Faces of Long Term Care

How to Participate in the "Faces" Program

Thank you for your interest in the OHCA/OCAL/OCID Faces of Long Term Care campaign! If you have "liked" OHCA on Facebook or Twitter, you may have seen some of the images (sample here www.ohca.org/docs/documents/3843/Eddie-Carpenter-1.jpg).

Following is a discussion of how an interview can be conducted, the results from which OHCA/OCAL/OCID will draw appropriate quotes (samples here www.ohca.org/docs/documents/3843/Faces_Sample_picture_quotes.doc) to pair with pictures of the individual.

Always ask first if you can interview them photograph the individual, and explain the campaign’s goal: to bring a face to long term care and show the humanity in the residents, family, and caregivers that are affected by the aging process.

Let them know that you will show them the picture; it is easiest to use a digital camera which will display photos as they are taken. The preliminary discussion ensures that you do not spend a lot of their time and your time interviewing them if they do not want their picture taken. Do not worry too much about the quality of the photo, as we have a graphic designer on staff who can edit them.

After that, just sit down, and make sure they are comfortable and interview them. Sample interview questions are available here (www.ohca.org/docs/documents/3843/Faces_Interview_Prompts.doc). We like to obtain at least two good quotes, so the interview can take a while or be quick depending on the individual. We estimate about 20-30 minutes at the most, including getting the form signed, interview, and photographs.

When interviewing, the important thing is not to ask leading questions; ask open ended questions (not yes or no, or one answer questions), and not to fill pauses. When you fill the pauses it stops them from their previous thought and memory. As we age we take more time to process questions and although a pause may be uncomfortable for you at first, just let them know that you are writing down their answers and thinking of the next questions. We also try not to ask about the facility. This interview is about the person; we want to get to know them, not whether or not they like the food. That you can and should be talking about at other times. The following link has some great tips for getting people to open up in interview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPxzlGPrM3A

Once you start to complete some of these interviews you can submit high quality digital photos and interview results, along with a consent form (www.ohca.org/docs/documents/3843/Photo_Release.pdf), to the OHCA office. The interviews and consent forms may be scanned an emailed ([email protected]), or faxed to 614-436-0939.

There is no deadline as we hope to get these sent to us throughout the year. Please feel free to share this information with your facility and other staff members who may be able to assist in this campaign. If you have any questions at all you can reach me at the contact information below and I will gladly talk through this campaign with you.

Thanks so much for your willingness to help! Mandy

Mandy Smith, Regulatory Director, CEAL/LNHA/LMT/LPTA/RAC-CT 55 Green Meadows Drive South | Lewis Center, OH 43035 Phone: 614.436.4154 | Fax: 614.436.0939 | Cell: 614.288.0613 [email protected] | www.ohca.org

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