The Oregon Veterans Home specializes in Veteran healthcare. The population served suffers from many health conditions specific to their time in the service, including PTSD, depression, substance use, TBI, Parkinson’s, etc. Many of these conditions have challenging behaviors associated with them.
In addition to challenges with resident behavior, staff at the Oregon Veterans Home are also faced with threatening behavior from visitors, resident family members, and other guests. A recent event with a resident family member making threatening calls over the weekend specifically resonated with nursing staff as they are expected to manage workplace safety during non-business hours.
Currently, the Oregon Veterans Home uses an online training platform for staff competency because of our rural location access to area experts and sustainable in-person training programs is limited. Through a survey, LNs identified burnout related to psychological safety and workplace violence as a key workplace stressors. On a daily basis, nursing staff encounters both verbal and physical aggression from residents and are at high risk for negative interactions from visitors. Examples include drug seekers, family members who feel guilty over placement, and disgruntled employees. Based on this, we are planning to implement the following programs.
MOAB training is a program specific to managing challenging behaviors in healthcare communities. They have worked with over 5000 agencies to manage aggressive behaviors. Six staff members (management and floor staff) will complete an in-person, on-site train-the-trainer program. Upon completion, they will be fully certified to institute monthly training at the Oregon Veterans Home to CNAs, Nurse Aid students, Nurses, Certified Medication Aids and other support staff for three years.
In addition to the train-the-trainer program, MOAB will provide in-person training to all current staff over two separate sessions. MOAB-trained instructors will conduct these sessions in conjunction with the Oregon Veterans Home’s recently certified trainers to ensure competency and understanding.
The Oregon Healthcare Association provided active shooter training by area expert Steven Wilder, which was attended by members of the Oregon Veterans Home leadership team. The information presented was specific to managing threats in healthcare facilities and would be beneficial in guiding staff through workplace violence scenarios. Steven will conduct a four-hour onsite shooter planning, response and recovery training for management staff. Additionally, he will conduct a two-hour training for front-line staff specific to their shooter response plan. Included in his training are rights to his course material for one year for management staff at The Oregon Veterans Home to conduct ongoing staff training.
It is expected that through specialized training, the nursing staff will feel more equipped to manage challenging behaviors from residents and visitors, enhancing workplace safety and alleviating stress from nursing staff. Success will be measured through surveys completed after training is conducted and tracked through the facility’s Quality Assurance Program. Surveys will gauge staff’s assessment of their preparedness in violent workplace scenarios. Surveys will also measure the level of staff participation in training.
