"I received a phone call from a previous consultant stating the nursing facility where I was employed previously had received multiple J-Tags.  She wanted to know if  I would be interested in returning as the D. O. N.?  Well I did go in for the interview and at that time was when I met Brenda Sheppard. 

We spoke and she was very honest about what was going on in the building.  The building was in their survey window and they were by no means ready,  I had to build a team.  Needless to say, I did accept the job offer and from that day to the day of the survey, my staff, along with Brenda, worked tirelessly at providing education and tools for the building to succeed. 

Brenda taught us a whole new way of thinking and reacting to situations.  I thought I knew everything and slowly found out that there were some things that I needed to brush up on.  She was always available and always pushed the staff to think outside the box.  She was available to provide inclusive training that focused on topics that would keep you in compliance. 

Brenda left us with a sense of knowing we would be able to use the way she encouraged us to think and react to things to obtain the goal.  A deficiency-free survey. 

Upon leaving us, we had a luncheon in Brenda's honor and had t-shirts made that would remind us of Brenda's teachings.  The shirts' statement was WWBD (What Would Brenda Do)?  This became a constant reminder of her teachings and guidance through the process of preparation for surveys. 

She was truly an inspiration, mentor, and friend."

Harry Manigault, R.N,

Regional Nurse Consultant

Weekday Clinical Start-up Checklist

An organized format that helps the Director of Nursing to conduct an in-depth clinical review and prioritize care needs.

Clinical Start-up Follow Up Form

a form for communicating resident needs to nursing staff/designee for follow-up on identified care concerns that provides facility-specific follow-up communication o appropriate IDT members or designees to fulfill identified tasks.

Weekend Clinical Start-up Checklist

A tool to assist the supervisor/designee in conducting a thorough clinical review and prioritizing care needs over the weekend and on holidays.

Operations Morning Meeting (Stand-up)

Provides a method for facilitating clinical and non-clinical concerns in a manner that prioritizes resident needs and facility performance improvements.

"With the assistance of Brenda’s guidance and collaboration, our facilities were able to improve clinical processes, outcomes and pass many surveys including the immediate removal of an Immediate Jeopardy citing in a facility.

Brenda’s dedication and patience with us ultimately assisted the facilities with becoming regulatory-compliant. Mrs. Brenda created the blueprint and transitioned our facilities from paper to electronic medical administration health records.

This positively impacted several facilities in the multi-site region to include both Skilled and Assisted Living Facilities in many ways to include: decrease in penalties being paid, increased staff retention from staff training by increased support success through process and workflow, and higher reimbursement related to nursing documentation training. 

Mrs. Sheppard means business when it comes to taking care of residents, staff, and facilities. She is friendly and approachable. She has a unique ability to teach and someone others  want to listen and follow. I could go on and on about Brenda. I highly recommend Core Systems Clinical Consulting for all your clinical training and consulting needs."

Tonja Jackson, BSN, RN

Regional Director of Clinical Operations