Hillcrest earns five star rating

LAUREL — Hillcrest Care Center in Laurel is a 5-star facility according to Medicare.gov/nursinghome compare.

Hillcrest achieved this status because of information that is submitted to Medicare from yearly reports of health inspection, fire safety, total staffing, quality of resident care and many other factors.

Medicare takes the information submitted and then rates each facility by how well they are reaching the standard of care set by Medicare. Specific information on how the stars are earned can be found at the Medicare website by searching for nursing home compare.

Five stars is the maximum rating that can be earned by a nursing home. It is challenging to reach the 5-star mark in the overall rating category, Hillcrest officials said.

“When you look at the Medicare/gov/nursing home compare website you can see how other area nursing facilities compare to Hillcrest Care Center. Many other nursing home facilities in Northeast Nebraska are ranked below 5 stars,” said Hillcrest Board member Bev Dahlquist.

The purpose of this yearly report is to give the public useful information when they are getting ready to choose a nursing home for themselves or for their loved ones.

“You can be proud of Laurel’s Hillcrest Care Center and the care provided to residents,” Dahlquist said. “The staff who care for our residents are doing an outstanding job and we are lucky to have a nursing home in our home town.”