Homestead Manor, an Assisted Living facility on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, will become the first assisted living facility in the State to install Cerner Corporation’s CareTracker system for long-term care.

“CareTracker allows us to have a complete picture of a resident’s needs and status at any given time,” said Homestead Manor Administrator Christine Harrington. “This system is a very valuable tool for our staff and patients because it provides us with documentation of a resident’s status throughout the day and will remind staff of needs or tasks that must be completed for each or our 60 residents.”

Ms. Harrington is leading the way for technology change at Homestead Manor by introducing system-wide changes that will improve the quality of care and will increase customer service for residents and their families. She believes that technology advances from CareTracker, and from Med Management Technologies’ QuickMAR electronic medication administration records system implemented in partnership with Craig’s Pharmacy of Cambridge, will give staff more time for hands-on assistance that will enhance each resident’s quality of life.

In addition to improving residents’ quality of life, the CareTracker system will ensure proper documentation, reduce risk, and increase profitability by replacing Homestead Manor’s paper documentation system. That system was labor intensive and presented challenges in identifying changes in residents’ needs and in providing timely information needed to communicate with family and staff involved in a resident’s care.

“CareTracker is used by more than 3,700 long-term care facilities across the globe, but this is the first Assisted Living organization in Maryland to adopt the solution,” said Steve Herron, Director for Cerner Extended Care. “We are excited about the beneficial impact this will have for the residents, family members, and employees associated with Homestead Manor.”

The CareTracker system will be fully implemented at Homestead Manor by the end of February. Until then the staff is undergoing education and training on the new system. The system, which was chosen after careful evaluation of several other systems beginning in February 2012, is user-friendly for all levels of employees. It uses a touch screen to provide pictures, profiles, reminders, and videos of residents’ data.

“With CareTracker we can see current information, which enables us to provide updated changes to Service Plans as soon as trends are identified,” Ms. Harrington says. “CareTracker enables communication throughout all shifts and departments, ensures uniformity, and enables us to address issues promptly.”

About Homestead Manor: Homestead Manor Assisted Living is part of The Wesleyan Retirement Community and is located at The Wesleyan Center At Denton on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Homestead Manor provides comprehensive assisted living services in spacious accommodations on an 80-acre wooded campus.

About Cerner Corporation: Cerner Corporation, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is a leader in transforming health care by eliminating error, variance, and waste for health care providers and consumers. Its CareTracker system is an innovative point-of-care electronic documentation system that improves clinical outcomes and compliance by using touch screens and portable computers.

About Med Management Technologies Inc.: Based in Eagle, Idaho, the Company was founded in 2003 to design, develop, and market medication management solutions. The company’s software products, marketed under the QuickMAR brand name, provide ease of use for the caregiver, true integration with leading pharmacy software, and other features that enhance the day-to-day communication between pharmacies and long-term
care facilities.

In photo: User on ipad using the CareTraker System