Local Video
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| Nursing homes ranked average and above |
By: SUZANNE ROOK, Managing Editor
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Posted: Friday, July 31, 2009 11:18 pm
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NORTHFIELD — Northfield Hospital’s nursing home received top marks in the state Nursing Home Report Card.
Northfield Hospital’s Long Term Care Center received 31 of 35 possible stars, the highest of any Minnesota nursing home in the annual report. The ratings are based on seven quality measures: resident quality of life, Minnesota quality indicators, hours of direct care, staff retention, use of temporary staff, proportion of single rooms and state inspection results.
“We are deeply honored to again be recognized as one of the top care facilities in Minnesota,” said Ken Bank, president and CEO of Northfield Hospital & Clinics. “The high ranking … is a tribute to the staff, who under the steady guidance of center director Gretchen Murr, give so much of themselves every day to care for our residents.”
Northfield’s Three Links Care Center received 24 of 35 stars. Northfield Care Center got 23 stars in the rating. The average score for Minnesota nursing homes was 23 stars.
Though Northfield Care Center’s overall score mirrors the state average, it ranked at or above average in five of the seven indicators. It fell short in staff retention and use of temporary staffers. Those measurements, said Kyle Nordine, president and CEO of Northfield Retirement Community, which operates the center, are at least 18 months old.
“That information is so old, it doesn’t truly reflect what’s going on now,” he said.
Where it was difficult to find applicants two years ago, Nordine says the center now has a wealth of resumes, reducing the need to rely on temporary staff. And turnover has decreased markedly, he said.
While the report uses the most current information available, staff retention, hours of direct care and use of temporary nursing staff indicators are based on reports from the year ending Sept. 30, 2007. Resident satisfaction ratings were last collected in spring 2008. Inspection results came from the state April 6, according to the Department of Health, which issues the report card.
Pat Vincent, CEO at Three Links, called the report card “just numbers and stars “ and a “snapshot on a given day.”
She and Nordine point to rankings done by an independent agency, My Interview, which grades Three Links and Northfield Care Center in the top10 percent of nursing homes nationally.
The DOH cautions consumers to use the report card as one source of information when selecting a nursing home. The department suggests consumers talk with family, friends and staff members and visit the facility before choosing a home.
— Suzanne Rook is the managing editor. She can be reached at srook@northfieldnews.com or 645-1113.
MORE INFORMATION
Report cards for 382 licensed Minnesota nursing homes can be found online at health.state.mn.us/nhreportcard or at 1-800-333-2433 Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. |
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