South Lincoln Nursing center was one of a select few clinics which received “Best Nursing Home” honors from U.S. News & World Report for 2020-2021.

Vice President of the facility, Jessie Wilcox, says only 21% of the homes around the nation earns this award.

“It is the first time for South Lincoln Nursing Center to receive this,” Wilcox said. “It’s wonderful for my staff to be recognized for the hard work that they do.”

Wilcox says U.S. News & World pull “comprehensive” information about the clinics like overall care of the residents, safety, health inspections, staffing, and more.

“There’s quite a bit that goes into it,” Wilcox said. “Lots of rules and regulations. Nursing homes are one of the most regulated areas in healthcare, so it takes a lot to get where we’re at.”

Sadie Dutra is the Activities Coordinator and Social Services Designee for the center and she says what really makes this all possible is a collaborative effort.

“Our staff and team, key word being team,” Dutra said. “We all work together to provide the best care possible to these residents. Not only physically, but mentally.”

She says the U.S. News & World Report also considered aspects of COVID-19 and what it takes to keep patients safe during the pandemic as well. She was also one of those in charge of adapting new activities for the residents.

This includes keeping six foot of distance and she recalls times where she called bingo from a microphone while patients sat in their rooms. She says the center would have them do their workouts in their doorways. She says one nice aspect of the facilities is a recent remodel allowed for a spacious dayroom.

“So, we’re able to do some more group activities while still following all guidelines,” Dutra said. “We have branched out and tried a lot of new things, just wild, out-of-this-world ideas really.”

Wilcox says that another item South Lincoln Nursing Center does is to offer up-to-date training for its staff with the newest evidence and best practices. This includes workers sometimes approaching her about wanting to learn something new.

“We’re constantly trying to incorporate all of that,” Wilcox said. “Here at South Lincoln we work as a team and the residents and the families are also involved with that as well.”

She says one aspect of implementing something new was having to adjust a lot of things for the pandemic. She says it was hard for the residents to adjust, but some of them enjoy the changes now. She also says the families have been great to work with as the center implemented a lot of these changes.