Are you getting the most out of your food program?
SYSCO, DMA Distributors, Performance Food Group (PFG)- Ben E. Keith, BiRite, Gordons, FSA, Hawkeye, HPC, IFH, IJ, Jordanos, Nicholas, Reinhart, & Shamrock. Do you use any of these suppliers? They are ALL a part of our new group purchasing program.

5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Facility from Deco Link
Guard Your Corners, Upgrade Your Handrails, Defend Your Walls, Preserve Your Wall Surfaces, and Protect Doors and Frames. Our partner, Deco Link has some suggestions for functional and eye–appealing updates to your facility.

Upgrading Your Dining Experience Helps Retain and Attract Staff
There are several ways to initiate culture change in your facility, but few as influential as elevating your dining experience. Providing memorable and engaging mealtimes is a high priority for successful senior care communities nationwide. Great dining experiences are proven to increase resident satisfaction, meaning your dining program has a big influence on your marketability – especially when it comes to attracting and retaining talented dining staff. Staffing your kitchen and dining room with talented people is essential in providing exceptional dining experiences for your residents. Grab a forkful of dining expertise.

Advance Your Strategies for Resident Care Services
The daily challenges you face as an LTC professional are astounding. Providing superior resident care while balancing ever-tightening budgets, and complying with stringent federal and state regulations, is an immense responsibility. And as the nation’s largest generation continues to age, the pressure put on long term care services will only increase. According to a U.S. Government Accounting Office survey (GAO-02-431R) that tracked operating costs for facilities in Ohio, Washington and Mississippi, the majority of operating costs were focused on resident care. The survey went on to identify nursing expenditures as the most significant expense per resident, per day. That’s why it is essential your facility and staff are prepared with cutting-edge technology, reliable equipment and accurate assessment tools to provide superior care for every resident’s needs. Explore quality solutions with our group purchasing partner, Direct Supply.

Emergency Preparedness — Take Precautions to keep residents safe and protected

Select Rehabilitation Joins the GP Vendor Line Up

Stand Up Gardens Enables Anyone To Enjoy Fresh Vegetables and Flowers Year Round
With a StandUp Garden, anyone can garden, anywhere. Stand Up Gardening is an entirely new way to garden, incorporating many design features that make gardening easy. It's a self–contained movable cart. America's favorite pastime has never been this fun. An investment in a StandUp Garden provides a new and exciting alternative that eliminates the boundaries of traditional gardening that many of us face – lack of time, space, tools, accessibility, etc.And now, AAHSA members can purchase products from Stand Up Gardens at a discount.

HR Trends Facing Aging Services Organizations and What To Do About Them
The new Democratic Congress and state legislatures are moving to enact, or have enacted, new workplace legislation, including changes to the National Labor Relations Act, new anti-discrimination laws, leave requirements, and increases in the minimum wage. Employers in the aging services industry should be aware of the following critical developments and should take proactive steps to ensure workplace policies are consistent with these trends. Read about Legislative and Privacy Trends and Disasters in the Workplace.

Measuring Satisfaction — Bringing Together Elements of Resident Advocacy and Quality Care
For aging service providers, understanding and addressing resident, family, and employee views are key to providing resident-directed services and quality care as a means to enhance quality of life. Most importantly, measures of resident satisfaction have been linked to health care outcomes, budgetary outcomes, employee satisfaction, work effectiveness, and retention. This article addresses why and how you should measure resident satisfaction and the resources you can use to do it.

Rethinking the Dining Experience in Aging Services
There are several ways to drive a culture change in your community, but few as influential as elevating the dining experience. Since mealtime is an important time of the day for your residents, improving the dining experience can foster resident independence, enhance resident nourishment and encourage friendships. To improve the way meals are presented and served in your community, it may be time to implement a new dining service. But before you do, consider how each dining service will affect your residents, staff and your overall foodservice efficiency.

Holleran Assists With Research Needs

One-Stop Dealership Can Address ALL Your Transportation Needs
Mid America Coach offers a complete selection of wheel chair capable minivans, raised top vans, and shuttle buses on hand to fit your needs and budget. Nationwide delivery is available; as is financing.

Fleet Operations Just Got Easier
Allstate has been a major provider of vehicle fleet services and asset financing since 1969. Some of the services Allstate offers for your convenience include corporate fleet and individual consumer leases or financing from 12-72 months terms, fleet vehicle maintenance and accident management plans with complete monthly reporting, direct manufacturer vehicle acquisition and disposal plans.

Innovative Upholstery Care Solutions Save You Time and Money
Upholstery helps create an inviting environment for your residents. Durability and the ease of cleaning upholstery directly affect the aesthetic appeal of their “home” and the cost of maintaining it. By selecting usage specific upholstery, you can maximize maintenance efforts.

How Does Moving From an 8-Hour to 12-Hour Shift Schedule Affect your Bottom Line?
Westminster-Canterbury of Lynchburg (WCL) engaged Dan Gray, Continuum Development Services, to conduct an operations review. One of his recommendations was to change nursing schedules from 8 hour to 12 hour shifts. The reason given was that a 12 hour shift requires less staff and given compensation is an organization’s largest single, controllable cost, this change would have a significant impact on the organization’s bottom line.

Customizable Leadership Training for Your Team
The Holleran Leadership Series offers a group of customizable workshops, assessments and interventions for individuals as well as leadership teams. Components include a Leadership Development Workshop, Corporate Leadership Assessment and Leadership Practices Survey, Teambuilding, and Executive Coaching. Holleran partners with the leading CCRC organizations in the country.

Industrial and Construction Supplier Joins AAHSA Group Purchasing Program
Fastenal Company is an industrial and construction supplier with extensive geographic coverage that is in a 30-mile radius of any of our facilities. They are committed to help AAHSA members to realize cost savings strategies that are tailored to each respective facility providing the the vendor- managed inventory experience to help increase efficiencies. This will make inventory management approaches more effective from a long-term perspective. They have multiple cost savings strategies that can be customized to your facility.

A Not-For-Profit Guide to Corporate Governance in the Wake of Sarbanes-Oxley
Nonprofit organizations have not been immune from their share of scandals, particularly with respect to whether they are sufficiently charitable, misuse of the tax deduction for charitable gifts, self-dealing by insiders, conflicts of interest, and compensation-related issues, including excessive compensation, loans, spousal travel, and personal use of organization assets. At the heart of the scrutiny of nonprofits is compensation.

Understanding and Implementing FDA Bed Entrapment Guidelines—Assistance from Sunrise Medical Long Term Care

Industrial & Maintenance Supplier, Fastenal Company: Supplying One Customer at a Time
Fastenal Company is an industrial and maintenance supplier. They can provide AAHSA members a vendor managed inventory experience to increase efficiencies and make inventory management approaches more effective from a long-term perspective.

Entegra Encyclopedia Series

EntegraPS.com Website

The Culinary Institute of America

Entegra's Equipment and Furnishings Procurement Program

Why Sex Offenders Target the Elderly and What You Can Do About It
Beyond the halls of law enforcement and justice, and before the last decade or so, the term “sex offender” was not a household word. It was more typically the whisperings of neighborhoods or communities than they were the stuff of media headlines. Now, however, we all understand that rape isn’t the only convictable and reportable sex offense. Now, we all understand that victims aren’t just women and/or young. Sex crimes mentally and physically impact people of both genders and all ages, including those who would appear the most unlikely, such as the elderly. Often, such victims are targeted for sexual abuse because they have limited physical power and are dependent on others. And since sexual assault is typically a function of power and control, the elderly is a segment of our population whom are at risk.

Alleviate Your Housekeeping Budget with New Weaving Technology
Strict housekeeping budgets often do not allow you to replace towels as often as you would like. Constant laundering affects you in many ways. A few include the processing cost of laundering, the replacement cost due to repeated laundering, and, finally, the residents’ personal care. Standard Textile’s new technology can help you address these concerns.

Tips for Selecting a Good Fleet Management Company

Avoid Making Headlines: Develop an Effective Background Screening Program
We are seeing what appears to be an increase in crimes, violent and otherwise, in homes for the aging, according to USIS, our Shared Services partner specializing in background screening and drug testing. USIS says the truth is that these headlines reflect only those incidents that are discovered – not those that may be happening, but are undetected in our facilities. What can be done to ensure that our homes are the safe havens that both our residents and our staff expect them to be? AASHA members can develop a robust resident and employee screening process by developing a screening program. Two steps you could take include conducting interviews that include staff from multiple levels and keeping abreast of your state’s regulations with regard to resident screening. USIS has many suggestions for developing a screening program.

AAHSA Group Purchasing Signs Vendor Specializing in Food and Supply Purchasing Exclusively for Nonprofits

Entegra Assists with Disaster Preparedness
The full guide offers ideas and suggestions on how to prepare your facility before an event as well as what to expect during and after a disaster. Even if you have been through one devastating event it’s never too early to prepare for the next. Click here to view a snapshot of the guide.

Get In the Drivers Seat With Matthews Buses
Complete line of mobility transportation vehicles now available.

Give Employees a Hand(book)
An employee handbook is a critical element in Human Resources Development. It can save valued time and management operating costs, communicate critical information concerning how employees should handle personnel issues, provides a valuable defense for an organization faced with an employee lawsuit or discrimination charge. We have a resource for you, SESCO Management Consultants.

Procurement Solutions to Save You Money

A Partnership with Promise: The Aon Quality Institute

Access Wholesale Prices on Thousands of Products with Lifetime Healthcare Products
AAHSA and Lifetime Healthcare Products have tailored a powerful package for our members by allowing them unparalleled product selection along with true wholesale pricing. Lifetime, a Manufacturer Direct Wholesaler, will provide AAHSA members with over 15,000 products and services ranging from durable medical equipment to furniture and specialty products from leading manufacturers such as: Invacare, Apex Dynamics Lifts, furniture giant Thomasville Furniture, Noram Patient Solutions, Support Surface Technologies, and others.

Group Purchasing and Shared Services Partners Help Providers Put Quality First

Options for Unemployment Coverage Save AAHSA Communities $1.5 Million
Several factors contribute to your state’s unemployment insurance costs. Benefits paid to former employees, the overall condition of the unemployment insurance fund, and the employer’s reporting history all affect tax rates, according to the New York State Department of Labor. There are two options for non-profit organizations with regards to unemployment. Click the title to find out about these options.

Standard Textile Lets You See How it Looks Before You Buy It

Building a Culture for Customer Service EXCELLENCE - Free Audio Seminar
Customer Satisaction has less to do with the specific provision of care and more to do with how residents and families are considered in daily interaction with your staff. This seminar looks at satisfaction surveys and describes methods that must be used to discover all that can be learned from these important tools.

Benchmark Operational Performance with My InnerView
My InnerView Inc. provides an evidence-based management system to track, trend, and benchmark operational performance for AAHSA and its members. Advance your AAHSA Quality First journey by using My InnerView’s tools. Collecting and analyzing data, including consumer and employee satisfaction findings, can help AAHSA members evaluate the quality of their services and identify opportunities and methods for improvement.

New Weaving Technology in Terry Extends Life of Towel, Saves Money: Centium Core Technology™

Natural Fiber Product Clinically Proven to Reduce Residents’ Bowel Management Product Requirements

Avoid Third-Party Mark-Up Prices When Planning Interior Renovations

Free Access to Hundreds of Recipes On-line

Three Reasons to Replace Your Air Conditioners

Mystery Shopping, Sales Training and Marketing Meet to Measure Customer Satisfaction

Screening Prospective Staff is Sound Risk Management

Fabric Improvements Slice Housekeeping Labor Costs

New Group Purchasing Partner Offers Cost-Saving Solution to Bowel Management Problems

Enhanced Benefits Communication Program Helps with Employee Retention, Morale and Recruitment

Reduce Fall-Related Injuries
As people get older, not only are they more liable to slip and fall, but they are also more likely to suffer serious injury from a fall. It is necessary to understand what causes falls and to take certain common-sense preventive measures. CNA Health Pro studied what individuals and institutions can do to reduce fall-related injuries.

Improving Quality of Life Through Optimizing ROM
As you age, you lose muscle mass largely due to inactivity. Along with the actual aging process, as people get older they no longer utilize as much muscle power, which in turn may lead to decreased range of motion (ROM) and other problems that affect daily living for the elderly. By recognizing early signs of diminished ROM and developing and/or encouraging participation in programs designed to improve strength and flexibility, health professionals, whether working with seniors in long term care, assisted living or independent living environments, can enhance the health and wellness of older adults.

Make Your Facilility Look and Feel Like Home

Save on Smoke Detectors with AAHSA Group Purchasing & Home Depot Supply

New Regulation Mandates Use of Smoke Detectors
Manage Workplace Safety, Inside and Out

Member Testimonials: Save Time and Money with IMCO

Standard Textile Launches New Decorative Products Website

ProNutra Approved Article

Weighing Patients

Briggs MIRACLE Glove Promotes Hand and Skin Wellness
Briggs Corporation now offers a powder-free exam glove enriched with skin-care products that nourish and moisturize your skin. Its proprietary granulated textured surface provides an excellent grip for wet or greasy applications.

Noninvasive Ultrasound Can Cut Urinary Incontinence Costs

USIS powered by Annowa Screening Process
These Power Point slides will show you the ease and efficiency of using online pre-employment screening through USIS.

Wound Care and Nutrition

Quick-Lock Handrail System

Script Save Program

Developments, Expectations and Interesting Statistics in Human Resources Management

Unique Solutions to Improve Nutritional Intake

New F314 Interpretive Guidelines Puts Greater Emphasis on Pressure Ulcer Prevention

F314 Simplified

White Paper on MDS Accuracy

Living Well with Proper Nutrition
March is National Nutrition Month®

Hydration Tips