Touchstone Communities based in San Antonio held their Second Annual “Day in the Life” event to recognize the importance of the Certified Nursing Assistant in the delivery of patient-centered quality care. Touchstone Communities launched the event last year to allow members of their operations leadership and support team at their Community Support Office to work alongside the CNAs caring for some of the 2,600 Patients, Residents, and Veterans who reside across their 28 communities in Texas.
Touchstone’s philosophy of care centers around their purpose to glorify God and a mission to Make Lives Better through a best-in-class healthcare experience for long-term and short-term care. Everyone on Team Touchstone has a heart for serving, whether it is through their administrative role or providing hands-on skilled nursing care. During this event participants had a chance to see first-hand what it’s like to be a CNA as they shadowed them, learning and doing whatever was needed to lend them an extra hand for the day.
At Touchstone Communities, the role of CNA is the most important role in the company. The “Day in the Life” event allowed members from the leadership team to personally experience the challenges and the rewards of daily patient care and see what it looks like to provide the excellent care Touchstone is known for in the markets they serve across Texas. One member of the immersion experience who recently came on board in the corporate accounting department had never experienced anything like this before and was very moved by what he saw. At the huddle meeting following the event, he told the group:
‘I didn’t know what to expect, and I was surprised to see how much CNAs have to do every day. The residents love them, and they love the residents; they’re family.’
Being a Certified Nursing Assistant requires you to be a team player who is a skilled and adaptive care worker, and can overcome obstacles and at the same time, be compassionate. The Operations team helped with certain facets of daily personal care, skilled rehabilitation services, and anything else the CNAs needed from stocking laundry closets to serving meals or just listening to someone who wanted to talk. One of the main objectives of the event was to ask questions about what they needed to do their jobs better and shed light on the challenges they face then bring that back to the group to see how they can improve to provide the highest level of Service Excellence.
Leslie Campbell, Touchstone Communities’ COO prepared the group by saying:
“This endeavor is reflective of our belief that the answers to our greatest challenges lie closest to the bedside of our patients, residents, and veterans. It also provides valuable insight as to how we can make life better for our CNAs. We never, ever want to lose touch with the practical reality of what it is like to live and work in one of our communities.”
The “Day in the Life” event is meant to be life-changing. Spending time with the CNAs and the residents was an opportunity that resulted in the team having newfound respect and appreciation for the enormous impact CNAs have on people’s lives every day. The event enables leadership to provide support by bringing positive solutions to the bedside and to the caregivers that are Making Lives Better at Touchstone.
