Blessing Hospital’s Skilled Nursing Unit (SNU) earned an overall five-star rating for the recent survey period of the nation’s nursing homes from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The survey is conducted four times each year. Blessing’s SNU has earned an overall five-star rating in each of the past four survey periods.
CMS created the Five-Star Quality Rating System to help consumers, their families, and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily and to help identify areas about which consumers may want to ask questions. The Nursing Home Care Compare web site features a quality rating system that gives each nursing home a rating of between 1 and 5 stars. Nursing homes with 5 stars are considered to have much above average quality and nursing homes with 1 star are considered to have quality much below average. There is one overall star rating for each nursing home, and separate ratings for health inspections, staffing and quality measures.
“Skilled nursing has a set of regulations different from those of other inpatient services, to address the needs of the specific population we serve” said Tammy Harr, RN, nurse manager, SNU, Blessing Hospital. “Maintaining the five-star rating is an opportunity our team welcomes and takes seriously. SNU team members are dedicated and care deeply about our residents and helping them to succeed in their health goals.”
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Blessing’s SNU is a 20-bed licensed short-term nursing home facility. SNU is a stepping stone in a patients overall hospital discharge plan. To be eligible for SNU care a patient must have completed a 3-day hospital stay within the last 30 days, need a skilled service provided by a registered nurse or therapist, be an active participant in their therapy program and make substantial progress so that they can return home with a short stay. SNU also excepts multiple commercial insurances. Average length of stay is 14 to 21 days. Length of stay is based on individual needs and progress towards therapy goals.
For more information the CMS survey go to https://www.cms.gov/medicare/health-safety-standards/certification-compliance/five-star-quality-rating-system.