The following information is intended to support your facility’s

The following information is intended to support your facility’s vaccination education efforts. Print and display the pages as is or customize them with additional information or your facility’s logo (space allotted in the top right corner of each slide). The content can be used on bulletin boards, staff common areas, visitor reception areas, at staff or family council meetings and in mailings. This material was prepared by Health Quality Innovators (HQI), a Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of CMS or HHS, and any reference to a specific product or entity herein does not constitute endorsement of that product or entity by CMS or 12SOW/HQI/QIN-QIO-0221-05/16/22

Starting or Supporting a Family Council Brought to you by Health Quality Innovators (HQI) and Your Nursing Home Leaders

The Role of Our Family Council Our team shares a strong partnership with residents, families and the Family Council to harness the strength of family and improve our residents’ quality of life. Council members are invited to talk to any staff member – be open and ready to communicate. Printable resources for family members are available on hqin.org – covering topics like COVID-19 booster shots, visitation and pandemic preparedness.

Our Facility Involves and Appreciates Residents, Family and Friends: Great Job! nt's e d i s A re helping r siste ur COVID o c with ter clini boos Insert pictures, events, numbers or add a sticky note and update it as needed. The examples shown can be deleted. CNAs te ac family h hing o w to use the wheelc ha an outs ir for i de v i s i t Our SLP teachin g family membe rs to safel how yf their re eed sident tion c e f e in t, h t , is ey Jeffr evention amily pr rF u o ing about h c a te cil Coun uenza infl

What is a Family Council? Family councils are independently organized by family members or friends of residents. It is the right of residents’ families to create a family council. It is the right of residents to attend. The meetings are educational or about issues that members want to address regarding their experience in nursing homes. Staff or other visitors may attend if invited.

Share Your Facility’s Commitment Consider including family council information in an upcoming newsletter or email to resident families. Whether your facility has a council or just wants to share your willingness to create one, these messages can be customized for your needs. This facility welcomes the creation of a Family Council. We are here to support you with a private space and a staff liaison. Consistent with our goals of being responsive and providing person-centered care, we welcome the opportunity to engage with the council. or We would like to welcome back our Family Council if you are ready to meet again. Please let us know.

How Councils and Facilities Partner Education about nursing facilities and elder care Written communication of positives, concerns and ideas Provide input for quality assurance and performance improvement activities around care Involvement in events that help residents of the facility Our council has a concern that every resident doesn't have access to a pitcher of water. We understand your concern and strive to meet the needs of residents, but some have limitations in ability or medical reasons to not have a pitcher of water. We have some data we can share from our QAPI work regarding this topic.

Nursing Home Responsibilities Provide private space if available Respond to questions or concerns in writing in a timely manner Provide a staff member acceptable to the council who is willing to be a communicative leader to facilitate questions and responses Make reasonable efforts to alert residents and families if a meeting is scheduled - Tag F565

Our Best Practices Commitment Communication Best Practice: Ensure all staff are prepared in case they are approached with concerns or compliments by family or family council members. Responsiveness Best Practice: Provide a response within 24 hours, even if it is not a full response. Sometimes an emergent response is necessary. Protected Health Information Best Practice: Remain mindful of protecting residents' personal information when communicating with council members. Meeting Best Practice: Offer education from knowledgeable frontline staff or outside

Plan, Do, Study, Act Cycle Fill in your own targets PLAN: Our Resident Family Council has asked that we increase outside activities for residents due to COVID-19. We plan to increase outdoor activities to twice a month starting next month for three months. DO: Did everything go as planned? STUDY: Did we hit our goal? What did we learn? ACT: What are our conclusions? What do we need to do differently? HQIN’s downloadable PDSA worksheet: https://tinyurl.com/36mh8mzr