Cavhcs clc rated 5-stars for 10 consecutive quarters | va central alabama health care | veterans affairs

The New Horizon Community Living Center (CLC) continues to set the standard for every nursing home to emulate. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our health care professionals must perform at a

high level to ensure the safety and comfort of our most vulnerable Veterans. Our expert staff continues to give the best care possible. New Horizon CLC was recently named a 5-star facility

for the 10th consecutive quarter. This performance rating places CAVHCS’ community living center among the top-performing Veterans Health Administration and the country.  A recent Long Term

Care Institute survey indicated there were no clinical findings with no medication errors.  “Through the various surveys, our CLC has demonstrated that they deserve the 5-star status they

have to date, “said Amir Farooqi, CAVHCS Director. “Maintaining this level and continuing to improve are significant steps in the journey to becoming a high-reliability organization.” Caring

for senior Veterans is not just a job to the CLC staff. On numerous occasions, they have gone above and beyond for the well-being of our Veterans. For example, because of COVID-19

protocols, a CLC resident Marine Veteran Jessie Barnes Sr. could not attend the funeral of his son Jessie Barnes Jr., an Army Veteran.  The team jumped into action and arranged for a private

virtual viewing of the funeral service and stayed by his side during the very emotional time.  “We arranged a quiet and serene location for the resident with the staff surrounding him for

comfort,” said Dr. Audrey Hodge, Associate Chief of Staff (ACOS) for Geriatrics and Extended Care. Although our CLC continues achieving a 5-star rating, staff push the envelope to reach

higher goals such as modernization of the health care provided at our facilities. New Horizon is the first CLC in Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) 7 to implement the

teledermatology program. Residents rotated as part of our academic affiliation with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).  “This aligns with the CAVHCS strategic vision through

innovation as well as enhancing our academic learning and training environment,” Farooqi said. “This latest 5-star rating of our CLC solidifies the great work they have done every single day

to take care of our CLC Residents.