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Carol White earns esteemed designation as AMDA Clinical Practice Guideline Implementation Trainer.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 2008
SYRACUSE, IN

Carol White, the CEO and Director of NationalHI, Inc., has achieved the American Medical Directors Association designation as Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) Implementation Trainer.

Ms. White holds dual board-certifications as a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner (GNPC) and Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANPC). She received Master's degrees in Community Health Nursing and as a Nurse Practitioner from Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana. Ms. White is currently a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) have been developed to help systematically assess and manage diseases and conditions. They are based on research, evidence, expert consensus, and professional opinion. Facilities caring for the elderly and chronically ill should use evidence-based care wherever possible. Clinical Practice Guidelines are a convenient way to identify both appropriate and problematic approaches to caring for long-term care residents and patients.

As an Implementation Trainer, Ms. White can assist long-term care facilities to adopt and apply policies and procedures to help busy staff incorporate the guidelines into the care of individual residents and patients. Effective implementation assures consistent approaches to clinical care across multiple disciplines and throughout various acuities of care.

While there are many guidelines available to healthcare organizations, AMDA's Clinical Practice Guidelines set themselves apart by identifying appropriate focuses given a particular healthcare need. For example, the frail individual at or near end of life may need a larger focus on palliative and comfort care, whereas younger residents may benefit most from cure of disease and functional restoration. AMDA’s guidelines address such situations and suggest appropriate care plan modifications.

AMDA’s CPGs are further unique as they are developed by an interdisciplinary work group to guide everyone’s participation in the care delivery process, including: (1) nurses (2) physicians (3) directors of nursing, (4) medical directors (5) consultant pharmacists (6) social workers (7) dieticians (8) nursing assistants (9) therapists, and (10) others.

Strengths of the AMDA CPGs are the discussion of treatment goals, the risk-benefit analysis of recommended treatments, consideration of the patient’s preferences, values, and quality of life, as well as the option of no treatment. Typical patients cared for by long-term care providers in nursing homes and assisted living facilities often have many comorbidities, significant functional impairments, and psychosocial and cognitive problems.

Over the last decade, AMDA CPGs have been widely disseminated. A growing number of citations in the literature, product sales and anecdotal news to the AMDA staff and volunteers indicate that the CPGs are being used successfully. However, implementation is not growing to the desired extent. Many have difficulty implementing guidelines in their settings due to barriers within the long-term care continuum. The value of CPGs is not well understood.

Implementation Trainers such as Ms. White will be able to lessen the burden for facilities by providing staff training and mentoring, policy review and editing, and monitoring and documentation of implementation progress. By utilizing the expertise of Implementation Trainers, facilities can realize a higher level of healthcare outcomes and lower negative overall quality indicators.

For more information, telephone Ms. White at 260-375-4253 or visit the Mail Room at www.NationalHI.com.

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