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Nursing home reports near-budget occupancy, fewer agency staff and vendor changes
Summary
Director Shelley Richardson told the committee the nursing home averaged about 60–62 residents from April 1 to July 31, has reduced reliance on agency staff and has several vendor changes and facility projects underway.
At the committee meeting, Shelley Richardson, director, presented a nursing home summary covering April 1 to July 31, saying occupancy has ranged “between 60 and 62 patients” and that the facility’s cutoff for admissions is 63 because of staffing. Richardson said the facility’s budgeted target is 66 residents (about 70 percent of capacity).
The report focused on staffing and operations. “We’re down to 5 agency staff, which is excellent because we had 12 to 14,” Richardson said, adding the facility currently employs approximately 102 people. She said two staff members are graduating and will take nursing boards in mid-August and that new nurses typically require orientation “maybe up to 90 days.”
Richardson described quality and compliance work and community emergency-preparedness training with Granite State and the Winnipesaukee Public Health Network. She said the nursing home remains a five-star facility for the listed indicators and that COVID reporting and the 10-day rule for positive cases remain unchanged.
On vendor changes and capital projects, Richardson said a dietary contract was awarded through an RFP and that CURA will start Oct. 1; the new pharmacy vendor, HelpDirect, is scheduled to begin Sept. 1. She said mini-split and dietary RFPs were awarded but that a start date for the mini-splits had not been set. Richardson listed completed projects — a kitchen steamer, kitchenettes, nurses’ stations, staff development office and a therapy countertop — and suggested a facility tour at a future meeting.
The report included operational details: an extra-weekend staffing incentive cost $24,350 for April–July; staff were mandated once during that period; emergency shift coverage was not used; and nursing-home expenditures were about 56 percent of budget while the broader county budget was around 60 percent. Richardson also noted housekeeping and maintenance staffing updates and a recent hire, Patrick Lavoie, for housekeeping.
Committee members asked about an ice machine repair; Richardson said one vendor’s part quote was about $800 higher than another and that the two-year-old machine is no longer under warranty. A $100 donation to the resident council trust fund was accepted and approved to be used for a placemat project and resident participation, and Richardson reported activities such as an upcoming Wizard of Oz–themed car show and entertainment for residents.
Discussion-only items included timing and orientation for new hires and a request for a future tour; formal actions recorded in the meeting were the acceptance of the donation and the approvals recorded on routine agenda items.
