New ranking says Barstow tops other state vets homes

BARSTOW • Despite facility closures in its recent past, the Veterans Home of California Barstow has turned things around, according to a recent report that gave Barstow the highest rating out of the three veterans homes in the state.

The new rating system established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services gave the Barstow home five out of five stars for health inspections, staffing levels and quality measures, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger commended earlier this week.

In 2003, the state shut down the Barstow home’s skilled nursing wing because the death of two residents in 2002 due to negligence and other citations from state health officials. Just over one year after reopening the once shuttered wing, which provides 24-hour care to veterans with the most severe medical problems, the Barstow home has surpassed the other two veterans homes in California — in Chula Vista and Yountville — which both received three-star ratings, according to JP Tremblay, spokesman for the state department of veterans affairs.

In fact the skilled nursing wing, which currently houses 24 of 185 veterans, is poised to grow, according to assistant hospital administrator Art Robles.

When the wing was closed in September 2003, all residents getting care in the skilled nursing wing were airlifted to Yountville, relocated to Chula Vista, or sent to private medical care facilities, said Robles.

Now, the Barstow home is planning to expand its intensive care to 60 patients by June 2010, he said. The Barstow home staff is also working with the Chula Vista home to bring back a Barstow home resident who was relocated during to the wing’s closure.

One of the problems with the skilled nursing wing, which closed after opening in the late 1990s and operating for only a few years, was that it immediately was filled to maximum capacity with 120 patients, Robles said. This time, the Barstow home has opened the wing in gradual stages.

“We want to make sure the staff is completely trained,” said Robles.

Jeanie Halliday, the director of nurses who has worked at the home prior to its 2003 closing, said the staff has worked to improve patient education, for example learning how to better communicate with patients about pain levels.

“If we see issues or problems we continue to monitor (and) go back to reevaluate,” Halliday said. The wing has also made changes to add creature comforts, she noted. Meals are served in a more home-style fashion, nurses have swapped larger intravenous tubes for smaller medical devices, and a web-cam station has been set up for veterans to communicate with family via the Internet.

Ferris Scott, an 84-year-old World War II veteran, said he appreciates the attentiveness of the skilled nursing staff.

“They all come in and check on us every two hours,” Scott said.

The native of Wallace, Idaho, receives care for diabetes and moved into the veterans home after his wife, who was his caregiver, passed away.

The state surveys veterans homes annually by analyzing their data, including staffing levels, dietary records, accidents and infection control, said Robles.

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