By Brianna Davis

Fairbanks- Fairbanks is privileged to have the best nursing home in the state, and one of the best in the nation: Foundation Health Partners Denali Center (DC).

U.S. News and World Report rated over 15,000 nursing homes and announced the Best Nursing Homes in the United States. A total of 2,969 facilities were recognized as U.S. News Best Nursing Homes in two different areas: 2,250 in Short-Term Rehabilitation and 1,139 in Long-Term Care. This year, DC is one of 420 nursing homes to receive this designation for both stay types. 

DC ranked with a High Performing rating in both Short-Term Rehabilitation and Long Term Care, with an Overall Rating of 5/5. Of the nursing homes evaluated in Alaska, DC ranked the best.

Since their inception in 2009, the U.S. News Best 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. All Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing homes that were part of the July 2019 CMS nursing home provider census were evaluated by U.S. News. This data of CMS quality measures is pulled annually to compare the nursing home ratings against each other. Nursing homes do not apply nor do they provide any data or materials to U.S. News.

The ratings designate nursing homes as high-performing, average or below average. For Short-Term Rehabilitation, the measures are evaluated for care they provided to patients who spent 100 days or less at a skilled nursing facility. For Long Term Care, the measures are evaluated for the care they provided to residents who spent more than 100 days at a nursing home. The Overall rating is based on a 5-point scale that averages the short- and long-term scores, weighting each equally.

DC Nurse Administrator, Liz Woodyard says it is an honor to be recognized as one of the top nursing homes in the country this year, particularly since the organization has focused heavily on stabilizing staff and reducing the one-year turnover rate of employees.

“We went from 54 percent to 22 percent in one year,” Woodyard said. “We focused on building a culture where employees feel this is a good place to work and have a good rapport with their nurse managers, leadership and with each other. We focused on creating a place where they feel safe and where they can report mistakes without being afraid. Because of that, our quality has improved.”

The U.S. News ratings can corroborate that. Denali Center rated at 99.7 percent in ‘Consistent nurse staffing’, which is above both the Alaskan Average (94.9 percent) and National Average (97.2 percent).

“It’s also a validation for our staff that have worked so hard in the last year,” said DC Nursing Director, Tina Rein. “This is validation to them that what they do every day matters and is recognized.”

‘Hospitalizations’ was another area where DC excelled, ranking 0.6 in the number of resident hospitalizations per thousand resident days, again below the Alaskan Average (0.9) and National Average (1.7). According to U.S. News, fewer hospitalizations is indicative of quality of care and patient safety. With the recent onboarding of two Advance Nurse Practitioners to provide consistent care every single day, DC may even see a further decrease in that low number.

“We are part of the Eden Alternative, and with that we refer to our staff more as our care partners rather than by their credentials,” Rein said. “We do things in a partnership with our elders and their families, and there is a uniqueness to the work we do where everyone plays a role. The elders get really excited with our success. They take pride in it.”

For Woodyard, such recognition authenticates the Fairbanks community’s confidence in our ability to provide their loved one with exceptional nursing care.