Managing the Senior Living Move-In Without the Headaches

Ah, the move-in. It should be a happy time: a provider has officially boosted its occupancy, a new resident has a safe and welcoming home, and the provider’s sales and marketing team has successfully worked its magic.

To be sure, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate — especially given how lengthy the future-resident courting process can be. On average, families searching for a senior living solution find one in 46 days, according to senior living referral service A Place for Mom. But almost 5% of seniors spend one-and-a-half years deciding on when or where to move, and 3% search for two or more years.

Fortunately, the process can be sped up if seniors’ adult children take part in the search. That occurs in about 73% of senior living decisions, Senior Housing News reported, citing 2014 figures from the American Senior Housing Association. Still, no matter how long it takes for a resident to decide on making the move, staff still have plenty to do afterward. Securing the move-in is only the beginning.

Printing, scanning, filing
The process of moving a new resident into senior living can take a significant amount of time and resources. This is especially true when it comes to all of the paperwork a move-in entails: there are lease agreements, care agreements, and many other forms and assessments that must be completed prior to, or immediately following, the actual move-in. And all of these forms have to be completed perfectly — or else, staff risk having to start the documentation process over, as incorrect information can lead to major legal implications.

“There are all kinds of inconsistencies and typos that can happen,” Preeti Suri, PointClickCare’s Senior Product Manager for CRM and Document Manager Products, explains. “Whenever there are inconsistencies, the documents have to be recreated.”

In the quest to make this process both timely and error-free, staff can be found frantically printing, scanning, filing — even chasing — other senior living employees for signatures, Suri says. In other words, in order to make the move-in process go smoothly for the new resident, senior living employees, behind-the-scenes, are getting a real workout.

Yes, taking care of all of the different documentation requirements can be burdensome — but breaking a sweat to do so shouldn’t be necessary.

No more headaches
Forget all of the printing, scanning and chasing. An electronic solution, like PointClickCare Document Manager, can take care of it all.

Here’s how it works: Document Manager can capture resident information directly from the resident’s electronic health record (EHR) and auto-populate that information into new move-in documents.

The solution, in effect, allows communities to create a “mother” template for each document required. Once the template is ready, all the details captured earlier in the system – including resident demographic information, facility information, emergency contacts, power of attorney, and more — will be applied to the template.

The result? Personalized documents that are instantly and accurately created for the resident. This process can be applied to as many documents, and as many residents, as required at the “click of a button,” Suri says.

This feature saves staff time, and helps to ensure both compliance and document accuracy.

This feature saves staff time, and helps to ensure both compliance and document accuracy.

“It’s very seamless — there’s no printing, scanning, or filing,” Suri explains.

Document Manager also has remote electronic signature functionality, which permits residents and/or their family members to sign documents electronically. This is especially useful because of its convenience and ability to save time— especially if family members live out-of-state, Suri says.

All in all, Document Manager reduces the amount of time and effort it takes for staff to complete resident documentation — and it helps to eliminate the headache that goes with it.

Remember, a new resident move-in should be a busy and exciting time, but not a crazy one. With the right technology, this can be achieved.

Follow the link to our Document Manager Solution Sheet.

Read More: 10 Reasons to Use PointClickCare Document Manager