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Taste of Life Event
Thursday, November 19, 2009
9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Dine * Learn * Explore * Enjoy

Our Philosophy of Family Centered Care
It’s About You
We know that moving into the Porter McGrath Health Center is a big move and want you to know that you are still very much in control of your life.
You… can decorate your room any way you like with your own furniture, pictures and books.
You… can eat what you want, when you want it.
You…can do as much – or as little – as you feel like on any given day.
Your life can be as full and individualized as you are.
Unique Neighborhoods
Each neighborhood is unique. We establish a sense of belonging by cultivating resident-to-resident and staff-to-resident relationships.
Leisure Programs of Choice
Each day residents choose what to do – whether individual or group: scheduled or spontaneous; educational or recreational.
Dining Venues
Residents choose what they eat. They have a variety of food choices each meal, and may choose to eat with the neighborhood, the community or order take-out for home delivery or garden dining.
Personal Preferences
Our Life Coach meets with each resident and their family to understand their preferences and routines. We strive to maintain residents’ lifestyle choices.
Personal Accommodations
Residents are encouraged to make their living space their own. They bring furniture, paintings, pictures and other items that make them feel at home.
Personal Growth
Residents help others learn skills from a variety of programs. Community Friends Unlimited (CFU) offers opportunities to volunteer and build relationships within our community.
Do What You Like To Do
There is a lot going on at Florida Presbyterian Homes – from concerts and swimming to knitting and quilting to day trips and visits from church groups. You can continue your education by attending lectures or using the library. Keep up with your grandchildren by playing virtual golf, tennis or other games. Or, you may just want to relax in the garden and read a good book. Our Life Coach wants to learn about you and what you would like to do. If you have always wanted to paint, here’s your chance. We want to get a feel for your lifestyle, habits, and interests and talk about the choices you have. And we’ll help you get involved.

Tracy Jernigan has been hired as Florida Presbyterian Homes' new director of nursing. She attended Miami University in Ohio, earning her associate's degree in 1999. She and her husband moved to Florida from Ohio one year ago. While in Ohio, she worked for eight years in a large, non-profit, continuing care retirement community.

Treva Clark is the new wellness coordinator for Florida Presbyterian Homes. Clark has lived in Plant City for 14 years. She has been a group fitness instructor seven years with the YMCA, a personal trainer for five years and a senior and kids group fitness instructor for five.

Ledger Blogs
Home > Ledger Blogs > Robin's Rx: Medical Blogging in Polk County
Nursing Students at Florida Presbyterian
Hospitals aren't the only place nursing students can go for experience.

Students from Florida Southern College's nursing program have been at Florida Presbyterian Homes for their practicum (period of work for practical experience). Twenty-four students - along with Program Coordinator Marcia Posey and instructors Jewel Geiger and Luanne Sadowsky - have gotten a variety of experience. Those included activities, personal care, taking health histories and doing nutritional assessments.

Posted December 5, 2008 6:56:08 PM
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3 Nursing Homes in Polk Get Top Marks
New federal quality-ranking system lauds Lakeland, Bartow, Lake Wales facilities.
By Robin Williams Adams
The Ledger

Published: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at 10:10 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at 11:09 p.m.
LAKELAND | Three of 23 Polk County nursing homes received the best ranking possible - five stars for "much above average" - in a new quality-ranking system the federal government unveiled recently.
They are Florida Presbyterian Homes in Lakeland, The Rohr Home in Bartow and Dove Health Care at Lake Wales.

Another eight received four stars, meaning they scored above average. Five were ranked average. Four were below average.

Three others - Auburndale Oaks Healthcare Center, Bartow Center and The Groves Center - received just one star, the lowest grade. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services defines that as "much below average."

CMS looks at three areas to determine a nursing home's star quality:

Its performance on a three-year review of health inspections.

Staffing levels.

How it did on 10 quality measures each center collects on its residents. The measures include residents' health, mental status, physical functioning and overall wellbeing.

A facility's score in each of the three areas, along with the cumulative rating for each nursing home, is on the CMS Web site. Ratings will be updated at least quarterly.

"This should help consumers in narrowing their choices, but nothing should substitute for visiting a nursing home," acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems said in a media telephone briefing.

He said CMS did its best to adjust for variations in the types of health inspections done by different states - the source of the health inspection data - to make the grading comparable from state to state.

"We want to make sure we're measuring differences in quality, not difference in measurements," he said.

Some nursing home officials in Florida, however, said problems exist in using the star system to measure quality.

"If you judge a facility just by that report, it isn't fair," said Ken Perry, who became administrator of the Bartow Center this summer.

"Maybe there were some things, but, I can tell you, a lot has changed. Whatever the rating is, it is not where this facility is (now) and where we're headed."

Whether a nursing home is ranked high or low, Perry said, people need to visit it before putting someone there. He said he is hearing positive comments from visitors during the past few months.

Spokesmen for Auburndale Oaks Healthcare Center and The Groves Center in Lake Wales were unavailable.

John Hehn, executive director of Florida Presbyterian, one of the highest-ranked, said it's difficult to convert large amounts of data into a user-friendly ratings system. "There are some questions and concerns … within our industry, but it's a great first effort," he said.

Additional factors need to be included in determining the ratings, said Kristen Knapp, communications director for the Florida Health Care Association, which represents providers of long-term care.

"It certainly doesn't take residents' satisfaction into consideration at all, which is a quality-of-life issue we feel should be factored in," Knapp said.

CMS also doesn't take into account a facility's specialties, such as dementia care or rehabilitation, or financial difficulties such as having a particularly large number of Medicaid patients, Knapp and others said.

The federal agency changed its method of grading nursing home staffing after having told health care providers it would be done a different way, Knapp said. And the quality indicators used aren't the same for all Florida nursing homes, she said, because some were in a pilot study of a revised way to measure quality.

All nursing homes surveyed are Medicare and Medicaid certified.

To look for a nursing home's ranking, go to www.medicare gov and click on New Nursing Home Five-Star Quality Rating.

[ Robin Williams Adams can be reached at robin.adams@theledger.com or 863-802-7558. Read her blog at robinsrx.theledger.com. ]

3 Polk Nursing Homes Get Top Ranking

By Robin Williams Adams
THE LEDGER

Published: Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 3:09 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 3:11 p.m.

LAKELAND | Three of 23 Polk County nursing homes received the best ranking possible — five stars for “much above average” — in a new quality ranking system the federal government announced Thursday morning.

They are Florida Presbyterian Homes in Lakeland, the Rohr Home in Bartow and Dove Health Care at Lake Wales.

Another eight received four stars, meaning they scored above average. Five were ranked average. Four were below average.

Three others — Auburndale Oaks Healthcare Center, Bartow Center and The Groves Center — received just one star, the lowest grade. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services defines that as “much below average.”

CMS looks at three areas in determining a nursing home’s rank. Those are performance on a three-year review of health inspections, the center’s staffing levels and how it did on 10 quality measures each center collects on its residents.

Those measures include residents’ health, mental status, physical functioning and overall wellbeing.

A ranking in each of those areas, along with the cumulative ranking for each, is on the CMS Web site.

“This should help consumers in narrowing their choices, but nothing should substitute for visiting a nursing home,” acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems said in a telephone briefing for the media.

He said CMS did its best to adjust for variations in the types of health inspections done by different states, the source of the health inspection data, to make the grading comparable from state to state.

“We want to make sure we’re measuring differences in quality, not difference in measurements,” he said.

Rankings will be updated at least quarterly, CMS said.

To look for a nursing home’s ranking, go to www.medicare.gov and click on New Nursing Home Five-Star Quality Rating.

Polk nursing homes receiving four stars were Haines City Health Care, Highlands Lake Center, Lakeland Hills Center, Oakbridge Healthcare Center, Palm Garden of Winter Haven, The Crossroads, The Manor at Carpenters and Winter Haven Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Those ranked three stars, meaning average, were Brandywyne Health Care Center, Consulate Health Care of Lake Parker, Life Care Center of Winter Haven, Palm Terrace of Lakeland and Valencia Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center. The four given two stars were Consulate Health Care of Lakeland, Consulate Health Care of Winter Haven, Spring Lake Rehabilitation Center and Wedgewood Healthcare Center.

[ Robin Williams Adams can be reached at robin.adams@theledger.com or 863-802-7558. Read her blog at robinsrx.theledger.com.

Florida Presbyterian Homes’ Porter-McGrath Health Center has received the coveted state of Florida Gold Seal Award for Nursing Homes for the third time. The award was granted August 1, 2008 by the Gold Seal Panel of Excellence in Long Term Care.

Implemented in 2002, the Gold Seal recognizes Florida nursing centers that exhibit excellence in care management and quality of life for their residents, marking nursing homes of the highest caliber. Currently, of the 687 nursing homes in Florida, only 18 have Gold Seal status. Florida Presbyterian Homes’ Porter-McGrath Health Facility is one of only five nursing centers in Florida to receive the Gold Seal award three times.

While continually enhancing quality of care, Florida Presbyterian Homes’ (FPHI) has sharpened its focus on improving residents’ quality of life. Last year, FPHI introduced “culture change” to remove the institutional feel of a long-term care center.

“It’s about creating a place to live, rather than simply a place to receive physical care,” explained Executive Director John Hehn.

Culture change challenges the notion that when you have many people to care for, it can only be done in a regimented manner. Porter McGrath residents choose when to get up and when to go to bed. They decide when to eat and when and how often to bathe and which activities to pursue. Most importantly, they become actively involved in the activities of daily life once again. Steak dinners, dining outside, ordering take-out, indulging in spa baths, and receiving music therapy are among some of the new changes.

“Culture change is about continuing the self-determination that comes with being an adult,” Hehn added. “It is about bringing the joy, social interactions, and daily inspirations, into long-term care communities.”

Judy Thompson has joined Florida Presbyterian Homes as Manager of Business Development. Thompson has 25 years experience in Sales, Marketing and Public Relations with 18 years in the health care industry. She will be responsible for community outreach activities, hosting events at Florida Presbyterian Homes, collateral material development, and other responsibilities.

Thompson is a life-long resident of Florida and has been a Polk County resident for 34 years. She was formerly Director of Marketing for The Estates at Carpenters.

Florida Presbyterian Homes has promoted Maria Rivera to administrator of its 48-bed Porter McGrath Health Center. She brings more than 20 years of nursing and health care administration experience to the position.

Promoted numerous times since joining Florida Presbyterian Homes in 1992, Rivera was its director of nursing for 11 years. Since this past August (2007), Rivera served as Porter McGrath’s provisional administrator.

“We are extremely proud of Maria,” said John Hehn, executive director of Florida Presbyterian Homes. “We appreciate her 16 years of service and her extraordinary efforts to enhance resident care."