Last August, the leaders and staff of the Filipino American-owned Optima Care Home Health in California, USA enjoyed their sumptuous meal as they celebrated a major feat while gathered in an elegant restaurant not that far from Los Angeles. Why not, they just earned the five-star rating from authorities in the health care community.
Led by the company’s Director of Patient Care Services (DPCS) Jeaniza Olivar, the team of dedicated and hardworking professionals left no stones unturned to obtain their utmost goal of being where they should be.
The victory treat was organized by Alan and Amabel De Leon – the power couple behind the group of health care companies from which Optima Care belongs.
There was a collective glow on their faces — a sense of pride that expresses unbridled joy after achieving what was exactly targeted.
Pride and gratitude
Olivar recalled that she learned about the good news a few days after a directors’ meeting where the discussion zeroed in on that goal. At that point they were already enjoying a 4.5 rating, but the relatively short climb to the summit looked as if many miles away.
As she was too busy to check, somebody informed her that Optima Care had earned a five-star rating – for the first time. She confirmed it herself. It had been posted for everyone to see.
Olivar and her staff of “lucky” 13 – properly dressed, results-oriented, deserving – were on cloud nine. They are the ones stationed in their office in Ontario, California day in and day out. Their efforts, in sync with their teammates in the field tirelessly working for the company and community, truly paid off and now officially recognized.
“I am proud of my team because of their relentless dedication to provide patient care. I feel so much gratitude for the clients and families placing their trust on us,” she said.
Dedication and consistency
As someone who appreciates each and every one responsible for the achievement, Olivar further acknowledged their fielders for the crucial role they play. They are, in her own words, “our wings and angels out there.”
For her, it is significant to reiterate that these care providers numbering to over a hundred are braving the heat of summer and cold of winter to see and make sure that patients are in tip-top shape, home safe.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which provides quality ratings for US-based nursing homes and healthcare plans, equates the five-star nod to basically the pinnacle of success.
Assessing performances on a scale of one to five stars, their system uses data from health inspections, staffing levels, and quality measures to give consumers tools to compare and choose among healthcare providers.
Consistency and teamwork go hand in hand in obtaining good ratings. How soon they’re going to admit a patient from the time of referral is a key detail in the grading process. And then there must be a progress in the condition of a patient between admittance and discharge. Discharging via declining is a no-no.
Trust and Talk
Olivar as the DPCS regularly audits the tasks and educates her team to stay steady with documentation, in particular its timely submission. If a patient needs to be seen today, it better be.
Her dedication is buoyed by the trust given to her by her pure-hearted bosses who gave her the DPCS position three months after joining their team in 2022.
She noted, “As a leader you want to make sure the staff members are okay first and then you move on your day. If there are concerns, we huddle. ‘What is our plan for today?’ What is our goal? Who needs urgent visit? These are things I ask on a daily basis. I am very hands on. Every day I am here.”
Each morning, she does her rounds as soon as she settles and puts her things down. She talks to each of the staff, makes sure they’re equipped to take on the challenge of the day. In a workplace that deals with people’s health and lives, productivity can only be produced by someone who is okay and ready.
She continued, “I always tell them that when I have meetings, they should know that I am just a message or a call away. I am reachable.”
Safety and diversity
At Optima Care, the main idea is to make sure that the patient after hospitalization is safe and sound at home. Patients should be able to do their ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) before they are discharged.
It’s not easy for a home health enterprise to get the highest rating. Big thanks to Optima Care’s diverse team of US-born locals, Hispanics, professionals with Filipino or Asian roots, and other mix of race and cultural identity – all united and powered by commitment. Such a group working together under effective leadership makes way for excellent service deserving of recognition.
For Olivar, hiring people is both a skill and intuition which she explains as having strong guts to determine who has what it takes to significantly contribute to the team.
“You want to make sure that the person you hire will blend with people you currently have,” pointed out the petite, passionate immigrant from the Philippines who vowed to give her all for that five-star claim and did just that.
A lot of individuals apparently depend on her – patients, families, her staff – and they have for all that she gives banked on the right person.
Vision and foundation
Looking at the big picture, Optima Care is determined to reach more cities and more people to take care of. A second Optima Care office is not far-fetched, as it is a smart move to expand and accommodate nurses from other areas.
Olivar added, “Being a leader, you have to make decisions every single day. Those decisions better be approved by God; that must be the foundation.”
“I urge my team to see clients and patients as members of their family. From that idea they can base their decision-making,” she added.
Home health ratings are provided from time to time. It’s an advantage for Optima Care that it already knows the ingredients to maintaining a five-star rating. It’s about consistently putting into action what they have been doing so well.