East Alabama Medical Center Skilled Nursing Facility earned a perfect score on its most recent inspection by the Alabama Department of Public Health.
To say the facility is unique is an understatement. It’s a skilled nursing care center that specializes in rehab and is located inside a hospital, East Alabama Medical Center (EAMC) in Opelika. The set-up means the facility must meet different challenges than most other nursing homes.
“When we have a survey, it affects the entire hospital,” EAMC Skilled Nursing Facility Administrator Robyn Olive said. “A big difference is that we have our staff on the unit for skilled nursing rehabilitation, but we also have all the other departments in the hospital that potentially affect our patients. For example, surveyors can ask a dietary member who just served someone on the hospital side questions about our patients. That’s a big difference. You’ve got a lot more employees to make sure they are abiding by the rules and regulations of a long-term care facility. So, instead of educating our 40 employees, we educate all 2,800 hospital employees.”
Despite its small size, 26 beds, and location inside a hospital, the EAMC Skilled Nursing Facility receives the same level of oversight as large, stand-alone nursing homes.
“The inspection was very, very in depth,” Olive recalls. “They (inspectors) interviewed multiple patients and every staff member on day and night shift. They also interviewed staff members from every department such as dietary, maintenance, housekeeping and others.”
EAMC Skilled Nursing Facility staff members.
Federal law requires annual inspections of nursing homes. In Alabama, the job is assigned to the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH). An ADPH inspection team spends several days on-site reviewing every aspect of the nursing home. Nursing homes meeting all of the more than 140 criteria outlined by the federal government are proclaimed to be “deficiency free.” This rigorous process assures patients and their families that they’re receiving high quality health care.
“Our survey process is the most difficult process there is,” Olive said. “I know the state of Alabama provides quality care to patients and residents because of the process. You have to be dedicated and have a passion for taking care of the elderly to be in this field. It’s not a cake walk.”
According to Olive, having dedicated staff members, ongoing survey readiness and striving for continuous improvement are keys to achieving quality health care outcomes for patients and earning the “deficiency free” designation for the facility.
“Even though we observe our staff providing medication pass throughout the year, during this survey, as administrator, the surveyor asked me to go along with a staff member on the medication pass,” Olive said. “I saw first-hand just how dedicated our nurses and technicians are, and the compassion and love they showed to each patient as they gave medications or performed a treatment during this rigorous survey process. They are truly dedicated to what they do and they love it.”
About East Alabama Medical Center Skilled Nursing Facility:
East Alabama Medical Center Skilled Nursing Facility is a 26-bed skilled nursing care center located in Opelika. Robyn Olive is the Administrator and Suzanne Callahan is the Director of Nursing.
