 – Parker at Somerset’s “Living With A Purpose Club” (LWAPC) has been honored with the 2020 Community Commitment Award (CCA), a national distinction that recognizes resident-driven programs that would not be possible if it were not for organizations like Parker Health Group, Inc, who provide support and encourage ongoing efforts which enrich lives in meaning and purpose to its Elders.
The CCA, presented by the Pioneer Network and Rockport Healthcare Services, acknowledges members of the long-term care community for volunteer service, benefiting not only those living in a residential home, but their communities at-large.
LWAPC was formed five years ago after a group of residents at Parker at Somerset expressed the desire to make a greater impact on the lives of others. Members of the club believe it is their duty to serve others.
“Parker’s Living with Purpose Club exemplifies what the CCA is all about, the difference that residents can make in creating greater purpose in their lives as they support the needs of the greater community,” said Joan Devine, Director of Education, Pioneer Network. “The way the program has adapted over time is a wonderful example of how a program can be sustained.”
Members of the LWAPC have raised thousands of dollars in cash and gift cards, as well as food donations and holiday presents. Members have also raised money to donate sporting goods, clothing and school supplies to children and young adults. They have sponsored theatrical performances and collaborated with other charitable causes in the Somerset community.
“The Living with A Purpose Club is a perfect example of Parker’s mission, which is to discover ways to make aging manageable, relatable and enriching for all of society. This club is certainly making a difference in our society and we are grateful that their purpose has been recognized through this prestigious award,” said Roberto Muñiz, President & CEO of Parker.
The club combines passionate and driven elders and caring and compassionate care partners who created opportunities and guidance. The effort that goes into this club is tremendous and beyond task. PSO has exceptional care partners who works in partnership with our elders to make their lives purposeful at all phases.
Due to social distancing guidelines, the LWAPC hasn’t met in-person over the past few months, but is eager to continue in its mission.
Eleven current residents, three family members and eight employees from various departments were honored with certificates at a virtual event of the Pioneer Network, “Envisioning the Future: 2020 & Beyond,” held Sept. 3rd.
Learn more at Parkerlife.org
About Parker Health Group, Inc.
Parker Health Group, Inc. is a non-for-profit, New Jersey-based aging services organization with over 113 years’ experience that is committed to empowering older Americans. Since 1907 Parker has been challenging, changing, and expanding the idea of what it means to grow older in America and how all of us can make aging part of life.