For many years, I was part of a census-development team for skilled nursing facilities around Ohio. And what a team we were! Administrators, nurses, social workers and me, on the road visiting hospitals, rehab centers, physician practices, assisted living communities, home health and hospice organizations. We put a lot of thought into every event, visit, and presentation, and it turned out that we were rather successful. Many organizations today struggle with census and come up with lots of ideas that don’t work for one reason or another. They may try very novel approaches to census-building or come up with a new idea every month. I argue that it is the basic fundamentals that lead to the best census outcomes. Let me share a few with you.
Outside First
Driving up to a senior living community can tell you a lot about what you can expect inside. How does the building appear from the road? Does it have curb appeal? Is the parking lot nicely paved or is it littered with holes and cracks? In the warm seasons, are the trees, bushes, plants and flowers well-kept or are they wilted and dying? If the trees don’t look good, how good is the care going on inside the building? During the snowy months, is the parking lot ploughed and the walkways cleared? How can you build a census if the outside of the building is not welcoming or at least safe?
(NOTE: Interested in CEUs for Nursing Home Administrators? Checkout my Nursing Home Administrator CEUs on CEU Academy and try a FREE CEU today!)
Come On In!
Once you open the front door to the building, allow your five senses to take over and evaluate the environment for you. Who do you see? I hope the receptionist is warm and friendly and says “hello” to you. He or she may even ask how you are and if they can help you. What do you hear? Is there silence or the sounds of life and activity taking place? Are there overhead pages throughout the building, which serve to confuse and irritate seniors with dementia? How do employees look and sound? Professional or too informal. Do they pay attention to you? Now use your nose to evaluate the situation. What do you smell? While I know that accidents will always happen, they should be taken care of quickly. Your sense of touch is important, too, because you can feel different fabrics, textures of walls, and check for dust on handrails. And, finally, if you are visiting during mealtimes, you can request to have something to eat. Is the food homemade and from scratch or is it from a box, frozen and processed? Census-building relies greatly on what referral sources, families and vendors experience with their five senses.
Get Your Employees to Sell the Place
Perhaps nothing will increase census more than fully-engaged, positive, friendly, and professional employees who know the building and can sell it in a natural way. I have been impressed over and over, not by the admissions director, but by the kind and loving staff that have told me so many great things about the care in their facility. Are your employees overworked and stressed out? Are they excited to get more referrals and admissions or do they complain about the extra work it will take?
Know Who Fills Your Building
Friends refer to friends and they also refer to people they like and trust. Your admissions director gets a call from a local hospital looking to admit an elderly patient at 4pm on Friday. Can they count on you? Will your staff be happy or complain about it? Do they appreciate the job security that high census brings? Leadership needs to get in their car and drive around the community to the referral sources that feed them the most. Know the case managers in hospitals. Know the secretaries in rehab centers. Go visit the local physicians and bring them lunch. All of these efforts are well worth the effort in developing your census.
Be a Family-Centered Community
I know it sounds old-fashioned, but it is true. Word of mouth is still one of the most powerful forms of marketing and promoting for senior care centers around the country. Happy family members will share their positive experiences and dissatisfied family members will too, except disgruntled families tell a lot more people than happy ones do. Know your families by name. Sit down with them and keep them involved. Host family nights at the facility. Deliver the highest level of customer service and hospitality to the people who have trusted you to care for their loved one.
Final Words on Census Building 101
Census development is not rocket science. Instead of trying gimmicks that may or may not work, how about going back to the basics? When times get tough, it is reassuring to know that it is the simple things that can increase your census. Take care of the building outside and in. Treat your staff like owners and they will sell the facility for you. Maintain a constant relationship with your referring partners. And take care of those families who handed their loved ones over to you and your staff.
(NOTE: Interested in CEUs for Nursing Home Administrators? Checkout my Nursing Home Administrator CEUs on CEU Academy and try a FREE CEU today!)