Skilled Nursing Facilities Series: Preventing Unsafe and Avoidable Hospitalizations

Activity description

Residents in skilled nursing facilities typically have multiple medical diagnoses requiring ongoing management. A key to resident health is for nursing staff to be familiar with individual resident norms so they can identify potential problems and facilitate the necessary provider notification, which may impact outcomes and avoid unnecessary hospitalizations. Because of the risks of hospitalization in frail, elderly residents, clinicians/providers should be aware of these risks when weighing the decision to send a resident to the hospital versus treating them in the facility. This activity will identify conditions that require hospitalization and the potential risks and complications that hospitalizations can pose. The importance of timely identification of resident problems and accurate communication with health care providers who deliver care for residents will also be discussed.

Provided by
This activity is provided by Optum Health Education and Senior Community Care – Optum Home and Community.

Commercial support
No commercial support was received for this activity.

Required hardware/software
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Target Audience

This activity is designed to meet the educational needs of nurses, physicians, social workers and other health care professionals (HCPs) who have an interest in learning about unsafe and avoidable hospitalizations in a geriatric population.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Identify the resources needed in skilled nursing facilities and compare them with those in hospitals for informed decision-making about a treatment setting.
  • Distinguish between conditions that may be treated in a skilled nursing facility and those that require hospitalization.
  • Recognize the potential complications that hospitalization can pose for residents of skilled nursing facilities.
  • Identify hospitalization risks for the frail and elderly.
  • Examine common contributors to complications related to hospitalizations.
  • Identify feasible alternative external health settings or resources for managing changes in condition.
  • Discuss the importance of preparing staff for early notification of changes in patient status to improve residents’ outcomes.
Activity summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 AMA - Physicians
  • 1.00 ANCC - Nurses
  • 1.00 Attendance - General Attendance
  • 1.00 NAB - Nursing Home Administers
  • 1.00 ASWB - Social Workers
Activity opens: 
07/18/2024
Activity expires: 
07/18/2027
Rating: 
0

Presenters
Karl M Dauphinais, MD, MSS, FACP, CMD
Medical Director, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire
Optum Home & Community

Kathleen M. Johnson, NP
Home & Community Learning
Adult Nurse Practitioner
Clinical Educator, Senior Community Care
Optum Home & Community     

Activity planners
Rebecca Gleason
Clinical Activity Manager
Optum Health Education

Disclosures of relevant financial relationships
In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education's (ACCME) Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, Optum Health Education (OHE) requires all those in control of educational content to disclose their financial relationships with ineligible companies within the prior 24 months. Ineligible companies are defined by the ACCME as companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing health care products used by or on patients. Individuals must disclose all financial relationships, regardless of the amount, with ineligible companies and regardless of their view of the relevance of the relationship to the education. OHE ensures that the content is independent of commercial bias.

The activity faculty and planners have no financial relationships to disclose.

Method for calculating CE credit
CE credit was calculated by the complexity of content.

Accreditation statement
Joint Provider LogoIn support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Optum Health Education and Senior Community Care – Optum Home and Community. Optum Health Education is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the health care team.

Credit designation statements
Nurses
The participant will be awarded up to 1 contact hour(s) of credit for attendance and completion of supplemental materials.

Nursing Home Administrators
This program has been approved for Continuing Education for 1.00 total participant hours by NAB/NCERS—approval #20250901-1.25-A104943-DL

Physicians
Optum Health Education designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s). Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Social workers
ACE ABSW LogoAs a Jointly Accredited Organization, Optum Health Education is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Optum Health Education maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive 1 continuing education credits.

Attendance
A certificate of attendance will be provided to learners upon completion of activity requirements, enabling participants to register with licensing boards or associations that have not been preapproved for credits. To apply for credit types not listed above, participants should use the procedure established by the specific organization from which they wish to obtain credit.

Available Credit

  • 1.00 AMA - Physicians
  • 1.00 ANCC - Nurses
  • 1.00 Attendance - General Attendance
  • 1.00 NAB - Nursing Home Administers
  • 1.00 ASWB - Social Workers
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