When looking for a name for the most important new position we have ever created in the Apostles Center of Care, we searched for a long time. This new position would be the leader of each household, with the goal and expectation to ensure quality care, a neat and clean environment, life enriching activities as well as active exercise through restorative therapy.
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| Dawn Miller |
This new leader will accomplish these lofty goals through hiring, training and orienting all of the household staff, implementing a self-scheduling system that ensures appropriate staffing at all times and modeling the desired outcomes. Always in the past these duties were the responsibility of the RN Charge Nurse; but due to pressing medical needs, required paperwork, communications with family members, physicians, and other daily challenges, the charge nurse could rarely focus attention on these details. The difference is a proactive versus a reactive approach to quality!
What should we call this new position and who should we select to fill it? Dr. Bill Thomas the innovative and famous physician who developed the small house nursing home known as Green Houses, the standard of excellence in long-term care, actually made up a fictitious name for his caregivers. He named them Shahbaz, which in the Farsi language means “royal falcon.” Titles are important. They immediately convey the significance of the position. Dr. Thomas wanted to so dramatically change the perception of nursing home care that he chose to create a whole new image for the caregiver.
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| Lynn Lugo |
An image change to go along with improved quality is a very good idea. At Homestead Village we no longer call our most important staff members nursing assistants, CNAs (Certified Nursing Assistant), or nurse’s aides. We call them “Caregivers.” To lead the households and create the best possible teamwork, our new leadership position has been named TLC which stands for Team Lead Caregiver. We like it because the initials’ better known meaning - tender loving care. It is our hope that the TLC will succeed in fulfilling that kind of experience for each of our residents. TLCs have been selected to lead Fickes House and Radcliffe House. Both are veteran caregivers. Lynn Lugo, Fickes house TLC, has worked at Homestead Village for over 18 years and most recently was our Restorative Caregiver, specializing in restorative therapy. Dawn Miller has worked at Homestead Village for over three years as a caregiver and exudes a level of enthusiasm and concern for quality care that is vital. Both Lynn and Dawn have been in training for the position since the beginning of 2011 and are anxious to see the renovations complete and their houses take shape. Their goal is the best nursing care Homestead Village has ever provided! I am confident that they will succeed.
