MI County nursing home honored for level of care

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And we usually hear about the bad stuff...... County nursing home honored for level of care - Adrian, MI - Daily Telegram

The Lenawee Medical Care Facility earned a new ranking among elite nursing homes in the nation for quality of care.

The county-owned 136-bed facility is one of 26 in the United States this year to receive the Step II National Quality Award from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living. There were 215 facilities seeking the recognition from AHCA/NCAL.

This award is a major accomplishment for the staff and governing board of the Lenawee Medical Care Facility, said administrator Kathy Aube.

“We’re the only nursing home in Michigan to get this award,” Aube said. Two years ago the facility was only the second in Michigan to earn a Step I award from AHCA/NCAL. Another facility in the state won a Step I award in 2003.

“We applaud the staff at Lenawee Medical Care Facility for being at the forefront of the quality movement,” Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL, said in a written statement. “Being judged to be worthy of this quality award demonstrates a commitment to a rigorous journey of continuous improvement and a high level of sustainable performance.”

Bernie Dana, chairman of the board in charge of the organization’s award program, also congratulated workers at the Lenawee Medical Care Facility.

“We are pleased that the staff at Lenawee Medical Care Facility has achieved this very significant milestone in their journey to achieve performance excellence,” Dana stated. “They have demonstrated the value of this award program as a pathway to improving performance in long-term care.”

Aube said the facility earned the award for having in place a proven process of constant quality improvement. The facility has teams in place to identify and address problems and continue monitoring solutions.

“We get better all the time at that,” Aube said.

Some of the issues being dealt with include improving pain control, reducing the use of patient restraints and reducing staff turnover.

One reason the facility has been able to continue making strides in quality improvement is that staff turnover is much lower than at most nursing homes, Aube said. The national average is 50 to 60 percent. Last year the turnover rate rose from about 10 percent to 22 percent at Lenawee Medical Care Facility, at least partly as a result of the sagging economy. Some employees moved out of the area after family members lost jobs, she said.

The economy and state funding reductions have so far not impacted Lenawee Medical Care Facility programs, she said.

“We have planned ahead for these kinds of contingencies,” Aube said. Reserve funds and the fact the facility does not pay earnings to an owner have enabled the facility to sustain itself.

Plans are also being made to improve quality another notch in order to go after a Step III award, the highest offered by AHCA/NCAL.

“I think it will take us a couple of years,” Aube said. The criteria are very difficult to attain, she said, but simply pursuing the goal helps continue the organization’s improvements.

“We’ve never just rested on our laurels,” she said. “We’ve always tried to do something better.”