March 19, 2014
Cheyenne, WY–Cheyenne Regional Medical Center’s Transitional Care Unit (TCU) has been given the highest rating of five-stars overall by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS is the federal agency that sets and enforces standards for nursing homes and other long-term skilled nursing care facilities.
The five-star rating is included in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 Best Nursing Homes, which highlights the top nursing homes in each state and nearly 100 major metropolitan areas. The ratings cover more than 16,000 nursing homes nationwide and are freely available at http://www.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes.
CRMC’s TCU is a 16-bed unit that provides transitional care for patients who need skilled nursing or other supportive care before they return home. The unit cares for more than 400 patients each year.
“We have dedicated staff who love what they do. Our five-star rating validates the dedication of our staff in providing outstanding care,” said Staci Stone, program director for Cheyenne Regional’s TCU.
About 60 percent of individuals over the age of 65 will require some type of long-term care services during their lifetime and over 40 percent will receive care in a nursing home for some period, according to CMS.
“Our community is fortunate to have a TCU as part of the continuum of care,” Stone said.
To create Best Nursing Homes, U.S. News drew on data from Nursing Home Compare, a consumer website run by the CMS.
U.S. News awarded the “Best Nursing Home” designation to long-term skilled care facilities that recently earned an overall rating of five stars, the agency’s highest. Each home or facility is also rated separately on quality of care, health-inspections record and level of nurse staffing.
“We have dedicated staff who love what they do. Our five-star rating validates the dedication of our staff in providing outstanding care,” Stone said.