Center for Medically Fragile Children Achieves “High Performing” Designation
San Diego – October 30, 2018 – The Helen Bernardy Center for Medically Fragile Children at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego has received the highest possible overall rating of “High Performing” in U.S. News & World Report’s 2018-2019 Best Nursing Homes, available at https://health.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes.
The Best Nursing Homes 2018-2019 ratings highlight the top nursing homes in each city and state, out of more than 15,000 facilities nationwide. Only 19 percent of facilities that U.S. News rated earned the designation of a U.S. News Best Nursing Home.
“This is such a special milestone to be ranked among the nation’s best for the tenth year in a row,” said Pamela Castle, Director of the Helen Bernardy Center for Medically Fragile Children at Rady Children’s. “This honor would not be possible without our highly skilled interdisciplinary team of caregivers. They work diligently to provide effective, individualized care to each of our residents every day.”
Registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, licensed respiratory therapists, and certified nursing assistants provide 24-hour nursing care to all residents at the Bernardy Center. Attending physicians monitor all residents regularly, at which time the resident’s treatment plan and any specialist recommendations are reviewed.
“Several million Americans will spend at least some time in a nursing home this year, whether undergoing rehab after a hospital stay or as long-term residents,” said Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News. “Finding a nursing home that meets an individual’s specific needs can be overwhelming. The Best Nursing Home ratings are designed to help potential residents and their families navigate this important decision.”
Since its inception in 2009, the U.S. News nursing home ratings have relied on data from Nursing Home Compare, a program run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that sets and enforces standards for nursing homes. This year, due to CMS’ recent move from a self-reported to a payroll-based nurse staffing reporting and a freeze in health inspection data since November 2017, U.S. News modified the way it uses CMS data for evaluating a nursing home’s overall performance.
Significant updates for the 2018-19 Best Nursing Home Overall Rating include:
- U.S. News changed its overall rating methodology to put more emphasis on staffing quality.
- U.S. News used staffing data only from April 2018 onward.
- U.S. News applied additional rating indicators of care that CMS doesn’t use in its own ratings – such as whether the amount of rehabilitation therapy provided was determined by reimbursement or by patient-centered needs.
For more information, please refer to the methodology. Additional information about each home is available at https://health.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes.
For more information about the Bernardy Center, please call the Admissions Coordinator at 858-966-5833.