EHR: An Integral Part of a Complex Long Term Care Environment

Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs (LDVA) operates state-of-the-art Veterans Homes in Jackson, Bossier City, Monroe, Reserve, and Jennings. LDVA offers a variety of services  including:

• Long and short-term care
• Rehabilitative therapies
• Alzheimer’s and intermediate care
• Skilled nursing
• Mental health services
• Centralized pharmacy services

Across these 5 facilities, LDVA offers 753 beds to veterans, veteran's spouses, Gold Star parents (parents of a fallen service member who died while serving in a time of conflict). 

Louisiana Department of Veterans Challenges

Murphy Haydel, RN Compliance Officer at Louisiana Veterans Homes, oversees compliance and regulatory requirements for all 5 facilities in this highly regulated environment of long-term care nursing.

Staying on top of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and state regulations, as well as federal VA standards is a significant amount of work. Then add in managing charting documentation and Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement processes and Haydel is faced with a huge volume of data and tasks related to compliance.

Haydel says, “There are so many data points and regulatory tasks required to stay compliant with state and federal regulations that it’s critical to have an efficient system to help the team get everything done.”

Louisiana Veterans Homes and Haydel were challenged with managing heavy compliance requirements to support their primary goal of providing quality care for a deserving community. To do that, they needed an EHR solution customized for their long-term care processes and operations.

The Right Long Term Care EHR Solution for LDVA

Cervey’s Long Term Care Electronic Health Records (EHR) platform has been instrumental in helping  LDVA Veterans Homes provide quality care for their residents and at the same time stay compliant with regulations. Haydel says, “Cervey’s EHR platform gives me the ability to see all of the important information from all five centers right from my laptop, using remote access, without going anywhere.”

Additionally, custom-configured alerts and notifications were implemented into the web-based software so to help staff stay on top of various scenarios. For example, a notification is sent when documentation is pending its completion, or when a medication or treatment order needs to be administered, a charting alert flashes on the screen to notify the caregiver.

One of the most valuable benefits of this Long Term Care EHR solution for LDVA is access to Cervey’s development team who can build or modify custom reports, or even make changes to the application to meet their specific needs.

Haydel explains, “Just last month we requested a state-specific incident report that was completed by Cervey within a few weeks so that yet again we can meet another requirement.” Further, he says, “I’ve never worked with an EHR provider that is so hands-on and responsive. Most EHR vendors I have worked with tell me a flat ‘no’ or will take up to a year to get requested changes done. The attitude that the Cervey staff brings to helping us solve problems is invaluable to our operations.”

If you want to chat about how Cervey's Long Term Care EHR solution can work for your organization, click the contact button below to request a demo.