SITKA – Sitka Long-Term Care (SLTC) has been awarded a five-star rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for quality patient care and high levels of patient safety. SLTC is one of eight Alaskan facilities to be recognized with the maximum overall rating on CMS’s Nursing Home Compare website, with only one other Southeast facility receiving the honor.
“This rating is evidence of the dedication our staff has to the residents in our facility,” said SLTC Administrator Kay Turner. “They deserve the highest quality of care and are treated like family. Our organization’s values are evident in the outcomes of the care provided. We strive to improve the lives of our residents and ensure needs, goals, and preferences are met.”
Star ratings are based on scores for health and safety inspections, staffing hours, and quality of resident care. SLTC residents have nearly twice the Certified Nursing Assistant hours per resident, and more than four-times the Registered Nurse hours per resident, compared to the national average. Quality of care was scored on 13 measures of clinical data – from falls and infection, to medication and vaccination – with SLTC besting the national average in all but two. Recent inspections show health citations are considerably below the state and national averages.
SLTC was recognized twice in 2019 by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living. In September, SLTC was the recipient of a 2019 recipient of the Quality Achievement Award for exceptional patient safety. The facility was also given Tier 1 recognition for the Quality Initiative Recognition Program in December for reaching the target in the reduction of antipsychotic medications. The facility was acquired by the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) in 2019 as part of the Sitka Community Hospital integration.
The full SLTC CMS profile can be viewed at medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare.