Local nursing homes on par with rest of nation

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January 31, 2012

By KEN SHMIDHEISER, Managing Editor and CHRIS HARRIS, Staff Writer Commonwealth Journal The Commonwealth Journal Tue Jan 31, 2012, 07:00 AM EST

Somerset —

Three of four Pulaski County facilities offering Medicaid and/or Medicare nursing home services have had the same or fewer deficiencies than their average counterparts in the commonwealth or across the nation, according to state inspections conducted during 2011.

During the 2011 inspections, state health officials reported:

• Only three deficiencies at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital during its inspection on May 24-25, 2011;

• One deficiency at Somerset Nursing and Rehabilitation Center during an inspection on Feb. 15, 2011 and six deficiencies during a subsequent inspection Feb. 28-March 3, 2011, and

• No deficiencies at Sunrise Manor Nursing and Rehab Center during an inspection on Jan. 6, 2011.

Somerwoods Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (formerly Britthaven of Somerset), is under new ownership and current inspection reports have yet to be made public, although Britthaven came under close scrutiny following inspections in 2010.

In comparison, of 72 Kentucky facilities with nursing home beds inspected during the fourth quarter of 2011, 15 had 10 or more deficiencies.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Washington, the average number of deficiencies for nursing homes in the U.S. is eight and the average for Kentucky is seven.

This latest report on the inspection of nursing homes in the state by the Office of Inspector General in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services was obtained through an Open Records Request by Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform, a statewide advocacy organization.

Only one other Kentucky nursing home had no deficiencies—the Nursing Facility of Hardin Memorial Hospital in Elizabethtown—down from the third quarter of 2011 when eight facilities had no deficiencies.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services which monitors the Medicare program, the four Somerset facilities have earned the following overall rankings for quality of care based on a rating system of one to five stars with five being the best:

Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital: 5 Stars (with 12 nursing home beds)

Somerwoods Nursing & Rehabilitation: 4 Stars (with 166 nursing home beds)

Somerset Nursing and Rehab Center: 2 Stars (with 123 nursing home beds)

Sunrise Manor Nursing and Rehab Center: 1 Star (with 93 nursing home beds)

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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