Letter To Our Valued Community 
May 25, 2018
May 25, 2018
There is nothing we value more than the health, wellbeing and quality care of the residents living in our homes.
Over the past 30 years, thousands of residents have made their home in a Shannex community. Often, they face complex and evolving conditions which can be challenging. Two of our organizational values are Being Accountable and Always Improving Quality. When a situation arises, we ask questions, review practices and seek opportunities to improve. We will always work hard to do better each and every day.
Recent reports from family members concerned about care are matters we take very seriously; our culture is one that always strives to learn from experience so that we can do better.
As a result, we have launched a Quality Improvement Plan in wound prevention and management which includes a number of activities that focus on supporting our staff and improving communication with residents and families. Many of these activities are already underway and are enhancements to the work our interdisciplinary teams focus on every day. They include:
Intensive monitoring. Daily and weekly interdisciplinary reporting and monitoring of all complex wounds and associated care plans at the home and corporate levels.
Communication with residents and families. Strong communication with residents and families about their care planning is always of the utmost importance to us. We will conduct a review of our communication practices to ensure we provide easier access to information, more frequent updates and open discussion about care planning related to all matters, including wound care and management.
Investing in our employees. Relying on the input of external and internal clinical leaders, we will introduce refreshed training in wound prevention and management for all front line employees. In addition, members of our clinical support team will participate in intensive training through an internationally recognized wound care program so they can provide ongoing, in-house training and support.
Resources and technology. We are actively exploring innovative resources, including technology, that further support the reporting, evaluation and treatment of wounds.
Wound care expertise. We have engaged local and national experts in wound care to provide external evaluation of our current wound prevention and management practices and to support our own experienced nursing staff in the management of complex cases.
We are sharing this plan with our valued community of residents, families and stakeholders to ensure everyone is aware of the priority we are placing on a plan for improvements. We are also working closely with Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness officials and others in our sector, and we will continue to provide progress updates as we implement our Quality Improvement Plan.
We are grateful for the support of our community. As always, we are open to hearing from families and addressing any questions you have on this or any other matter. Please contact us at info@shannex.com or 1-877-742-6639.
