News

December 19, 2008

Web rating helps families choose nursing home

Ratings based on state inspections, staffing levels and quality measures.

By Bill O'Boyle boboyle@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
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A new Web site unveiled Thursday is intended to help families choose a nursing home for their loved ones.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services operates the new tool – Nursing Home Compare. The site uses a five-star rating system, similar to that used for hotels and motels, to rank institutions nationwide.

According to the report, approximately 12 percent of the facilities nationwide earned five stars (the highest) and roughly 22 percent have one star.

Of the 25 local facilities rated in the report, 19 were given one-star ratings and four received two stars. Wesley Village in Jenkins Township was given four stars and Heritage House in Wilkes-Barre, three stars.

Two-star rated facilities are: Butler Valley Manor, Drums; Mercy Center, Dallas; Smith Health Care, Mountain Top; and Valley Crest, Wilkes-Barre.

One-star rated facilities are: Birchwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Nanticoke; Davis Manor, Mountain Top; Golden Living Center-East Mountain, Wilkes-Barre; Golden Living Center-Summit, Wilkes-Barre; Guardian Elder Care, Nanticoke; Hampton House, Hanover Township; Highland Manor, Exeter; John Heinz Senior Rehab Care, Wilkes-Barre Township; Kingston Commons, Kingston; Lakeside Nursing Center, Dallas; Laurels Health and Rehab, Kingston; Little Flower Manor, Wilkes-Barre; Manor at St. Luke Village, Hazleton; Manorcare Health, Kingston; Meadows Nursing Center, Dallas; Mountain City Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Hazleton; Pavilion at St. Luke Village, Hazleton; Riverstreet Manor, Wilkes-Barre; and WVHCS Hospital TCU, Wilkes-Barre.

Tom Pugh, vice president for rehabilitation services at Allied Services John Heinz, said he wasn’t bothered by the one-star rating for its facility, which has been open a year.

“I do know that our satisfaction surveys show good comments from patients and families and that matters most to us.” Heinz received a five-star rating for staffing, something Pugh said is well-deserved.

“I really don’t know enough about this rating system,” he said. “I do know what we do and I am very satisfied with the level of medicine we practice there.”

An Associated Press report said Kerry Weems, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the agency was taking existing data already on the agency’s Web site and making it easier for people to evaluate a nursing home.

The ratings are based on state inspections, staffing levels and quality measures, such as the percentage of residents with bed sores. To view the ratings, visit http://Medicare.gov/NHcompare.

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