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Here in New Hampshire a state nursing home has finally received a good report from the state.

LACONIA — The Belknap County Nursing Home is ending the year on a positive note after an inauspicious beginning.

The results of a recent state Department of Health and Human Services review of the home are overwhelmingly positive, County Commissioner Christopher Boothby said.

“The state has given us not just a clean bill of health, but a rousing well done,” he said.

The 94-bed nursing facility was cited by the state last March after a resident was admitted to a local hospital and questions arose about the care she had received at the home. A review showed a lack of staff was affecting the amount of direct care the home’s residents were getting.

The home was fined nearly $100,000 and placed in immediate jeopardy of losing its license. The home was assessed a per-day fine by the state work was ongoing to correct the most serious problems and set a plan to deal with all the issues.

The home since has hired 21 new clinical workers, including nurses and nurse’s aides, and added staff in areas such as quality assurance and an activity director.

Bud Daigneault, Belknap County Commission chairman, said he’s pleased with the latest results, which revealed zero health care deficiencies.

“We’ve come a long way in several months’ time, and it is directly attributable to the administration and staff at the home,” Daigneault said.

The improvements also included better documentation of care, he said.

Bernard Gray, the home’s administrator, said the New Hampshire Association of Counties helped by forming a consultation team. The group included a nursing home administrator and a nursing director from other facilities who worked with the Belknap home.

“The most critical area was the lack of staff,” Gray said. “We were so low, some staff that were hired to provide direct care were taken from their direct care positions … The vacated direct care positions were never replaced.”
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Key improvements included better direct care, timeliness of care, record keeping and medical documentation, he said. Other improvements include a better quality and level of service in dietary areas and better communication between administration and staff.