Care center administrator addresses concerns

To The Eagle:

I am writing to get ahead of a story that will son be coming out about Columbia View Care Center. Every year, each nursing home in the state has a review conducted by state surveyors. Columbia View just finished this review. Sadly we did not fare well in the eyes of the reviewers. It seemed like every time something could go wrong for us, it did. I could go on at length about the process and what was found during the investigation, but The Eagle (happily for the reader in this case,) has a policy about the maximum length of a letter.

Here is the truth. We have work to do. We are fixing things. None of these things found caused anyone any harm. That said, I am not proud of our performance and we will do better.

A nursing home review compares homes to themselves and to the rules. This makes our review all the more frustrating to me. Normally we get As and here we flunked the final exam. Actually, we get lots of A grades and lots of Fs too but the report card only lists the Fs. So back to school we go for more training in the F categories.

I would like to recognize my staff for their perseverance. A nursing home survey is a very high stress occasion. I had many staff here for almost the entire (almost three week) duration. These folks answered questions honestly and to the best of their ability. And then these folks came back the next day to do their jobs and answer more questions. To them, I wish to express my profound gratitude. You are not paid enough, you are not respected enough and you are not thanked enough. Columbia View will be better for our review, but the emotional cost to the staff is extreme. For community people, please take a second to thank my staff when you see them around. I'm saying it here. Thank you, we will get through together!

I encourage Eagle readers to do the following. Ignore the rumors. Come and see someone at the nursing home. Talk to residents and see what they think of the place. You will see and hear staff doing their jobs. Don't spread rumors, half truths or lies; eventually these get back to the residents of the nursing home and can cause them unnecessary anguish. If you have a problem, a question or concern, please contact me at 795-3140. I will not lie to you and will know or find the answer. I'd be happy to speak to your group if that is something that would interest you.

Duncan Cruickshank

Administrator

Columbia View

Care Center