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Good morning.

I took a few days off recently and used that time to connect with as many operators as I could. One conversation in particular stuck with me.

I sat down with a stand-alone operator who runs a combined assisted living and skilled nursing community. We got into one of the biggest challenges in our field: communication.

How do you keep staff updated across all hours, all shifts, and all departments—365 days a year—when you’ll never get everyone in the same room?

We ran through the usual methods:

• Shift huddles reach maybe 20–30% of staff at best
• Email works for leadership, but not for frontline teams
• Town Halls are helpful, but monthly or quarterly at most
• Roundings catch some, but never everyone
• Online training checks compliance, but doesn’t cover real-time updates

Then she said one word that stopped me.

Video.

Her community had started using short, social-style videos to share updates, reminders, and bite-sized trainings with the entire team.

No production crew. No new platform. Just an iPhone and a WhatsApp channel.

Here’s how they do it:

• A weekly recorded update from the Executive Director
• Daily reminders tailored to departments or the whole team
• Quick, real-time training clips for issues as they come up

It’s simple. It’s fast. And people actually watch them.

Instead of chasing staff down or hoping emails get read, the message goes straight to the device that’s already in everyone’s pocket.

Think about what that solves:

• No more uneven information between shifts
• A consistent message that you can revisit and refer back to
• No more waiting weeks for the next town hall
• No more “I didn’t know” excuses

Sometimes the smartest solutions don’t require new software or a new budget. They just require using what’s already in your hand—consistently.

An iPhone. A channel. A habit.

That’s it.

Genius

5 Minute Compliance Check

Every survey cycle, there are certain tags that come up again and again — and F689 (“Accidents/Supervision to Prevent Accidents”) is one of them. Within the past year, a Maryland facility was cited at Immediate Jeopardy scope and severity after a resident sustained a fractured femur during a Hoyer lift transfer.

Here’s what surveyors found:

• Care plan didn’t clearly specify that two staff were required for lift transfers.
• Staff performed the transfer with only one person, ignoring protocol.
• Resident had previously voiced fear of the lift, but concerns went unaddressed.
• Incident wasn’t reported until surveyors asked.
• No root cause analysis was done until CMS follow-up.
• Staff education was delayed, keeping the IJ active until corrections were verified.

In short: care planning, communication, and compliance all broke down at once.

5-Minute Facility Check

Take five minutes today and run this quick audit in your building:

• Pull 10 resident charts — is transfer status (including number of staff required) clearly documented?
• Pull 10 employee files — is safe lifting training and return demonstration documented on hire and annually?

Then, ask 10 staff on the floor:

1. If you admit a new resident, how do you know how they should be transferred?
2. Where is that information documented?
3. What do you do if a two-person transfer is needed but you can’t find help?
4. What if all lifts or devices are in use?
5. Who do you ask if you have questions or notice a change in a resident’s needs?

If less than 100% of your staff give the right answers, stop and provide immediate education. Then expand the audit to the rest of the team.

Takeaway

Surveyors cited IJ here because the system failed on multiple fronts: incomplete care planning, poor staff compliance, resident concerns ignored, and no real-time incident follow-up. Don’t wait for surveyors to uncover the gaps — run this quick check today and close the loop.

Whenever you're ready, I can help you in a few ways.

1. Leverage our partnership with CEUSrEZ and purchase NAB-approved, online, self-paced, continuing education courses at a 20% discount here.
2. Use our free AI-powered Chatbot trained on all 900 pages of CMS Nursing Home Regulations, proprietary processes, and information from decades of skilled nursing leadership experience.  Click here.
3. Sign up for Assisto and keep track of the regulatory environment in your state.  Know what deficiencies surveyors cite in real-time and ensure you're not at risk for the same tag.  Sign up here.
4. Take our Salary Lens survey and gain access to the largest database of senior living and SNF leadership salaries in the industry.  Check it out here.

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Thanks for reading.  Have a wonderful day.

Kevin Goedeke, Publisher and Founder