U.S. News & World Report and Medicare.gov both recently honored the Hillsdale Community Health Center’s McRitchie Skilled Nursing Facility with a five-star rating for Best Nursing Home. This was the third year in a row the facility won the award.
The health center, a multi-purpose health care facility located on South Howell Street in Hillsdale, Michigan, ranks in the top 28 percent of nursing homes on the U.S. News list, according to an April 7 press release. The list evaluates top nursing homes in every state, but few earn five stars, which made the award an exciting honor, HCHC CEO Duke Anderson said.
HCHC Nursing Assistant Marisa Hamilton said she daily notices the qualities that make the nursing home deserve such high distinctions.
“The administration here always finds something to improve, and I think that’s why we keep winning the award — we’re always trying to be better,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said she loves building relationships with the patients whose stories and smiles keep her passionate about the job.
Elizabeth Wilds has been a nursing assistant at the health center for only two and a half months, but she said she already notices the health center’s high quality.
“Everyone cares a lot for the patients, and I can tell that this is more than just a job. For me, it’s a calling. Seeing a smile and their appreciation is my favorite part of the job every day,” Wilds said.
Both U.S. News and Medicare.gov have high standards for giving full honors — Medicare.gov considers four categories: health and fire safety inspections, staffing, quality inspections, and penalties, which are fines from the federal government over the past three years that resulted from bad care — Hillsdale’s health center only had one.
Each nursing home is subject to heavy scrutiny while the information is gathered by federal inspection teams, and as seen from some of the one-star nursing homes, small issues can be detrimental to a home’s rating. The health center’s ratings are four stars for health, three for staffing, and five for quality.
In the state of Michigan, the average health deficiencies, which are homes’ failure to meet health standards, is 7.9, while the Hillsdale Community Health Center only had five.