What is Culture Change?

There is a growing movement across the United States to fundamentally change the way nursing homes operate. "Culture Change" is the term that is used to describe the transformational change that many nursing homes are beginning to embrace. While some advocates for the elderly would just as soon eliminate nursing homes entirely in favor of home and community-based care, the "culture change" movement recognizes the need for nursing homes in the continuum of care, but seeks to dramatically alter the way in which that care is delivered.

For a complete description of culture change and the history of the movement, please see "What is Culture Change"

Our Vision...

Person-centered care that promotes the dignity of the individuals living and working in nursing homes.

Our Mission...

We seek to transform the culture of nursing homes by building relationship-centered communities that affirm the dignity, autonomy and value of each individual who lives and works there.

The Coalition's Goals are to...

• Provide a forum that is inclusive of all partners who represent the nursing home community;
• Create a unified effort to build empowered relationship-centered communities in nursing homes throughout California;
• Establish a statewide network of culture change resources for providers that supports transformational change; and
• Promote the values, principles and practices of the culture change movement throughout California through identification and dissemination of innovative models of person-centered care and facility management that support relationship-centered communities.

Definition...

"Culture change" is a term used to refer to care that focuses on people and relationships. A resident-centered or culture changed nursing home can be defined as an organization that has:

• Close relationships existing between residents, family members, staff, and community;
• Residents direct their own care and living choices (e.g., daily schedules, food choices, other decisions);
• Personnel organized around the needs and desires of clients rather than by departments;
• Management that allows collaborative and group decision making;
• Processes/measures that are used for continuous quality improvement;
• A living environment that is designed to be a home rather than an institution