Skilled Nursing Unit at Blessing Hospital earns five-star rating

QUINCY — Blessing Hospital’s Skilled Nursing Unit recently earned a five-star rating for the recent survey period of the nation’s nursing homes from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The survey is conducted four times each year. Blessing’s SNU has earned a five-star rating in each of the past four survey periods.

CMS created the Five-Star Quality Rating System to help consumers, their families and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily and to help identify areas about which consumers may want to ask questions. The Nursing Home Care Compare website features a quality rating system that gives each nursing home a rating of between one and five stars. Nursing homes with five stars are considered to have much above average quality, and nursing homes with one star are considered to have quality much below average. Each nursing home has one overall star rating with separate ratings for health inspections, staffing and quality measures.

“Skilled nursing has a set of regulations different from those of other inpatient services, to address the needs of the specific population we serve,” Tammy Harr, nurse manager with the Skilled Nursing Unit, said in a press release. “Maintaining the five-star rating is an opportunity our team welcomes and takes seriously. SNU team members are dedicated and care deeply about our residents and helping them to succeed in their health goals.”

Blessing’s SNU is a 20-bed licensed short-term nursing home facility. SNU is a stepping stone in a patient’s hospital discharge plan. To be eligible for SNU care, a patient must have completed a three-day hospital stay within the last 30 days, need a skilled service provided by a registered nurse or therapist, be an active participant in their therapy program and make substantial progress so that they can return home with a short stay. SNU also accepts multiple commercial insurances. The average length of stay is 14 to 21 days.

For more information about the CMS survey, go to https://www.cms.gov/medicare/health-safety-standards/certification-compliance/five-star-quality-rating-system.