(The following is an advertorial for First Quality and the Michele Mongillo book, “Caring with Dignity: A Caregiver’s Guide to Incontinence.”)

When Michele Mongillo, senior clinical director at First Quality, wrote her highly regarded new book “Caring with Dignity,” the goal was to provide both professional caregivers and the multitudes of working caregivers the same “how-to” tools to succeed in managing one of the most prevalent conditions older Americans experience: incontinence.

“It is vitally important to have step-by-step instructions for caregivers of all varieties when it comes to incontinence management. The caregiver in the home who works elsewhere, and the caregiver in a facility, each have the same needs when it comes to understanding what works best for their loved ones and their residents,” she said.

Working Caregivers

The statistics on working caregivers are staggering when the numbers are put in graphic form, like in the PDF below. These include:

-          63 million adults care for a spouse/relative, parent, or disabled child

-          1 in 6 of the 63 million are working full- or part-time outside the home

-          69 percent report having to rearrange schedule, take a leave of absence, or decrease their career hours

-          56 percent say that their employer is aware of their caregiving responsibilities

-          $1.1 trillion is the value of services contributed annually by family caregivers, which is nearly twice what is spent on homecare and nursing homes combined

Professional Caregivers

Another set of data points reflect the challenges professional caregivers face in managing their residents’ incontinence. In her book, Mongillo notes that up to 70 percent of SNF residents have some type of incontinence. And even with incontinence being so common in the nursing care setting, the professional curriculum may lack focus on incontinence education, which is reflected in staff reporting being overwhelmed in providing such care.

“The fact there is a 42 percent turnover rate among CNAs plays into this feeling of being overwhelmed by incontinence management,” she said.

Mongillo said “Caring with Dignity” can help professional caregivers and the facility as a whole by implementing the tools in the book as part of the SNF’s QAPI program, by enhancing survey outcomes and quality of care, by incorporating into new hire orientation and annual requirements, by improving resident and family satisfaction, and by aiding with staff education and retention.

Get the book HERE Caring With Dignity | First Quality

Questions or comments? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.