Medline Signs 450-Plus Long-Term Care Provider Contracts for Technology-based Workforce Solutions

NORTHFIELD, Ill., Aug. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Medline today announced that it has signed more than 450 new customer contracts during the first half of 2021 for its Post-Acute Solutions Program, aimed at offering technology-based quality and workforce management solutions for long-term care providers.

Recent data from the American Health Care Association shows that hiring and retaining long-term care workers has become even more challenging since the pandemic started, with 94% of all nursing homes facing staffing shortages. Facility leaders are now turning to technology solutions to help train, retain and hire quality employees, while enhancing quality and efficiencies, ultimately allowing staff to spend more direct time with residents.

Among the most frequent Post-Acute Solutions Program contracts were:

• HealthStream online education
• OnShift
• abaqis by HealthStream

For more than 10 years, Medline's post-acute care sales team has been building partnerships with technology solutions providers to tackle timely workforce and quality management challenges. One of the company's longest standing offerings is abaqis by HealthStream—with whom Medline partners with to offer this quality management system to help customers with survey compliance. In the last few years, Medline formed partnerships with OnShift to improve workforce recruitment, management and retention, Real Time Medical Systems® to enhance reimbursement opportunities through interventional analytics, Hybrent to help customers create supply ordering efficiencies, HealthStream to help staff meet training requirements through online education, and VitalTech to help facilities implement telehealth.

"Providers' pressing pain points were amplified by COVID-19, making it more critical to implement solutions that create operational and clinical efficiencies for staff. We are working hard with our solutions partners to help them eliminate the manual work around quality management and open up staff resources," said Shawn Scott, vice president of strategic business development for Medline's Post-Acute Care division.

Helping staff meet regulatory training requirements
In the first half of 2021, nearly 30% of all signed Post-Acute Solutions Program deals included the online education program HealthStream. This platform helps staff meet continuing education requirements by granting access to existing education programs, as well as enabling the upload of their own organization-specific education. The platform also simplifies tracking, offers pre and post program assessments, and provides easy to access reporting for leadership. Caregiver Inc., which specializes in providing care to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is now using HealthStream at nearly 100 of their facilities across five states.

"We are committed to recruiting, training and developing the best people to support the individuals we serve. Competition for workers is at an all-time high, so it is critical that we invest in tools and technology to empower our staff," said Randi Morgan, vice president of clinical services for Caregiver, Inc. "HealthStream will provide education that is tailored and helps us uncover knowledge gaps across our facilities so we can continue to create purposeful education that improve care outcomes."

Evolving workforce engagement strategies
According to the 2021 McKnight's Long-Term Care Flash Survey, flexible scheduling has become a popular benefit for recruiting and retaining staff. OnShift, a human capital management platform, purpose-built for senior care, gives providers staffing visibility to meet resident care needs, while also providing the flexibility today's workforce demands. In the first half of 2021, Medline signed over 70 customer contracts for OnShift to help providers redefine the employee experience through their innovative approach to recruitment, hiring, management and employee engagement.  Massachusetts-based SALMON Health and Retirement implemented OnShift with a goal to drive down labor costs, improve quality of care through consistent staffing, and engage staff with more flexible schedules. As a result, over 5,000 shifts were filled by employee-generated requests, saving the organization significant administrative time and improving employee satisfaction in 2020.

Leveraging interactive reporting to comply with regulatory requirements and enhance reimbursement
To help educate facilities on the latest practices and expectations, CMS and the CDC developed a COVID-19 Infection Control survey. Medline's quality management and web-based assessment partner abaqis by HealthStream launched a Self Assessment to replicate the survey and help facilities predict potential deficiencies. While COVID-19 cases are now limited at facilities, infection prevention will remain a focus as four in 10 facilities have been cited for an infection-control lapse. More than 70 skilled nursing organizations signed agreements during the first half of this year to leverage abaqis at their facility to help determine where gaps may exist, and to help address them in order to remain compliant, enhance quality of care and lower costs.

In conjunction with abaqis, Medline's interventional analytics solution partner Real Time Medical Systems is helping skilled nursing providers by offering live data on infectious disease markers to generate clinical alerts in real time and dashboards to pinpoint which residents are exhibiting symptoms. Also, the platform's risk scoring tool allows for easy monitoring of high risk residents to reduce hospital readmissions and enhance reimbursement opportunities.

Learn more about how Medline is helping long-term care providers improve operating performance and enhance care initiatives by visiting www.medline.com/pages/who-we-serve/long-term-care/.

About Medline
Medline is a healthcare company: a manufacturer, distributor and solutions provider focused on improving the overall operating performance of healthcare. Medline works with both the country's largest healthcare systems and independent facilities across the continuum of care to provide the clinical and supply chain resources required for long-term financial viability in delivering high quality care. With the size of one of the country's largest companies and the agility of a family-owned business, Medline is able to invest in its customers for the long-term and rapidly respond with customized solutions. Headquartered in Northfield, Ill., Medline has 27,000+ employees worldwide, a fleet of more than 1,200 trucks and does business in more than 125 countries. Learn more about Medline at www.medline.com.

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