Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital’s two skilled nursing facilities have been on a major upswing for the past eight years, culminating in a 5-star rating from the Centers for MediCare & Medicaid Services in its most recent evaluations.
The Mabie Southside and Mabie Northside skilled nursing facilities received the combined 5-star rating (out of a possible five stars) in the recently released results from the CMS Nursing Home Compare study of nursing home facilities.
It’s a long way from the 1-star rating received eight years ago when Sherry Hua, the Mabie Southside director of nursing, took over. Hua and others with the hospital were ecstatic about the latest honor. Hua noted that the facilities’ license had been close to revocation when she arrived, while the facilities have been gradually increasing their ratings through the years.
“To me, I think the big success was working with staff to emphasize that the patient is the center,” Hua told the Free Lance.
While Hua is nursing director at Mabie Southside, Liza Corpuz is director of nursing of Mabie Northside.
Hua said the staff is focused on teamwork, effective communication and quality improvement based on best practices in making the strides.
“We truly didn’t want to reinvent the wheel,” she said.
She called the staff “beautiful” and said its hard work has led to positive comments from close to 100 percent of visitors. She also thanked hospital administration for its support.
Hazel Hawkins Hospitals’ Director of Marketing Frankie Gallagher mentioned that few nursing home facilities get the 5-star rating.
“You hear all these horror stories about skilled nursing facilities, and we’re incredibly fortunate to have these facilities in this community,” Gallagher said.
According to an announcement from Hazel Hawkins on the rating, the CMS evaluation examines three “parts or domains” that include health inspections, staffing and quality measures.
The two local nursing facilities have a combined total of 119 beds offering long- and short-term skilled nursing care.
