U.S. News & World Report Names Marlborough Health & Rehabilitation Center a 2020-21 Best Nursing Home

Marlborough Health & Rehabilitation Center is among the top U.S. skilled nursing facilities recognized as a 2020-21 Best Nursing Home by U.S. News & World Report. The Center earned the distinction of Best Nursing Home by achieving a rating of “High-Performing,” the highest possible rating for Short-Term Rehabilitation. U.S. News gives the designation of Best Nursing Home only to those homes that satisfy U.S. News’s assessment of the appropriate use of key services and consistent performance in quality measures.

“It is an honor to be recognized for the exemplary performance of our team members,” said Marvin Ostreicher, president of National Health Care Associates, an affiliate of Marlborough Health & Rehabilitation Center. “Our team works tirelessly to provide quality, compassionate care to our residents and keeping safety as our highest priority.”

Now in its 11th year, the U.S. News Best Nursing Homes ratings and profiles offer comprehensive information about care, safety, health inspections, staffing and more for nearly all of the nation’s 15,000-plus nursing homes. The Best Nursing Homes ratings reflect U.S. News’ exclusive analysis of publicly available data using a methodology defined by U.S. News that evaluates factors that it has determined most greatly impact patient and resident care, safety, and outcomes. This year, to accompany the new ratings, nursing home profile pages were updated to include a patient safety summary that reflects COVID-19 data alongside other measurements of safety and related advice on choosing a home or facility amidst the pandemic.

“We are proud to be nationally recognized by U.S. News,” said Robert Guastella, administrator at Marlborough Health & Rehabilitation Center. “We are fortunate to have such a caring staff that consistently exceeds resident care expectations.”

“U.S. News strives to provide access to information that allows consumers to make educated decisions on all types of care,” said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News. “Updating the profiles to include a patient safety summary that highlights COVID-19 data paired with other measures of care arms families, caregivers and patients with the information needed to make a decision that keeps safety at the highest priority.”

The Best Nursing Home finder features ratings on both long-term and short-term care. The Long-Term Care Rating aims to provide prospective residents who need help with daily activities, and their families, with analysis and information regarding the quality of care provided by nursing homes. The rating includes data on staffing, success in preventing ER visits and pneumonia vaccination rates, among other metrics. The short-term rating incorporates measures of quality including consistency of registered nurse staffing, use of antipsychotic drugs and success in preventing falls.

For more information about U.S. News Best Nursing Homes ranking, visit U.S. News 2020-21 Best Nursing Homes.

Keeping Our Residents Safe and Connected

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the lives of many, ushering fear, loss, and anxiety. Yet, amidst its impact, a light of hope has shined through healthcare heroes everywhere, whose untiring efforts have helped to keep us safe.

Though significantly affected by this pandemic, the nursing home industry and our healthcare heroes remain ever vigilant, employing a number of safety measures to ensure the well-being of those in our care.

Below are some of the measures our industry has taken to keep you or your loved ones safe at skilled nursing care facilities (SNF) and assisted living communities (ALF):

• Skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities adopted careful infection prevention and hygiene procedures such as handwashing, cough etiquette, the appropriate wearing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), environmental cleaning, and disinfecting and reprocessing medical equipment.
• Many skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, adopted technological solutions to communicate with resident families and responsible parties, including virtual visits on their loved one’s health status using apps like facetime and web conference tools.
• In May, all Connecticut nursing homes completed point-prevalence testing on all of its residents. Testing entailed a swab of every patient in the nursing home at that given time. Once results came back, this allowed non-symptomatic positive residents to be identified and placed into the appropriate area of the facilities. Once we could identify those infected in the facility and use the appropriate placement and precautions, getting rid of the virus became much more possible.
• In May, the Department of Public Health (DPH) announced requirements for all nursing homes to make an observation unit for new admissions. All new patients admitted to an SNF are placed into a private room with appropriate precautions and treated as suspected COVID-19 for 14 days, even if they have never had symptoms or a positive test. After the 14 days, the patient deemed “negative” for COVID-19 can be moved to another unit if they remain in the facility long term or go to a unit that is kept for patients that are negative for the virus.
• SNFs continue to designate positive COVID units, COVID negative units, and “unknown” or observation units to prevent further spreading of the virus. Each unit requires staff to follow specific PPE guidance, including the type of facemask, face shields, and gowns used.
• Weekly staff testing was started in June by DPH. DPH assigned several laboratory partners for weekly staff testing of all nursing home and assisted living employees. This weekly testing continues until no resident cases are in the facility, and no employee tests come back positive for two consecutive weeks. If a positive case does get newly confirmed, weekly testing re-starts.
• Technology has helped with facilitating both physician visits to patients but just as important – family visits. As an industry, we have utilized iPads, cell phones, and apps to connect families to their loved ones.
• In May, DPH gave guidance regarding visitation. Patients that are COVID-negative can have social distance window visits or outdoor visits with their family members. COVID-positive patients and patients suspected of possibly having the virus will continue virtual visits with family until they have fully recovered from the virus. Patients under their 14-day observation can do window visits if the placement of their room allows for appropriate access.
• All patients and residents continue to be screened and monitored for symptoms of COVID-19. Any change in condition is documented and reported to the appropriate governing body.
• Staff continues to get in-servicing and training on infection control, the latest DPH, and CDC guidance and monitoring of the situation.

If you or a family member may need the level of care offered by a skilled nursing facility or assisted living that cannot be provided at home, we hope this gives you some comfort on what we are doing to keep you or your loved one as safe as possible. Our goal is always to provide the best care and service to all of our residents, patients and families.

Resources:

If you have any questions specific to some of the Department of Public Health Guidance listed above, you can visit their website at: https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/Nursing-Homes-and-Assisted-Living-Facilities

U.S. News & World Report names Marlborough Health & Rehabilitation Center a 2019-20 Best Nursing Home

MARLBOROUGH, CT – December 3, 2019 – Marlborough Health & Rehabilitation Center is among the 19% of U.S. skilled nursing facilities that have been recognized as a Best Nursing Home for 2019-20 by U.S. News & World Report.

The center earned Best Nursing Homes status by achieving a rating of “High Performing,” the highest possible rating, for Short-Term Rehabilitation. U.S. News gives the designation of Best Nursing Home only to those homes that satisfy U.S. News’s assessment of the appropriate use of key services and consistent performance in quality measures.

“It is exciting that our center was nationally recognized for efforts in improving the lives of those in their care,” said Marvin Ostreicher, president of National Health Care Associates, the parent company of Marlborough Health & Rehabilitation Center. “Our team works tirelessly to provide quality care, with compassion to our patients and residents, as well as their families. It is an honor to be recognized for the care and customer service we provide.”

Now in its 10th year, the U.S. News Best Nursing Homes ratings and profiles offer comprehensive information about care, safety, health inspections, staffing, and more for nearly all of the nation’s 15,000-plus nursing homes. The Best Nursing Homes ratings reflect U.S. News’ exclusive analysis of factors that it has determined most greatly impact patient and resident care, safety, and outcomes.

“The U.S. News Best Nursing Home ratings hone in on measurements like emergency room visits, quality of staff and proper distribution of medical and physical therapy to help families make an informed decision,” said Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News. “These ratings help individuals and their families begin their search for senior care and should be used in consultation with a medical professional and in-depth on-site visits.”

For a complete listing of the results and centers on the Best Nursing Homes list, visit U.S. News & World Report.