For the past year, Sarasota Memorial Hospital has held a coveted spot as the only hospital in Florida with the federal government’s highest 5-Star rating. In its latest updates this fall, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also bestowed 5-Star ratings on Sarasota Memorial’s nursing and rehabilitation center and its home care program. In its most recent updates, CMS reviewed nearly 16,000 nursing homes across the nation, with tougher standards to evaluate medical care, including facilities’ use of anti-psychotic drugs, which can pose serious risks for older adults and those with dementia. Their methodology also measures staffing ratios, successful discharges, emergency visits and re-hospitalizations, in addition to state-conducted health inspections and how much time nurses spend with residents. To evaluate home health agencies, CMS reviewed 27 process, outcome and patient experience measures, including timely initiation of care, patient/caregiver education, re-hospitalizations and progress patients make in their prescribed treatment plans. Only 15 percent of nursing homes across the nation achieved its top performance rating.

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System