The Royal Megansett Nursing Home is located in scenic North Falmouth, Massachusetts, overlooking Megansett Harbor and Buzzard’s Bay. The facility is rated five stars and boasts 28 private rooms with third floor apartments for assisted living residents. Some of the many programs the facility offers are: 24/7 nursing care, short-term rehabilitation, long-term care, cardiac care, activity enrichment, and dining services with an executive chef and dietician.
The Royal Megansett welcomes feedback from its residents, and recently uncovered an issue with pain management. Some residents were reporting pain while the staff was under the impression that the pain was being managed. To address this important discrepancy, facility leadership formed a committee with the Director of Nurses and the MDS team. After reviewing and analyzing the QM reports, the team discussed opportunities for improvement. A goal of 15% was set as a goal for pain management improvement in the next year.
The team reached out to the New England QIN-QIO for help with setting up an educational process. The MDS team along with senior nursing management was re-educated on pain management, and the pain management assessment tool was reviewed with all nursing staff members. Staff members were instructed to spend time with residents educating them on their pain goals, so when the next MDS interview took place, residents fully understood its purpose and knew how to articulate if their pain was being properly managed.
As a result of the teams’ effort, the overall QM rating improved from 4 to 5 stars, and the percentage of residents who self-report moderate to severe pain has decreased and remains well below the National and State percentages. In 2017, 89 short stay resident triggered for pain. In each subsequent quarter, the number of residents triggering for pain went down. In 2018, 70 short stay residents triggered for pain, which was a 21% improvement from 2017!
The Royal Megansett team is proud of their efforts to ensure all residents understand their pain management goals.
