A locally based staff that knows their residents and personalizes care is the secret behind the Gregory Wing’s five-star rating, said St. Andrews Village Executive Director Wendy Roberts.

“It is the people who make a five-star facility,” Roberts said. “We put the residents and their family at the center of all we do. We work for them.”

The five-star rating is the highest possible rating from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Nursing homes with the rating have been found to have much above average quality, according to CMS. Both of Lincoln County Healthcare’s nursing homes, including the Cove’s Edge Long-Term Care in Damariscotta, and the Gregory Wing, which is part of St. Andrews Village, received the ratings.

Staffing levels that are higher than the national average and allow nurses and Certified Nursing Assistants to spend more time with residents were one reason for the high rating. The Gregory Wing had “much above average” nursing staffing, according to CMS.

The Gregory Wing also received the highest possible rating for quality of care, including no residents with pressure ulcers, compared to 6.4 percent nationwide. Only 2 percent of Gregory Wing patients reported moderate or severe pain, compared to 10.1 percent nationwide. The Gregory Wing also had no residents with depressive symptoms, compared to a national average of 6.9 percent.

The smaller, more community-oriented nature of the Gregory Wing means staff is able to get to know their residents and personalize their care, said Elizabeth Barter, Clinical Nursing Supervisor at the Gregory Wing. That means residents can often choose what they want to eat and can get out in the community through regular trips. It also means better communication between staff, she said.

“Because we are a smaller unit and because we work together as a team … we are all personally watching out for each individual,” Barter said. “We take responsibility for the good and the bad.”

Communication and education are the key to maintaining a high level of care, said Barter. CNAs, who provide most of the hands-on care, alert nurses at the first sign that a resident’s condition is changing. Nurses work to ensure that CNAs know what signs to look for.

The St. Andrews Hospital Auxiliary has also played a vital role in ensuing residents have the best possible care and quality of life.

Barter said the Auxiliary paid for a weeklong wound care training in Boston that allowed her to help improve the Gregory Wing’s treatment of skin conditions and wounds.

The Auxiliary also paid for a new garden that allows residents to enjoy outdoor activities like gardening and barbeques or simply spending a few hours outside in the sun.

Those contributions are vital to creating an atmosphere where residents not only get excellent medical care but where they have the best possible quality of life, said Barter.

For more information about the Gregory Wing or St. Andrews Village, please call 207-633-0920.