Gifford Health Care’s Menig Nursing Home in Randolph Center earned deficiency-free surveys from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the Department of Health and Human Services after a site visit in May. The results make Menig the first nursing home in Vermont to complete a deficiency-free survey under new federal nursing home requirements.

“We are pleased to share the news of Menig Nursing Home’s recent deficiency-free surveys and thank our team at Menig for their commitment to high-quality care for our residents,” said Gifford President and CEO Dan Bennett. “The survey results are made even more meaningful by the fact that, according to the Vermont Health Care Association, Menig is the first nursing home in the state to complete a deficiency-free survey under new nursing home regulations.”

Unannounced, on-site recertification and emergency preparedness surveys were conducted May 7-9 at Menig. The CMS Division of Licensing and Protection, which conducted the surveys and also investigated three facility-reported events, reported “no regulatory issues were identified at this time.” The Division of Fire Safety also conducted an on-site Life Safety Code inspection, and Menig “was found to be in substantial compliance with applicable Life Safety Code requirements.”

CMS requirements for long-term care were first published in 1989. The requirements were revised and published in a final rule in November 2016 “to reflect the substantial advances that have been made over the past several years in the theory and practice of service delivery and safety.” The revisions, available on the CMS website, implement “a number of pieces of legislation from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act,” from Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) to staff training.

“CMS officials changed an enormous number of the regulations, putting far greater focus on patient-centered care,” said Menig Director of Nursing Brooks Chapin of the updated requirements. “Surveyors interviewed our residents to develop a clear picture of the care provided at Menig.”

Menig Nursing Home is located at Morgan Orchards Senior Living Community, which also includes Strode Independent Living, in Randolph Center. The facilities are led by Ursula Margazano, who recently was named executive director of the community and administrator of Menig. Under Margazano’s leadership, Gifford will continue to develop and expand services and support to meet the needs of aging community members in Randolph and surrounding towns in Orange and Windsor counties.

For more information, visit morganorchards.com or email contactus@giffordmed.org.

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