Miami Department of Veterans Administration Awards Culture Change Transformation Contract to the Institute

In October, 2006 the Institute for Caregiver Education was awarded a contract to facilitate the transformation of seven homes in the Miami VA Healthcare System from a clinical model to a social model of care. The contract started on October 2nd and will last for twenty months. The Miami VA Healthcare System is part of the VA Sunshine Healthcare Network (VISN 8), which encompasses Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

The main goal of the contract is to assist the Miami VA Healthcare System to change the culture in its skilled nursing services departments from an institutional model to a resident-centered model of care. The initiative will ultimately cultivate a model of care that will focus on the holistic needs of the veterans to improve their quality of care and quality of life. The contract execution will feature four key elements:

1. transforming the current nursing home culture to a
    resident-centered approach

2. empowering frontline team members to help address issues
    related to the delivery of customized, high quality care

3. changing the environment to foster a homelike experience

4. linking transformation of the nursing home culture to
    quality indicators

The cornerstones of the program will be community and VA partnerships, interdisciplinary care management, and support from local leadership. Together with the Institute, the Miami VA Healthcare System will create a model of care that not only focuses on the treatment of disease, but care that focuses on the social, environmental and emotional needs of individual residents.

“We are proud and honored to have been chosen as the Miami VA’s guide for this important journey,” says Institute President Annette Sanders. “According to the US Senate Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, there are approximately 35,800 men and women in VA homes across the country. That is a lot of people who can experience the positive effects of transforming medical model homes to a model that embraces individuality.”

The seven communities in the contract include:

• Miami VA Healthcare System
• James A. Hayley Veteran’s Hospital in Tampa
• VA Caribbean Healthcare System in San Juan
• North Florida / South Georgia VA Healthcare System
• Orlando VA Medical Center
• Bay Pines VA Healthcare System
• West Palm Beach VA Healthcare System

The Institute for Caregiver Education is a nationally-recognized leader in Culture Change education. For more than 15 years the organization has provided quality caregiver education to nursing homes from California to Maine. Over the last five years the IfCE team has educated hundreds of long-term care professionals on a myriad of Culture Change topics at such national conferences as ASA, NADONA, AAHSA, AHCA, ACHCA, The Pioneer Network, the VA Summit and numerous state associations. The Institute for Caregiver Education is currently a leading Culture Change educator for a number of state QIO organizations as they work with the 8th Scope of Work and CMS.

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