Grading Our Nursing Homes
Broad Reach Ranked High In Employee Satisfaction
--A Healthy Development

Management always has nice things to say about the company. But when employees, questioned anonymously, agree, that can be a very good sign. Especially in healthcare, where a pleasant environment can speed the healing process.

That’s why the folks at Broad Reach Healthcare in Chatham are feeling pretty good about themselves these days.

Recently, the Boston Globe partnered with a Pennsylvania company, WorkplaceDynamics to conduct a massive in-depth survey to determine the top 100 employers in Massachusetts. Surveys were sent to the employees, not management, of 600 companies and nearly 300 responded with more than 70,000 individual employee surveys completed.

Many of the top finishers are located in Boston and its surrounding suburbs. But one company on Cape Cod made the list; Broad Reach Healthcare, operators of Liberty Commons Rehabilitation and Skilled Care Facility and the Victorian Assisted Living Facility, Broad Reach Outpatient Rehabilitation Clinic and Broad Reach Hospice & Palliative Care.

Broad Reach ranked number 33 overall and came in at 13 in the small workplace division (100-249 employees).

One of the survey's main criteria was employee confidence that their company operates ethically and is moving in the right direction. Other questions included more traditional areas of training, opportunities for growth, a work environment free from hostility and allows workers to balance career and family, management that makes itself available to employees and praises good work, and fair compensation and benefits.
Bill Bogdanovich, director of operations for Broad Reach, explained that when they recently updated their “organizational vision statement,” management made sure to obtain input from staff.
Working in the elder and sub-acute care field is challenging, Mr. Bogdanovich pointed out, yet employee burnout at Broad Reach tends not to be a major issue. And staff continuity is one of the criteria the federal government uses in rating nursing homes.

“Most people enter care-giving fields because they want to help people and a system that makes that more difficult is a system that's doing no one any good,” he said.

Government Agency Rates Certified Nursing Homes

On the outer cusp of our deadline, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its regular Five-Star Quality Rating System report on the nation’s nursing homes.

It rates these facilities in three major areas—Health Inspection, Staffing and Quality Measures—and then provides an overall average on a one through five-star basis.

The survey covers only those facilities certified to participate in Medicare and/or Medicaid and that provide a level of “skilled” care. There may be other nursing homes that don’t qualify to be included on “Nursing Home Compare,” but can be licensed by the state.

The report stresses that information in their survey isn’t to be construed as an endorsement or advertisement for any nursing home. [This also reflects the position of this newsletter.]

The Five-Star Quality Rating System was created to help consumers, their families, and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily and help identify areas about which you may want to ask questions. They emphasize that this information is only a “snapshot” of the care provided by individual nursing homes.

And they point out the absolute importance of visiting the nursing homes you are considering. If possible, also contact your Long-Term Care Ombudsman or State Survey Agency before making a decision.

Some tips for consumers seeking a suitable facility:

• The best comparisons are made by looking at nursing homes within the same state;
• Quality is generally better in nursing homes that have more staff who work directly with residents. Ask about staff levels, staff qualifications and staff continuity;
• Finally, ask about specific quality control measures, particularly covering issues most important to you.

Listed here are the overall ratings of nursing homes in our general circulation area. More detailed information can be obtained at http://medicare.gov/NHcompare.