TRUMAN– Truman Senior Living recently received a five-star quality rating from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS). This was the facility’s first time ever receiving such a high rating.

CMS gives quarterly ratings and facilities that receive a five star rating are considered to have above average quality. The overall quality is based on health inspections, staffing and quality measures.

Chris Knoll, CEO of Minnewaska Community health Services, which oversees the facility, said, “If you were to Google search ‘find a nursing home in my area’ CMS have a website dedicated to every nursing home in the United States. You can then put in a zip code… and it will show everyone and every five-star rating. Form a consumer stand-point, they’ll choose a five star over a one star.

He said that within the last 15 years, Truman Senior Living has never got close to a rating this high.

Heather Hardt, administrator at Truman Senior Living, has been with the facility since 2018. She credits the high rating to a combination of their staff and an increased focus on quality measures.

“It has to do with Heather and the team at Truman Senior Living focusing on the quality they’re providing from a care standpoint, from direct care staff CNAs (certified nursing assistant) and the dietary department, all the way up to RN (registered nurse) case management,” Knoll said.

Truman Senior Living has roughly 50 staff members who take care of the residents who call the facility home. It has capacity for 30 and currently has 25 residents.

It’s important to note that Truman Senior Living saw a change of ownership in 2018 when Heartland Senior Living, a local non-profit organization, bought out the property. Heartland Senior Living has four other local senior living facilities. They are Parker Oaks Senior Living in Winnebago, Parkview Care Center and Clark Crossings in Wells and Truman Manor Apartments in Truman.

Knoll shared some changes that had to be made at that time.

“When the sale went through, Truman Senior Living had roughly 50 beds. Since then, we’ve de-licensed 20 of them to become a 30 bed nursing facility. The reason for that is because the industry and the lack of funding from the state government,” Knoll said.

He said they can’t find bodies from a labor standpoint to care for 50 residents, so reducing the number of beds was the responsible thing to do. Truman Senior Living is not alone in this as many senior living facilities across the state and nation have struggled with the same problem.

While no cosmetic changes have been made since the change of ownership took place, Knoll said they’re currently working on a proposal to update the exterior, interior, roof and HVAC system.

“We’ve been working on it for about three years. We would have had it done had the pandemic not hit,” Knoll said.

He said when Covid hit, the senior living facility had to switch gears and focus more on care for its residents and renovations were put on hold. Now, they’re dealing with supply chain issues.

“Wait time on a new HVAC air handler unit is 40 weeks. Some of those challenges are the reason we haven’t been able to do much cosmetically, and then the lack of funding doesn’t leave a lot of capital reserves to will-nilly throw money all over the place,” Knoll said.

Regardless of any challenges they’ve dealt with, the high rating is a testament to the devotion of the staff at Truman Senior Living. While the ratings are done quarterly and can change at any moment, Hardt is hopefully that they will maintain the five star rating.

“It presents the high quality we serve our residents and our staff. Our mission statement is ‘together we serve’ and we definitely represent that here,” Hardt said.

“It is a huge victory. Some staff have been there 20 or 30 years… and have seen the fruits of their labor. Right now they get to reap the benefits,” Knoll said.

Hardt said they’re working on putting together an event for staff to celebrate the rating.