Administrator retreat an opportunity for knowledge sharing, team building
Monday, November 20, 2006 -- Craig Anderson
Commenting that administrators from OMNI’s sixteen homes “don’t get to see each other that often,” Sarah Ferguson from Forest Hill relishes the quarterly administrator retreats as critical opportunities for sharing issues and creating solutions.

“You get to know everybody,” says Ferguson, reflecting on OMNI’s most recent retreat, held November 15th -16th in Peterborough.

“It’s also about team building and developing relationships – that’s what really stands out.”

Beyond building a greater bond with other administrators, the meetings provide an opportunity to plan new initiatives and gain insight into common issues and challenges.

Educational initiatives were high on the agenda at this retreat, with the gathered administrators looking at statistics on various current OMNI initiatives like wound care, pain management, and home safety. Infection control measures were also examined.

Some of the challenges the sixteen administrators reviewed were routine – budgets, and the ongoing struggle for recruitment and retention of nursing staff.

These discussions reveal an array of challenges, says Ferguson.

“For us, we are having difficulties finding RPNs. For other homes the challenges is finding RNs.”

Turning to new initiatives planned for 2007, Ferguson is inspired by a pending round of anti-bullying respect training for staff.The initiative, along with a manual entitled “Respect Always,” first began in the fall of 2005. Denise Koster, a consultant, will return to OMNI homes to offer in-home educational workshops on ways to prevent abuse and negotiate abusive behaviour within the homes, regardless of its source or target.

“This was one of our best received workshops last fall,” says Ferguson. “It generated so much conversation.”

Education around proposed manager training in all departments within OMNI homes was also a central topic of discussion. Many staff members have expressed an interest in skill development within their own departments, and OMNI is considering an education initiative to see that desire come to fruition, says Ferguson.

OMNI’s bursary fund – a grant given to staff in times of need – was the focus of discussion because it is currently being underutilized, says Ferguson.

“It’s such a great resource,” she says.

The meetings also generate discussion around recurring challenges that seemingly have no clear-cut OMNI-wide solution. Smoking is one of these.

While some homes have encouraged residents to quit, even supplying the nicotine patch, others are hesitant to prescribe a clear cut solution for fear of infringing on an activity that clearly a joyful one for a number of residents.

Ferguson doesn’t see an easy way out.

“Who are we to tell residents that they can’t smoke?” she asks. Every home is handling the smoking question in their own way, she explains.

Smoking debates aside, Ferguson, who was director of care at Forest Hill before taking the administrator portfolio over last fall, sees the retreat as a rare chance to make contact with fellow administrators.

“There’s a lot of dialogue,” she says. “You get sixteen different perspectives.”