FutureCare of NC, Inc.

Simulation in Nursing Staff Training

With a generous grant from The Duke Endowment, FutureCareNC was able to purchase a state-of-the-art patient care simulator (PCS) to facilitate the conduct of on-site training of all nursing personnel in some 40 nursing homes across the state. In these 3-5 day exercises, nursing personnel at every level (Nurse Aide, LPN, and RN) were exposed to cardiovascular care situations typically associated with older adult patients requiring observational, reporting and interventional skills. This technology will soon be used in addressing medication error risk management in 20 additional facilities. These educational opportunities have been widely praised by nursing facility staff and administrators and have led to requests for repeat visits by our FutureCareNC nurse educator and the PCS mannequin.

Oral Health Care

A second major effort now underway, in partnership with a multi-disciplinary team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will train Nurse Aides as special oral health aides and provide assistance with routine oral hygiene (tooth brushing) services for those residents unable to perform these tasks for themselves.

New Initiatives in Planning Stage

Additional efforts are under consideration that will bring modern technologies of life enrichment and biographical memory enhancement to residents through contemporary computer-facilitated programs that also support well-designed physical activities as well.

Other programs in early developmental stages have incorporated a “Just Culture” approach to patient safety and risk management leading to new approaches to the analysis of root causes of systemic factors that may reduce the effectiveness of prescribed pharmaceuticals.