Mullins Nursing Center recognized as one of the best

On May 13, residents, staff members and the administration at the Mullins Nursing Center will celebrate it's latest special recognition.

Operating under the umbrella of Marion Regional Healthcare System, the center has received an overall five-star rating from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, making it one of a select few nursing homes in the state to receive the designation, and one of only a few in the nation to maintain it, a press release said Thursday.

The most-recent ranking marks the third consecutive quarter Mullins Nursing Center has been recognized for its superior performance. As a result, U.S. News & World Report has ranked the nursing center as one of America’s Best Nursing Homes in its ranking of nursing homes nationwide.

The on-line report, issued May 1, is titled “America’s Best Nursing Homes” and provides data on nursing homes in all 50 states. According to a spokesperson, the magazine adds the data and ratings found on Nursing Home Compare, a federal website created by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which collects and analyzes information on more than 15,500 nursing homes that accept Medicare or Medicaid residents.

According to Tonya Martin, RN, LNHA, administrator of Mullins Nursing Center, “the five-star ratings were created to assist consumers and their families in comparing nursing homes and identifying potential concerns.”

Under the system, five stars means a nursing home ranks ‘much above average,’ four stars indicates ‘above average,’ three means ‘average,’ two is ‘below average,’ and one star indicates ‘much below average.’ The rankings are updated quarterly. The Five-Star Rating System, which can be found on the Nursing Home Compare website, features an overall quality rating composed of ratings on health inspections from the last three years including standard annual surveys and complaint surveys, staffing, and quality measures.

This rating system is the result of a nursing home reform law along with more recent quality improvement campaigns, such as the "Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes," a coalition of consumers, health care providers, and nursing home professionals.

“We’re extremely proud of Tonya and her staff,” said Don Lloyd, executive vice president of MRHS. “To consistently receive a Five Star rating is unprecedented. To be listed among US News & World Report’s Top Nursing Homes is very impressive. This honor speaks well of everyone associated with Mullins Nursing Center and certainly provides reassurance to our residents and their families.”

According to statistics, only 9 percent of nursing homes in South Carolina have achieved such a high rating.

On May 13, from noon until 2 p.m., the nursing center will celebrate with residents, families and friends and recognize National Nursing Home Week and the facility’s most recent honor.

“This is the perfect time to celebrate,” said Tonya Martin, RN, LNHA “...and we certainly have good reason. This celebration provides the opportunity to share music, food and games.”

The American Health Care Association announced this year’s National Nursing Home Week theme: ‘Nurturing a love that Lasts’. This theme should encourage all to think of generations of parents and grandparents nurturing future generations to carry on family traditions.

“Mullins Nursing Center is committed to providing quality care in an environment that values relationships,” continued Martin.