OMNI comes through on mission to enhance quality in 2011: McCarthy

Participation in Residents First, quality council formation among highlights

December 19, 2011 -- Deron Hamel

At the beginning of 2011, Patrick McCarthy said OMNI Health Care would make focusing on quality improvement a top priority throughout the year, and 11 months later the organization's president and CEO says this has been accomplished, although the work's not over yet.

In 2011, OMNI's 17 long-term care homes began participating in Residents First, a provincewide program aimed at driving quality improvement throughout the long-term care sector.

McCarthy says he's pleased with progress homes have made utilizing tools developed by Residents First, noting the high engagement level has helped position OMNI as a sector leader.

"Relative to other homes in the province, we've taken it on and have really made huge progress in being ahead of the curve . . . on Residents First," he says, adding quality improvement is a continuous process that will always be a focus for OMNI.

"There is always work to be done."

Sept. 22 marked the OMNI Quality Council's inaugural meeting, another quality win for the organization, says McCarthy.

The council is a group consisting of OMNI home staff members and home office representatives that are striving to enhance quality throughout the organization.

McCarthy says one of the best aspects of the quality council is that it engages people from all OMNI homes, which is important because the organization wants to drive quality equally across the board.

"The whole focus on engagement is something that fits right in with our strategic plan, and it's really essential if we're going to be effective with our quality improvement initiatives," he says.

And 2011 has also been a year of learning experiences, says McCarthy.

This has been the first year of full engagement with the ministry's new Long-Term Care Homes Act, which came into effect July 1, 2010.

Preparing for the new inspection processes that come with the act is something homes have done well, says McCarthy.

"We have fared well; we have had our share of learning experiences because it's a complex act with complex regulations, and so it takes time to fully digest it and translate it into policies."

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