Small Street Journal: December 1, 2017

A recent update to Nursing Home Compare by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) designates local healthcare provider Dove Healthcare with an overall five-star rating  for each of their six skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities. This rating is based on quality measures, staffing ratios and annual health inspection results. Star ratings are assigned to each of these categories and the categories are combined to calculate an overall rating. In August 2017, the average star rating for Wisconsin skilled nursing facilities was 3.6 and nationally it was 3.3. More information can be found on the website: 

WESTconsin Credit Union’s CEO, Lora Benrud, recently participated in a meeting for the Board of Governors’ Community Depository Institution Advisory Council in Washington, D.C. Members of this council are from financials with total assets of less than $10 billion to provide information, advice, and recommendations from the perspective of community depository institutions. After serving on the council for two years, Benrud was appointed by the Minneapolis Fed president to serve a two-year term as chair of the Minneapolis Council representing the Reserve Bank’s Ninth District. The Minneapolis Fed serves the six states of the Ninth Federal Reserve District:  Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, 26 counties in northwestern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. At the meeting, Benrud reported on small business lending practices, economic conditions, and regulatory items.

HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals’ Clinical Education Departments recently added two mannequins and multi-faceted simulation labs that mimic the clinical setting. The technology in the “sim labs” enables the hospitals’ clinical educators to assign mannequins numerous real-life health situations for recently graduated nurses and nursing veterans alike to detect, troubleshoot and treat. Situations such as cardiac arrest, an open wound, a seizure, neurological issues, allergic reactions and more.  Though not new, the hospitals also have mannequins that mimic a woman going into labor and giving birth, as well as newborn mannequins.

Royal Credit Union recently received Wisconsin Forward Award Challenger Recognition from The Wisconsin Center for Performance Excellence (WCPE). The awards were presented at the recent 20th Annual Wisconsin Forward Awards gala in Madison. Royal was recognized at the Challenger level, which is the first step in the award sequence. The Challenger application is a snapshot of the organization, the key influences on how it functions, and the competitive environment it operates in. Wisconsin Forward Award uses the Baldrige Excellence Framework™ established by the national Baldrige Performance Excellence Program as its evaluation tool. The award program helps organizations continuously strive to implement the best practices in the industry or sector. Royal plans to continue its journey to achieve the highest level of performance excellence by following the Wisconsin Forward Award path. Wisconsin Forward Award is one of 34 state-based quality programs in the country dedicated to raising productivity.A recent update to Nursing Home Compare by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) designates local healthcare provider Dove Healthcare with an overall five-star rating  for each of their six skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities. This rating is based on quality measures, staffing ratios and annual health inspection results. Star ratings are assigned to each of these categories and the categories are combined to calculate an overall rating. In August 2017, the average star rating for Wisconsin skilled nursing facilities was 3.6 and nationally it was 3.3. More information can be found on the website.