Chase County nursing home gets 5-star rating
By The Emporia Gazette (Contact)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
COTTONWOOD FALLS — Golden LivingCenter, at 612 Walnut St. in Cottonwood Falls, is one of only a handful of nursing homes in Kansas to get a five-star overall quality rating by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services unveiled a star rating system that rates each of the country’s nursing homes that participate in Medicare. The stars are based on health inspection surveys, staffing information and quality of care measurements, according to a press release from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The ratings are available online at www.medicare.gov under the link “Nursing Home Compare.”
Ratings are broken down into four areas: the overall rating, health inspection surveys, quality measures and staffing information. Health and safety inspections are based on surveys that are performed each year; quality measures uses 10 out of 19 measures that can be found on the Nursing Home Compare Web site; and staffing information is based on staffing levels.
A five-star ranking means much above average, a four-star ranking means above average, a three star ranking means about average, a two-star ranking means below average and a one star ranking means much below average.
Only the top 10 percent of nursing homes are eligible for the five-star rating. Golden LivingCenter of Chase County provides health care for 42 patients, including patients who need skilled nursing and rehabilitative care. It has operated in Cottonwood Falls since 1969.
“Our LivingCenter is honored to receive the five-Star rating because it validates the quality care and outstanding service we strive to provide our patients,” said Judy Boyce, executive director of Golden LivingCenter of Chase County. “It’s the result of a lot of hard work and dedication on the part of our employees, who are committed to working every day to improve our quality of care and patient experience.”