Why We Won US News & World Report’s Best Nursing Homes Award

All of us at Fellowship Senior Living are proud that our Skilled Nursing at Fellowship Village has earned U.S. News & World Report’s 2020-21 Best Nursing Homes Award. It’s a pretty big deal, because of the 364 nursing homes in New Jersey, only 63—or about 17%—received an overall rating of 5 out of 5. 

Also, our superb short-term rehabilitation and long-term care each earned “high-performance” status. This year, only 708 nursing homes in the entire country earned that designation for both stay types. And when you consider that U.S. News & World Report evaluated more than 15,000 nursing homes nationwide, you can see why we’re thrilled to be named one of the best.

Why it’s called Best Nursing Homes Award

You might wonder why Fellowship Village, a Life Plan Community with vibrant and active independent living, earned a “nursing home” award.

True, we do offer independent living along with the full continuum of senior care, which includes assisted living and memory care. We also provide short-term rehabilitation services and long-term skilled nursing care. It’s these two services U.S. News & World Report compares, and to do that, it  groups all organizations offering these services into one term: nursing homes.

How Fellowship Village measured up

As we gleefully mentioned above, short-term rehab and long-term care both earned high-performing ratings. But what did the U.S. News & World Report reviewers specifically look at? And how did each of our services measure up when compared to New Jersey and national averages in some key categories?

Short-term rehab rating: This rating evaluates a nursing home‘s quality of post-acute care for patients recovering from a hospital stay such as after a stroke, heart attack, infection or accidental injury. It’s based on 10 quality measures focusing on staffing, outcomes, resident complaints and processes of care. Reviewers used scientific literature review, expert consultation and statistical modeling to select these measures. This rating designates nursing homes as high-performing, average, or below average in the care they provided to people who spent 100 days or less at a skilled nursing facility. For each quality measure shown below, the first line shows the average percentages of Skilled Nursing at Fellowship Village.

• Consistent nurse staffing in Skilled Nursing at Fellowship Village: 100% (higher indicates better)

New Jersey average: 99.2%

National average: 97.7%

Percentage of days where federal standards for registered nurse staffing hours were met. Adequate staffing is associated with better safety and outcomes.

• Registered nurse staffing in Skilled Nursing at Fellowship Village: 2 hours, 6 minutes (higher indicates better)

New Jersey average: 50 minutes

National average: 41 minutes

Measurement of the availability of registered nursing staff per resident per day. Registered nurses have the highest training level among staff. Nursing levels are most associated with successful rehab.

• Patients in Skilled Nursing at Fellowship Village able to return home: 65.5% (higher indicates better)

New Jersey average: 53.0%

National average: 49.1%

Percentage of patients who were discharged from the nursing home to their own residence, an indication of successful rehab.

• Fall prevention in Skilled Nursing at Fellowship Village: 99.2% (higher indicates better)

New Jersey average: 99.5%

National average: 99.1%

Percentage of short-term rehab patients who didn’t have any falls that resulted in a major injury, such as a bone fracture or dislocation. 

Long-term care rating: This rating evaluates a nursing home‘s ability to care for residents who need daily assistance with medical needs such as administering medications and treatments, as well as nonmedical needs such as dressing, eating and using the bathroom. The data used to evaluate these facilities  come from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and include metrics of nurse staffing, adherence to best practices in preventive care and resident safety, and reducing the need for and use of anti-anxiety or antipsychotic medications.

• Nurse staffing in Skilled Nursing at Fellowship Village: 5 hours, 13 minutes (higher indicates better)

New Jersey average: 3 hours, 46 minutes

National average: 3 hours, 52 minutes

Availability of nursing staff (registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nursing aides) per resident per day. Nursing levels are closely associated with quality. 

• Registered nurse staffing ratio in Skilled Nursing at Fellowship Village: 40.2% (higher indicates better)

New Jersey average: 22.1%

National average: 17.9%

Percent of nursing staff hours performed by registered nurses, the highest-credentialed nursing degree. 

• Use of antipsychotic drugs in Skilled Nursing at Fellowship Village: 0.7% (lower indicates better)

New Jersey average: 1.4%

National average: 1.8%

Percentage of patients who were newly given antipsychotic drugs. High levels of use of these drugs can indicate inappropriate use for behavior control rather than for medical treatment.

• Ability to self-care in Skilled Nursing at Fellowship Village: 89.2% (higher indicates better)

New Jersey average: 88.9%

National average: 85.5%

Percentage of residents who maintained the ability to move, eat, use the bathroom and do other common activities without help.

• Hospitalizations in Skilled Nursing at Fellowship Village: 1.5% (lower indicates better)

New Jersey average: 1.8%

National average: 1.7%

Number of hospitalizations per 1,000  resident days. Fewer hospitalizations indicate higher quality of care and attention to patient safety.

You can see why we’re so proud of our staff —“ their dedication, commitment, and passion for their short-term rehab patients and long-term care residents earned Fellowship Village this award. And while awards and recognition are nice, we know what really matters: providing the best in short-term rehab services to get your loved one back to their lives, and remarkable long-term care for the highest quality of living.

If you’d like to learn more about our skilled nursing or our rehab services, simply get in touch with us any time. We’d be happy to talk with you about what we offer, how we can support you and your loved one, and offer you a personal tour  of our community.