Signature HealthCARE: Great Ideas in Practice
Part Two of a Three Part Series
Part Three — Medical Cost Offset: The Role of Psychology at Signature HealthCARE)
I wasn’t expecting to write a post on Signature HealthCARE, but I was impressed by what I read during my research on the International Center for Long-Term Care Innovation and by my interview with E. Joseph Steier, III, President and CEO of Signature HealthCARE. Long-term care is multi-faceted and fascinating to me, and I often feel facilities could be taking greater advantage of opportunities for research, learning, and spiritual growth. I was excited to hear that Signature HealthCARE is doing just that.
E. Joseph Steier, III, President & CEO of Signature HealthCARE,
with John Reinhardt, President & CEO of the International Center for Long-Term Care Innovation, which works in partnership with Nucleus and the University of Louisville
- Intra-preneurship, which refers to the development of businesses aligned with their nursing facilities, such as home and community based services and their furniture company.
- Learning, which is manifested through a monthly podcast by Steier that’s available to all employees via the company intranet and numerous on-site and off-site meetings. For example, they have an annual “learning congress” for top management, and a five-day “CEO school” for facility administrators, taught by Steier himself. “Best practices” to improve resident and staff quality of life are shared between facilities, and the company is increasing its learning focus through other initiatives, including establishing an Institute of Long-Term Care Studies.
- Spirituality, which is incorporated into facility life by including nondenominational chaplains at morning clinical meetings, care plans, and other quality improvement meetings, in addition to providing services to residents and their families.
Smaller organizations can easily use some of these ideas, such as sharing best practices and increasing communication between the CEO/administrator/owner and employees.
By opening themselves up to social media like My Better Nursing Home, Signature HealthCARE has the opportunity to manifest their pillar of learning through their response to comments, positive and negative, that can inform their practices.