How a High-Tech, High-Touch Approach Helps This Provider Reduce Staffing Challenges

At Rockingham County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, providing preventative and restorative care to all residents is a mission realized daily.

And although recent staffing challenges have impacted the organization, Rockingham remains committed to equipping staff with the tools and support they need to deliver the level of care the organization is synonymous with. 

To combat staffing struggles, Rockingham refocused the lens on their clinicians, asking: “How can we make their jobs easier during these challenging times?”

We sat down with Bridget Ronaghan, Clinical Software Specialist at Rockingham, to learn about two key strategies the organization enacted to lessen the burden on their staff.

High-Touch: Culture Club Committee

Founded in 2021, Rockingham’s Culture Club Committee is a cross-functional group that meets to drive connectivity through improved communication, global recognition, role modeling, and positive reinforcement.

For Bridget, a disconnect has always existed between staff and administration.

By creating the Culture Club Committee, Rockingham bridged this gap through a series of initiatives, including:

• Weekly check-ins with individual staff
• Public recognition of staff achievement
• Celebration of themed holidays
• Drawings and raffles throughout the year

These initiatives enable administration to truly demonstrate their appreciation for the staff and for their dedication to care.

“Nursing is a very physical and mental job,” explains Bridget. “Every time you step into a room, you have to bring yourself to that person—and you have to figure out what that person needs. And that’s exhausting.”

By implementing high-touch programs like the Culture Club Committee, Rockingham can physically demonstrate their deep appreciation for staff, all while furthering community and connectivity.

High-Tech: Mobile Solutions

Administrators at Rockingham like Bridget know how valuable their staff are, which is why they choose to support these community members with high-tech tools that simplify their jobs.

By adopting mobile solutions, Rockingham drastically reduced clinician time spent on cumbersome processes.

Secure Text Messaging

With a secure text messaging solution, both clinicians and practitioners can easily exchange time-sensitive messages, enabling direct interaction anytime, anywhere.

For the busy staff at Rockingham, enabling secure messaging meant staff no longer needed to rely on phone calls as their primary mode of communication.

“Secure messaging definitely reduces time constraints,” states Bridget. “Staff see a message come in and respond to it; they don’t have to sit down at their computer or be on the phone for the whole day.”

Other benefits of secure text messaging include:

• Enhanced care team efficiency
• Minimized data security risks
• Enables streamlined communication

Electronic Signatures

For Rockingham physicians struggling under the weight of orders, mobile solutions that support electronic signatures provide much-needed relief.

Bridget enumerates the difference solution adoption made, explaining that order signing speed has increased tenfold.

“I used to have 30, 40, 50 orders waiting to be signed,” she said. “With the adoption of this tool and the electronic signing for narcotics, the number of orders waiting for signature is minimal.”

In addition to eliminating a signage backlog, electronic signature solutions enable physicians to:

• Review orders at a glance
• Improve care efficiency
• Eliminate productivity delays

By supporting staff with tools and programs that streamline communication and build community, Rockingham continues to demonstrate their lasting appreciation for the caregivers who tirelessly deliver.