CCC Rates as “High Performer” by US News and World Report

Lompoc Valley Medical Center’s Comprehensive Care Center has earned “High Performing” status designation by U.S. News and World Report.

The designation places the skilled nursing facility among “the elite 13 percent” earning such designation. The CCC earned the honor for both its short-term rehabilitation and long-term care. The designation was included in U.S. News’ 2021-22 Best Nursing Homes ratings.

U.S. News evaluated more than 15,000 skilled nursing facilities in the nation, and only about 2,000 earned even a single High-Performing rating.

Best Nursing Homes ratings are based on the publication’s analysis of publicly available data. The U.S. News ratings recognize that patients undergoing relatively short-term rehabilitation have very different needs from those who require longer-term care.

CCC Administrator Lorraine Jones said the facility is a “marvelous place” for community members to receive extended care following a hospitalization.

“We are thrilled to have been given this honor by U.S. News and World Report,” Jones said. The staff at the CCC are committed to ensuring the best care possible while providing a safe and comfortable environment. Thank you to the community for being so supportive of our facility and for supporting our many endeavors throughout the years.”

This year’s ratings include some new requirements for a facility to earn a High-Performing rating – most notably that federal CMS data published by Oct. 14, 2021, must list the facility as having a COVID-19 staff-vaccination rate of at least 75 percent.

Because the Coronavirus poses U.S. News lists a significant health risk to the elderly, resident safety is of “utmost importance.”

The CCC earned resident safety designations in these categories:

• Staff Covid-19 Vaccination Rate: The CCC has a 98.7 percent staff vaccination rate, compared to the California average of 92.7 percent and the national average of 71.4 percent for skilled nursing staff.
• Resident Covid-19 Vaccination Rate: The CCC has 92.8 percent of its residents vaccinated, compared to a state average of 89.1 percent for people living in a multi-resident setting. The national average is 87.5 percent.
• Resident Flu Vaccination Rate: The Comprehensive Care Center has 99.4 percent of its residents who have received the annual influenza vaccination. That is greater than the 98.4 percent state average for skilled nursing residents and the 96.1 percent national average.

The CCC also earned High Performing status for short-term rehabilitation. This rating evaluates a residential facility’s post-acute care quality for patients recovering from a hospital stay after an illness such as stroke, heart attack, infection, or accidental injury.

The CCC received the honors under its Short-Term Rehabilitation Rating because 71 percent of residents (state average 50 percent) were able to return home after being discharged; 0 percent of residents fell and suffered a significant injury, and the facility had a “low or average” volume of substantiated complaints. The CCC also was a high performer because 85 percent of its residents received more than the minimum amount of therapy appropriate for their condition and because 100 percent of the time, there was a registered nurse on-site for at least eight hours.

The CCC was also ranked “high” by U.S. News related to Long-Term Care. The CCC rated “above average” or “excellent” in several categories. In the long-term care ratings, 84.1 percent of CCC residents could maintain their ability to move, eat and do everyday activities without help, compared to the national average of 83.2 percent. Some of the Long-Term Care ratings were similar to those of the Short-Term Care ratings, including having a registered nurse on-site for eight hours a day 100 percent of the time.

The 110-bed Comprehensive Care Center offers personalized care plans for long-term care, skilled nursing, and rehabilitative residents.