Nurse educators are key to a best practices implementation program

In a statewide Best Practices Project, the involvement of nurse educators in the implementation process improved the overall success of participating long-term care facilities in improving the quality of resident care. Two nurse educators provided consultation and training to nursing facility staff on three best practice protocols: prevention of decline in the activities of daily living of eating and dressing, pain, and depression. Facility staff were given protocols to follow, together with documentation forms to assist in determining resident appropriateness for participation in the assigned best practice, assessing resident involvement in the protocol over time, and tracking staff progress with the implementation. The success of the 2-year first phase of the project in significantly improving measurable resident quality of care in best practice protocol areas has resulted in a second phase involving additional facilities and protocols.