The KYIQ Best Practices Award is presented to those nursing homes that have implemented exemplary best practices that serve as a model for other nursing homes to adopt and implement in order to enhance the quality of care that is provided to all residents.  This Award was established in 2009 by the Kentucky Initiative for Quality Nursing Home Standards (The KYIQ Group), which is an independent, non-profit, 501 (c) (3) public charity.

The KYIQ Group was established in 2008 by a small group of like-minded individuals who believed that the best interests of all would be better served by constructively motivating and collaboratively working with, as opposed to against, nursing homes in order to foster the implementation of best practices in nursing homes.   These practices are not only doable, but in most cases, are the most cost effective way to care for residents.  In short, the goal was to create a “Win-Win-Win” for the three major stakeholders - - the nursing homes, the families, and the most important stakeholder of all - - the residents!

The premise of the Best Practices Award is based on three fundamental realities.   First, there is an absolute need for nursing homes.  Second, all nursing homes, regardless of whether they are “Non-Profit” or “For-Profit” nursing homes, may not financially operate in the “RED.”   Third, some nursing homes do not always provide the same sustained level of care that is provided by exemplary nursing homes.  This latter anomaly motivated the founders of the KYIQ Group, with childlike curiosity, to ask “Why the disparity if all nursing homes must comply with the same set of Regulatory Standards?” The inescapable conclusion that they reached was that the exemplary nursing homes had consistently implemented practices that had resulted in a “value added” quality of care without any significant increase in cost.  And many of the best practices actually reduced the “life cycle” costs of operating a nursing home.  This conclusion provided the incentive for the KYIQ Group to establish its “Best Practices Award” which focuses on “recognition” rather than criticism.

The Best Practices Criteria focuses on five major subcategories.   The first, and most important of all, is “Continuity of Care” because it directly relates to the quality of care received by residents.  Examples of but a few of the best practices that have been implemented in exemplary nursing homes include:

• Zero use of Agency Staffing.
• CNA direct care staffing ratios of 8-to-1 or less during critical care hours.
• Incentive, Morale and Recognition Programs that reduce the turnover rate of care-giving staff.
• Elimination of practice of periodic rotation of staff from one wing to another in order to ensure maximum staff familiarity with individual needs of residents.
• Adopting procedures that ensure that residents who need to be periodically turned are in fact turned, and that Monitoring Logs are not “penciled whipped.”
• Written protocols that meticulously address how to ensure full staffing during those inevitable periods of “call-offs” and “no-shows.”

The second subcategory is “Training,” which focuses on the type, quality, level and frequency of training provided for the Nurses, CNAs and PRNs - - superior training produces a “staffing multiplier” effect.

The third subcategory focuses on “Deficiencies.”  In this regard, the KYIQ Group recognizes that even the very best nursing homes may occasionally be cited for relatively minor deficiencies.  That is another one of those “realities.”  And that is why the focus is on the “Lessons Learned,” and what practices were adopted to avoid repeat deficiencies.

The fourth subcategory is “Family Support,” and what practices are innovative with respect to the respective roles of the Family/Resident Councils; the participation of the Ombudsperson and Social Worker; the use of Family/Resident/Employee Surveys; and the practices used in addressing Family/Resident complaints.

The fifth subcategory is a “Catch-All” that includes innovative practices and programs not covered by the first four subcategories.  Examples include innovative dining room initiatives; optional meal selections; flexible wake-up times; Disaster Preparedness Protocol Checklists; and a website that identifies the 42 questions that family members should ask before deciding which nursing home is best suited for their respective family members.

The question that may lurk in the minds of Nursing Home Administrators undoubtedly is: “Does the KYIQ Group consider the “5-Star” Rating Criteria?  The answer is a qualified yes.  In this regard, the KYIQ Group determined early on that that Rating Criteria should be considered in the context of an historical track record rather than as a “snapshot” of the nursing home’s current practices.  That is why the focus of the KYIQ Best Practices Award is on today’s documented practices rather than on yesterday’s practices, which may have included a non-recurring anomaly. 

Any Nursing Home Administrators who believe that that their respective nursing  homes should be considered for the KYIQ Best Practices Award may log on to www.kyiqnursinghome.org, and ask to be considered - - we only go if invited.

Recipients of the KYIQ Best Practices Award include the following Nursing Homes:

Britthaven of Bowling Green                                                                     

Christian Health Center of Bowling Green

Cumberland Valley Manor

Elliot Nursing and Rehab

Green Acres

Homestead Nursing Center

Jefferson Place

Middlesboro Health Care Facility

Pine Meadows Health Care

River Valley Nursing Home

Rockcastle Respiratory Center

Superior Care

The Forum at Brookside