Written by David Kramer, Chief Operating Officer
Quality. It is a word we use on almost a daily basis. We want to provide a high-quality service. We want Quality of Life for our clients. Rarely do we spend the time to understand what quality means. How do we know when our client is experiencing a good quality of life? Of course, we complete satisfaction surveys annually, however, most of our clients do not have the ability to communicate their level of satisfaction regarding their quality of life. Life isn’t just about being satisfied, otherwise, I could eat ice cream and play with the kids all-day.
If you search for a definition of quality, you will find many responses. For our purposes, I’d like to share how we define quality at Emmaus. Our focus remains on the quality of life, which references a standard of health, happiness, comfort, and independence experienced by our clients.
Here are 4 ways we provide quality of life for the clients we serve:
- Health – are the clients we serve not only healthier because of our services or are they as healthy as possible?
- Happiness – are we empowering our clients to enjoy life, have valued roles, and meaningful activities that they desire?
- Comfort – do they feel safe, are they free from abuse and neglect? Does their house feel like home to them?
- Independence – do they have a choice in all aspects of their life? When we view their activities, surroundings, and relationships, do they appear to match the person we know them to be?
The challenge is we often struggle in understanding how the regulatory requirements and other duties help us to achieve these outcomes for our clients. Our goal is not only to clarify the expectations but also explain the reason we have them, so we can collaborate in assuring our clients have the quality of life they deserve.