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State hails Royal Oaks
Annie Karstens
Northwest Valley Newspapers
DAILY NEWS-SUN, June 5, 2004 – Royal Oaks Health Care Center is the only Sun City care facility with no recorded deficiencies in the past two years, according the Arizona Department of Health Services. This is also the second year the center has earned an "excellent" performance rating.
"This is no easy task," said Kendra Eberhart, chief executive officer for Royal Oaks Lifecare Community. "There's so much negative publicity about care centers that I think it's important to mention the good ones."
Royal Oaks Health Care Center, 10015 W. Royal Oak Road in Sun City, is licensed for 124 beds and includes a memory-care unit for dementia residents. The center provides long- and short-term care, respite care, hospice care and rehabilitation.
Inspectors from the department of health services surveyed the center during the week of May 10. The survey consisted of interviews with staff members and residents, facilities inspections, environment and food assessments, health-care standards and more.
"There are so many things they look at and disciplines they check out," Eberhart said. "They commented on how happy the staff and residents are, really noting the relationship and the positive feelings between the residents and the staff."
Resident activities, the memory-care unit and the state-of-the-art computerized records system were also aspects that state surveyors applauded, she said.
"Our memory-care unit is really outstanding. They always comment on that," Eberhart said. "They were surprised by our completely computerized system. We are completely paperless, so with the ease of the computer, all of the reports and charts are at their fingertips."
Catherine Corbin, program manager for the health services department's long-term care office, said Royal Oaks' rating is rare and commendable since the facilities are highly regulated.
"Their facility seems aimed at resident-centered services, meaning the staff seeks to pay attention to what the resident wants," Corbin said. "For example, if a resident would rather have an evening shower, the staff will change their shower from the daytime to evening."
Corbin also reported that the facility and staff appeared to go the "extra mile" with food service and environment, being customer-service focused. The number of staff members is also more than adequate for a facility its size, Corbin said.
"It's very encouraging for this office," she said. "The surveyor came back delighted that they were able to find this. It's affirming to know there are good facilities out there that do a good job."
Grace Stockl, a charge nurse with Royal Oaks Health Care Center, said the facility stands out because of its computerized system and its level of health care.
When a surveyor asked her to find a patient to show as an example of how to properly change the dressing on a bed sore, Stockl was at a loss. There are no residents who have developed bed sores while in the care of Royal Oaks, she said.
"They (inspectors) couldn't find a resident that wanted to change anything. They were all happy to call this place their home," Stockl said. "We called it an extended family."
Dina Capek, the center's health services director, said the surveyors were also impressed with the low turnover at Royal Oaks.
"They could see the continuity in care," Capek said. "We have such longevity in our staff – some have been here over five years, some 10 and 20."
Royal Oaks Health Care Center is now eligible for a grant made possible by legislation that passed three years ago when lawmakers decided to acknowledge exemplary care facilities, not just penalize the deficient ones, Eberhart said.
The one-time grant is available to facilities that have received two "excellent" performance surveys in a row. The money must be used for improving resident care and quality of life, she said.
"They tried to come up with positive reinforcement," Eberhart said. "It's really nice to see that the Legislature is trying to reward good facilities that are trying to do the right thing."
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