JOINT COMMISSION IS COMING!

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1 NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM GUARDIAN JOINT COMMISSION IS COMING! It is that time again! Joint Commission is expected to survey Guardian for continued certification anytime between October 1, 2012 and February 15, You might be asking yourself, what is my role in this process? What to expect the surveyor will select certain clinical staff with whom he or she would like to have a brief phone conversation (5 minutes). Note: this is conducted in private without the presence of other GHP staff. According to the Health Care Staffing Process Review Guide the surveyor will: Introduce themselves to the clinical staff member Confirm that the individual has a moment to talk Provide a brief statement about the certification and how their feedback is important to the certification process Assure the clinical staff member that if he or she needs to attend to his or her duties at anytime during the phone call he or she should feel free to interrupt the discussion Ask the staff person to describe his or her: IN THIS ISSUE: Joint Commission is Coming! Marketing and Business Development Guardian Stakes Joint Commission Sentinel Alert Event Walk for your Heart Excitement for New GCL Training - Orientation to the staffing firm and to the customer organization(s) at which he or she has been placed

2 JOINT COMMISSION IS COMING! (CONTINUED) - Experience to date with the staffing firm and his or her overall impressions - Whom they contact at the staffing firm with questions, concerns, problems, or complaints - Customer experiences and if he or she is ever asked by customers to float to areas where he or she may be uncomfortable based on their skills and experience. - Experience to being matched to customers - Experience with problem resolution Ask the staff member any clarifying questions or for more details Ask the staff member if he or she has any questions about this Joint Commission certification or the review process. Thank the individual staff member for his or her time. A verbal report on overall results from the phone calls will be shared with GHP at the end of the survey during the exit conference. We are confident we will again pass our Joint Commission survey with flying colors and we thank you for your vital contribution to our continued certification! The Joint Commission A nationally and internationally recognized leader in health care quality. By becoming recertified by this organization, Guardian demonstrates that we have continually met the high measures of achievement and distinction that is recognized within the health care industry. It demonstrates our commitment to excellence in providing health care staffing services in a comprehensive manner and that we are fully meeting the health care quality and safety needs for which we are responsible. Marketing and Business Development For those of you I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting, I am Mary Kiger VP, Marketing and Business Development for Guardian Healthcare Providers. Mary Kiger VP, Marketing and Business Development Branding - The Guardian Group In order to create greater visibility for our company, our leadership team decided to make The Guardian Group the focus of our brand/logo work. In essence, we want the market to understand that Guardian Community Living and Guardian Healthcare Providers are sister companies under the parent company called The Guardian Group.

3 MARKETING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (CONTINUED) In order to understand who we are, TruStar Marketing (our brand and website designer), interviewed a number of employees and clients for both Guardian Community Living and Guardian Healthcare Providers. Synthesizing what they heard in these conversations, TruStar developed the brand statement, The Impact of One. Below is the rational for their choice based on what they heard over and over in their interviews. The Guardian Group is recognized for its total reliability, high level of integrity, meticulous attention to detail. WE deliver on promises made no exceptions and no excuses. Our corporate values are manifested in all aspects of our operations and processes; and ultimately in the quality service that is delivered to one person at a time, by one Guardian employee at a time. In fact, it all starts with one. The right person in the right job singly dedicated to providing the highest level of care. Because One person can make a big difference. One company, dedicated to serving one person at a time, with the right person in the right job makes all the difference. One company believes in the direct, positive impact that this singular focus has on achieving big client goals and personal bests. You too are one who can have great impact. We hope that as an employee, you can identify with The Impact of One the very real difference that you make in the role that you play whether you work for Guardian Community Living or Guardian Healthcare Providers. Both companies share an unwavering focus on making a positive difference on the lives of those we serve and for this reason, fit together like two halves of a whole under our parent company, The Guardian Group. We hope that prospective employees will feel drawn to the Guardian Group and its subsidiary companies because our unified message will resonate with their desire to make a positive impact on the lives of others. And that s who we want to work for us! Logo Design - A Fresh New Look and Feel Finding a logo that captures the fresh, warm feeling we want to project was a journey of trial and error. In fact, we looked at over 130 logos before finding the one you see above. We picked the one above because the colors feel good, the sphere invokes the world and seems to practically pulse with energy and possibility, and of course, it has our tagline as its foundation. Soon you will see the new logo and colors throughout our new website which we hope to share with you in November (with some sneak peeks in October). You ll see new letterhead and business cards but what is really important is that in every decision and action we take, we embody our brand to those around us. Our brand is not separate from us it is us. I look forward to sharing the new website with you soon. In the meantime, please share your ideas for making the Guardian Group shine in the market. Write me at mkiger@guardiangroup.com.

4 GUARDIAN STAKES ANNUAL COMPANY WIDE CONTEST Guardian Stakes The Wellness committee would like to congratulate each individual participant for all the hard work and dedication that you have put into this program. The miles submitted were UNBELIEVABLE and we cannot thank you enough for the TREMENDOUS effort! This program has been a huge SUCCESS. We would also like to thank the field representatives for all your efforts in helping with this program as well. It would not have been such a success without each of you! Sixty Employees Crossed the Finish Line. These employees each submitted 30 miles over the contest weeks and each deserve a HUGE WAY TO GO! These individuals each received a $50.00 Reward. Fourteen fearless employees submitted over 100 miles! These participants went above and beyond in their efforts and are an encouragement to all! Thank you for all of the hard work and perseverance. IT PAID OFF! These GRAND PRIZES were based on the HIGHEST amount of TOTAL miles! CONGRATS TO ALL! 2012 Annual Company Wide Contest Results 1. Nola (Kim Milam) 336 Miles - $ Robuster (Bill Akin) 311 Miles - $ Shanzie (Pearcitia Hall) Miles - $ Easy Does It (Sam Kislow) 184 Miles - $ Prosperity (Marriott Brown) 157 Miles - $ Impetus (Marcus Spinks) 146 Miles - $ Ellie K. (Lisa Bivens) 132 Miles - $ Go Get Em (Dianna Max) 126 Miles - $ Trifecta Tom (Alicia Dipiazza) 123 Miles - $ Canadian Bacon (Ryan Tempel) 114 Miles - $ The Situator (Sue Champion) 108 Miles - $ Breezy Kristin Gergen 103 Miles - $ Relly (Sherrell Bennett) 101 Miles - $50.00 #14 on that amazing list is none other than our very own CEO Joe Owen aka Big Red! Leading by example is a fabulous way to encourage participation and it paid off!

5 JOINT COMMISSION SENTINEL ALERT EVENT The Joint Commission publishes Sentinel Event Alert, that are designed to provide suggestions or alternative to help design processes that would prevent reported adverse events from occurring in our health care setting. This newsletter will focus on the Sentinel Event Alerts related to opioid use and health care worker fatigue. Safe Use of Opioids in Hospitals Although hospital patients may need the strong pain relief that only opioids can provide, The Joint Commission urges hospitals to take specific steps to prevent serious complications or even deaths from opioid use. Medication errors continue to occur in our health care setting and the Joint Commission releases periodic information to assist in the decreased incidence of this occurrence. The need for health care providers who medicate patients to assure a meticulous method of assuring the right patient receives the right medication and dosage, and then evaluated for the effectiveness of the given medication is absolutely important to our patient safety. Joint Commission has reported that opioid-related adverse drug eventsincluding death-that occurred in hospitals resulted in 47% were wrong dose medication errors, 29 percent were related to improper monitoring of the patient, and 11 percent were related to other factors such as excessive dosing, medication interactions, and adverse drug reactions. As healthcare providers it is our responsibility to know what the drug is that we are giving, who is to receive the medication and when, giving the right dosage and at the right time is extremely important and we are also responsible for monitoring our patient s reaction to the medication. After medicating a patient, the patient should be monitored and assessed in a timely manner and to evaluate the effect of the medication. Information obtained from: Health Care worker and Fatigue and Patient Safety The link between health care worker fatigue and adverse events is well documented, with a substantial number of studies indicating that the practice of extended work hours contributes to high levels of worker fatigue and reduced productivity. With the reports that Joint Commission receives, it was found that nurses suffer higher rates of occupational injury when working shifts in excess of 12 hours. It was found that nurses suffered increased risk of errors and higher rates of occupational injury. We need to remember that as direct care providers, we need to make our patient s safety our number one goal. Always check that the patient is receiving the right medication, that they are the right patient to receive the medication and it is the right medication dosage, given by the correct route of administration, and given at the right time. Remember to always evaluate the patient response to the medication. Healthcare providers, especially nurses who are at the bedside of the assigned patients for long hours need to note that with the longer the shift, the more risk there is for error and risk for injury. Nurses should make sure they are well rested before arriving to work and while at work, they should take further precaution to be attentive to detail at all times during the shift, especially later in a 12 hour shift when mistakes are more likely to be made.

6 WALK FOR YOUR HEART STEP IT UP... TAKE A HIKE... THE GUARDIAN GROUP IS ON THE MOVE AND WANTS YOU TO JOIN THE MOVEMENT! The Guardian Group is launching a WALKING PROGRAM. All full-time staff of GHP and GCL are invited to participate in our program. The Guardian Group wants YOU to participate. Whether you WALK as an individual or as a member of a group, the 12 week long program is designed to get you to be more active. The program s goal is simple: to get you to take more steps a day. This doesn t require a gym membership or that you buy expensive exercise equipment or clothes. It just requires that you GET MOVING. In order to track the total number of steps that you take in a day (this includes steps taken at work, at home, and while you are taking a walk or working out), you will have to wear a small pedometer and write down your daily steps. As a point of reference, approximately 2000 steps equals one mile. As you reach certain milestones, you ll be entered into a drawing for the prizes listed below. The persons with the highest total number of steps taken during the 12 weeks will receive an additional prize. So how does this work? You will sign up for this program by sending the signed waiver to Kelly Osborne at kosborne@guardianhealthcare.com. You will receive a pedometer and the walking log sheet. The program starts Wednesday September 26, 2012 and ends December 19, As you reach the step milestones, send your daily log to Oriia (hoxnam@guardianhealthcare.com). Send logs only when you reach each milestone. All persons participating will receive a T-shirt. Drawings will be held in 4 week intervals for prizes for persons reaching the 336,000, 504,000, 840,000 mark. Special prizes and special recognition will be awarded to everyone reaching over 840,000 steps. PRIZES TO BE GIVEN AWAY ARE: >840,000 Steps Special Prizes/Special Recognition 840,000 Steps $50.00 Average 5.0 miles per day 504,000 Steps $35.00 Average 3.0 miles per day 336,000 Steps $25.00 Average 2.0 miles per day TOTAL CONTEST DAYS: 84

7 NEW GCL TRAINING Excitement for New GCL Training On Thursday, September 20, 2012, the Jackson Region was the first to have employees trained in Positive Behavior Supports Training (PBST). PBST is a very thorough class teaching employees how to interact and provide treatment to persons with intellectual disabilities. PBST was developed as an outcome of Harold Sloves vision. He felt that residential support staff and home coordinators needed enhanced skills and knowledge how to interact with individuals in a consist manner. In addition, he felt that the majority of individuals who might be referred to GCL were those with behavior challenges. It is felt that PBST would position us as a provider of course to future GCL referrals. Mr. Sloves appointed Jeff Egelston, Ed.D., Director of Compliance and Jay Zimmerman, GCL Behavior Analyst, to research, develop and implement a training program that would meet his vision. Dr. Egelston and Mr. Zimmerman worked hard and over many months developed PBST. The first class in Jackson was exciting and the class (mostly of Home Coordinators) was very receptive to the training. We now have 11 experts in PBST. The class is divided into 2 sections: (1) Training specific to Direct Support Providers and (2) Training to Supervisors. Our first intent is to train all existing employees and then begin offering the class to new employees.