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U.S. News & World Report Names Witham Health Services Extended Care a 2020-21 Best Nursing Home

Washington, D.C. – October 27, 2020 – Witham Health Services Extended Care is among the 21% of U.S. skilled nursing facilities that have been recognized as a Best Nursing Home for 2020-21 by U.S. News & World Report.

The home earned Best Nursing Homes status by achieving a rating of “High Performing,” the highest possible rating, for Short-Term Rehabilitation. U.S. News gives the designation of Best Nursing Home only to those homes that satisfy U.S. News’s assessment of the appropriate use of key services and consistent performance in quality measures.

“We are extremely pleased and proud of our staff and leadership team who all contributed in guiding us to this achievement. In addition, Witham Extended Care is an Age Friendly health system.” said Stephen J. Bardoczi, Vice President, Planning and Senior Services of Witham Health Services. “The Age-Friendly Health Systems initiative is an important part of our overarching vision to provide every older adult with the best care possible.”

The Age Friendly initiative is based on a series of practices focused on addressing four essential elements of care for older patients:

  • What Matters: Know and align care with each older adult's specific health outcome goals and care preferences including, but not limited to, end-of-life care, and across settings of care.
  • Medication: If medication is necessary, use Age-Friendly medication that does not interfere with What Matters to the older adult, Mobility, or Mentation across settings of care.
  • Mentation: Prevent, identify, treat, and manage dementia, depression, and delirium across settings of care.
  • Mobility: Ensure that older adults move safely every day in order to maintain function and do What Matters.

Now in its 11th year, the U.S. News Best Nursing Homes ratings and profiles offer comprehensive information about care, safety, health inspections, staffing and more for nearly all of the nation’s 15,000-plus nursing homes. The Best Nursing Homes ratings reflect U.S. News’ exclusive analysis of publicly available data using a methodology defined by U.S. News that evaluates factors that it has determined most greatly impact patient and resident care, safety, and outcomes. This year, to accompany the new ratings, nursing home profile pages were updated to include a patient safety summary that reflects COVID-19 data alongside other measurements of safety and related advice on choosing a home or facility amidst the pandemic.

“U.S. News strives to provide access to information that allows consumers to make educated decisions on all types of care,” said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News. “Updating the profiles to include a patient safety summary that highlights COVID-19 data paired with other measures of care arms families, caregivers and patients with the information needed to make a decision that keeps safety at the highest priority.”

The Best Nursing Home finder features ratings on both long-term and short-term care. The Long-Term Care Rating aims to provide prospective residents who need help with daily activities, and their families, with analysis and information regarding the quality of care provided by nursing homes. The rating includes data on staffing, success in preventing ER visits and pneumonia vaccination rates, among other metrics. The short-term rating incorporates measures of quality including consistency of registered nurse staffing, use of antipsychotic drugs and success in preventing falls.

About Witham

Witham Health Services has served the residents of Boone and surrounding counties for over 105 years.

Witham Health Services is a progressive, modern health care provider. We offer many of the medical services people need throughout their lifetime, right here, close to home. Whatever your health care needs are in the future, you won't have to travel far for quality care. We have offices in Crawfordsville, Frankfort, Jamestown, Lebanon, Thorntown, Whitestown at Anson and Zionsville.

With our physicians, specialists, and advanced equipment and procedures, you can count on exceptional care in friendly, familiar surroundings with your family and friends nearby. If you're hospitalized, your treatment will be managed by a physician or specialist you know and trust. Our staff takes pride in providing high quality care with a caring touch.

Witham Health Services is a county owned, nonprofit healthcare organization committed to improving health through excellence and personalized care. We also support the community through sponsorships, donations and partnerships that align with our Mission, Vision and Values.

U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. A digital news and information company focused on Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars and News USNews.com provides consumer advice, rankings and analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all stages of life. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.