The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a COVID-19 vaccine requirement on January 13, 2022, affecting staff of U.S. nursing homes and federally funded healthcare facilities. The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulation requires all current and future healthcare workers at covered facilities to receive their vaccines or approval for medical or religious exemption by February 28, 2022. Facilities with less than 100% vaccination coverage risk termination from the Medicare or Medicare Medicaid programs under the CMS mandate, according to McKnights Long Term Care News.
This new regulation will protect nursing home staff, while also offering assurance to residents and their families. Many healthcare leaders faced unforeseen challenges when the vaccine became available, and some staff members refused the vaccine. Unvaccinated healthcare staff pose risks to the health and safety of residents as well as fellow healthcare workers. This mandate will help relieve the burden on healthcare leaders and allow them to dedicate their efforts where they are needed.
President and Founder of Achieve Accreditation Kathleen O’Connor requires both SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza vaccinations as a mandatory term of ongoing employment.
“We are a company that follows the science in demonstrating evidence-based decision making in all that we do,” Kathleen said. “Achieve Accreditation encourages providers to ask for documentation of third-party vaccination records as a part of your organization’s annual ongoing infection prevention and control risk assessment process. Organizations should not make the false assumption that all third-party companies are taking this same safeguard approach.”
With the emergence of the COVID-19 delta and omicron variants, this vaccine mandate is more important than ever. This new regulation is vital in upholding safety and quality care of residents and healthcare workers.
Jessica Prucha, BAJ is the Office Manager and Brand Storyteller at Achieve Accreditation. Achieve Accreditation has helped skilled nursing providers and assisted living organizations to obtain and maintain their Joint Commission Accreditation for over 30 years.
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Kristin Bratcher serves as the Vice President of Achieve Accreditation. Her responsibilities include business development support, operations management, client relationships and corporate communications. Kristin also offers hands-on accreditation readiness consulting. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work from Aurora University. Kristin is celebrating a fifteen-year career in the senior living industry in advancing leadership roles.
Kristin’s desire to help people drew her to her current role. She appreciates working with organizations on their quality and safety to achieve and maintain accreditation, resulting in the best care for residents. One of her favorite parts of her position is working directly with both consultants and clients. “I get to continue to grow my relationships with my clients in addition to providing guidance and education to the consultants too,” she said.
Kristin’s clients appreciate the genuine relationships she builds with them. Tiffany Hall Nursing and Rehab Administrator Dianne O’Sullivan said, “Kristin Bratcher is awesome and never says ‘no.’ She always finds the time to be courteous and kind to staff even when she nudges them towards compliance.”
Throughout her eight years on the team, Kristin not only fulfilled leadership roles, but also grew close with other team members. Vice President Kerri Hackstock said, “The thing I enjoy most about working with Kristin is every task we are assigned to work on, we have fun with it. We get the job done but do not take anything too seriously, which actually makes us more productive and creative.”
Outside Achieve Accreditation, Kristin is a both a wife and a mom of young boys. Her family is the most important thing to her. During her free time, she can be found driving her sons to extracurricular activities or cheering them on from the sidelines. Kristin and her husband are also huge sports fans and attend one away game for the Chicago Bears each year. It is on their bucket list to visit every stadium. Kristin values her balance between work and family and manages to dedicate her full attention to both. “Being able to give my work 110% and then when it’s time to put my mom and wife hat on, giving that 110% too is most important to me,” she said.
Jessica Prucha, BAJ is the Office Manager and Brand Storyteller at Achieve Accreditation. Achieve Accreditation has helped skilled nursing providers and assisted living organizations to obtain and maintain their Joint Commission Accreditation for over 30 years.
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What is brand storytelling?
Brand storytelling is targeted messaging that fosters the formation of authentic connections. This content focuses on a business’s values and provides the audience with a greater understanding of the business. Brand storytelling helps companies articulate their purpose. Ultimately, brand storytelling helps organizations build deeper relationships through an emphasis on stories and values.
Why is it important for companies to tell their story?
It is important for companies to tell their story because this allows readers or listeners to assess if their values align. When companies share the deeper meaning behind why they started or what drives them, others gain insight to the company’s genuine intentions behind what they do. When individuals at a company tell their stories, they also remind themselves of their “why.” Sharing a company’s “why” has the potential to reignite passion, excitement, and foster purpose-driven thinking.
Why is it important to tell brand stories from the senior living industry?
There are many untold stories about the senior living industry and the high-quality care provided to the nation’s vulnerable seniors. I chose to tell my story with the hope that other young professionals might look to the senior living industry as a fulfilling and rewarding career option. While pursuing my degree in journalism, I was drawn to study Gerontology because of the close relationships I shared with my grandparents. I also was fortunate enough to have a business writing internship with Achieve Accreditation which introduced me to the many undiscovered stories in the senior living industry. I am excited to partner with Achieve Accreditation and contribute to their performance improvement mission within the senior living industry. I am grateful for this opportunity and feel passionately about telling Achieve Accreditation’s story.
Jessica Prucha, BAJ is the Brand Storyteller at Achieve Accreditation. Achieve Accreditation has helped skilled nursing providers and assisted living organizations to
obtain and maintain their Joint Commission Accreditation for over 30 years.