What's behind Canandaigua VA's one-star rating?
Daily MessengerJul 15, 2018
He isn't alone. With more than 60,000 veterans living in the
Eleven key indicators include rates of anti-psychotic prescription, pressure ulcers, pain and residents' deterioration.
"It's extremely discouraging, disheartening," said
"Would you put your grandfather in a one-star nursing home?" he asked.
At the Canandaigua VA Thursday, questions about the rating went to two VA staff directly involved. Dr.
"We are afforded a great privilege in caring for our nation's veterans," said Gillespie, who has worked with veterans and in geriatrics for more than a decade. "It is a complicated population, but it is a task I personally take very seriously. And it's a task that I know our entire team and leadership of the organization takes very seriously."
In a
An updated star rating for the period
Those areas involve residents with new or worsened pressure ulcers and residents who newly received antipsychotic medication. Also worse than the VA or national averages was a rating for percent of residents whose physical function improved from admission to discharge.
Addressing specifics, Gillespie said Canandaigua VA emphasizes its care for veterans with mental illness. "Many carry serious combat injuries," she said. She said many have post traumatic stress disorder and the VA overall treats much more of this and other types of mental illness than do nursing homes used by the general population. In some cases antipsychotic medication may be the best treatment, she said. Gillespie said the VA is also doing more with alternative treatments that include various therapies, exercise and other methods to help veterans with mental illness.
Gillespie and Schwingel also talked about veterans as being at greater risk for pain than in the community at large. VA nurses, social workers, pharmacists and others continue to work as a team to improve care, they said. Gillespie mentioned the use of acupuncture, chiropractic, exercise activities and other ways the Canandaigua VA is always striving to do better.
One area that has for a long time received attention is preventing falls among veterans. The
Gillespie and Schwingel said staffing at the
According to Gillespie and Schwingel, the latest approach to the star rating for the VA seeks to make it comparative to the rating for community nursing homes. That has posed new challenges for ensuring its ratings fit criteria and accurately reflect what is going on, they said.
Schwingel said in terms of the rating, it's a "misconception that it got so low ... it was how the system was set up that you generate your first level of data."
"It is a starting point," Schwingel said.
Schwingel and Gillespie said score cards don't tell the whole story. The Canandaigua VA excels in areas measured by quality of life, they said, in talking about "social engagement" and helping veterans find "meaningful, purposeful activity." Gillespie said those caring for veterans at the VA put a lot toward care and support of both veterans and their families. The local facility is also known for its strong connection to the community, she said.
"We have been working very diligently and passionately to improve our care in whatever measure we have available to us," she said. "We don't want to match the average. We want to be superlative in any way we can in the way we are providing care to our veterans."
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