In November, Belle Reve Senior Living held an Employee Recognition Luncheon thanking dedicated staff members for their loyal service for the past five and 10 years. Debbie Pagdett (right), Skilled Unit secretary, decorates Environmental Services employee Cindy Sienko with a recognition pin.
Belle Reve Employee Recognition Lunch
January 6th, 2012PEER Progam
April 28th, 2011Prepared Expert Empowered Residents
The PEER Project originated in Pennsylvania in 2002 when three residents from Cambria County, Pennsylvania, registered for Ombudsman training. The office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman (SLTCO) in PA determined it would be a conflict of interest for the residents to attend a State training. At the same time, the SLTCO office recognized the need for these residents to gain knowledge and information to better handle their concerns about nursing home living. Thus the PEER Project was born.
Carroll County’s Long Term Care Ombudsman Program received a grant from the Office of Health Care Quality’s Health Care Quality Account to begin a PEER Program in Carroll beginning in July 2007.
The purpose of PEER is to empower residents to become advocates within the facility and to enhance their ability to self-resolve concerns for themselves and other residents in the facility.
The PEER Program trains resident advocates to work from the inside with residents and staff to enhance the quality of care and the quality of life for their “peers”. Self-resolution and consumer empowerment are themes consistently emphasized in trainings developed under the Pennsylvania State Ombudsman’s office. Ombudsman staff and volunteer Ombudsmen have helped expand that message through a visible presence in facilities and an ongoing effort throught in-serivce trainings to sensitize staff to resident rights. The PEER Program offers an additional mechanism to equip residents with the knowledge to enable them to be part of the solution.
It offers a resident dimension that is frequently overlooked. PEERs can welcome new residents to a home and invite them to resident council meetings. They can tell residents about residents’ rights and help resolve problems. PEERs can serve on quality assurance committees and participate in new employee interviews and staff training. PEERs can be the catalyst of change.
For further information on PEER, contact the Carroll County Long TermCare Ombudsman Program at 410-386-3800.
