Did you know that 90% of the direct care given to your loved one in a nursing home is provided by Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA’s)? One can earn CNA certification in Minnesota with 75 hours of training.
When Episcopal Church Home – The Gardens opens in early 2015, 90% of the direct care will still be provided by caregivers with CNA training – but CNA certification is only the starting point for training under the GREEN HOUSE Model of Care (the model around which “The Gardens” was designed and is being built).
The GREEN HOUSE Model of Care is so different from the conventional nursing home model of care that the primary direct caregivers needed a different title. That title is “Shahbaz” after a mythical Persian royal falcon that transformed lives by protecting, nurturing, and sustaining its people.
CNA certification is essential to becoming a Shahbaz, but the primary focus of CNA training is on clinical procedures and Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s) such as helping with dressing, toileting, bathing, and feeding. Shahbaz training builds on this 75-hour foundation with 120 hours of additional instruction.
The centerpiece of the 120-hour Shahbaz training curriculum is 40 hours of CORE Training. It consists of person-directed care and GREEN HOUSE philosophies and principles, along with communication, team skills, clinical decision-making, dementia care, and how to build loving, respectful relationships with the Elders they serve by really knowing them and the unique rhythms of their days. CORE training provides our aspiring Shahbazim (plural of Shahbaz) with a deep knowledge of how to put the Elder first.
After the 40 hours of CORE Training come 35 hours of culinary and housekeeping training, 4 hours of meaningful engagement training, and a 40-hour practicum in a GREEN HOUSE Home. Like family caregivers in private homes, Shahbazim are responsible for all aspects of their Elders’ care (clinical cares, culinary, housekeeping, and meaningful engagement) – but unlike most family caregivers, Shahbazim have been thoroughly trained to do the job.
Episcopal Homes is committed to investing in our employees so the Elders they serve will live the happiest, most meaningful lives possible. On April 28, 2014, Episcopal Church Home celebrated the graduation of its latest CORE Training class. Although much training remains, the CORE graduates pictured here have earned the title of Shahbaz. They are putting their training to work right now in Sister Annette House at Episcopal Church Home, which is now operating by GREEN HOUSE philosophies and principles.
When Episcopal Church Home – The Gardens opens early in 2015, it will be fully staffed by fully trained Shahbazim. Then, over the next two years, all six of the Households at our original nursing home (which will be called Episcopal Church Home – The Courtyards) will migrate to operating by GREEN HOUSE philosophies and principles. Learn more about the GREEN HOUSE Model of Care at thegreenhouseproject.org.
“We do the best we can with what we know,
and when we know better, we do better.”
Maya Angelou
