Today's guest was Craig Lebore, of the Grafton County Nursing Home!
In attendance:
Omer, Denise, Tony, Lora, Nancy, Ben, Ken, Lisa, Bill, Moe, Sharon, Mike, Braden, Steve, Alex, Peggy.
Craig Labore
 
Ben opened the meeting with the pledge, prayer and a song.
Tony presented NH trivia
 
Omer introduced his guest, Craig Labore, administrator for the Grafton County Nursing Home.
 
Craig reminded us that long term care is the second most regulated industry in the US, right behind Nuclear programs. 
He spoke of his faculty as heroes during the COVID outbreaks, with patient care overriding regulations. In april 2020, with their first reported staff and patient cases, they were immediately stigmatized as having poor care. Without onsite testing they struggled with quarantines affecting their staff ratio. The National nursing shortage is even more acute in long term care. GCNH has partnered with White Mountain regional College to train and license LNA's on site with a 1 year commitment to work. They are also supporting repayment of student loans in their efforts to provide retention and attract new staff. GCNH has utilized theme days, virtual options for visiting, and outdoor visits to return to normalcy when possible. 
Mike asked about their population. They host 135 beds, but limit to 108 to allow  for quarantine space with 220 staff.
Lisa asked about vaccination rates. GCNH is in front of the national curve with 73% of their staff vaccinated. They have an aggressive program to promote vaccination and hope to have that number increase this summer. 
Shaaron asked about the challenges of attracting staff. She was told that often nurses avoid long term care facilities due to the high percentage of time spent on documentation rather than direct care. 
Ken commented on the poor pay scale compared to other occupations for people who actually save lives. 
Steve asked about the low vaccination numbers and was told it is high compared to the industry as a whole, and equal to  vaccinations for seasonal flu.
Laura asked about motivators to vaccinate and was told they expect it to rise as the vaccine becomes more established.
Lisa asked about vaccine break through COVID cases and was told there are none at GCNH, but other sites have reported them. 
 
In old business Ken reported on setting a time for the recruitment committee to meet, next Tuesday at 5:30 was suggested. He also said the PFT outline is with Sara waiting for a second opinion and approval.
Friends of the Pemi are meeting Monday at 9, ask Ken for the link. 
Sharon stated that the scholarship team is meeting at the same time as recruitment with Steve's Zoom link, so Denise will send out the invites to Zoom with her account. 
Nancy is following RYLA and will be back in touch with Ken at the end of the week. 
 
Respectfully submitted,
Denise Castonguay