(NORTH TONAWANDA, NEW YORK) – The DeGraff Rehabilitation & Skilled Nursing Facility, one of Kaleida Health’s long-term care facilities, has been recognized as a Best Nursing Home for 2020-21 by U.S. News & World Report, an announcement that has left Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1168-represented Health Care Workers employed at the Tonawanda facility feeling more than honored.

The DeGraff Rehabilitation & Skilled Nursing Facility was among the 21% of U.S. Skilled Nursing Facilities that earned Best Nursing Homes status by achieving a rating of “High Performing,” the highest possible rating, for Short-Term Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care.  

U.S. News gives the designation of Best Nursing Home only to those homes that satisfy U.S. News’s assessment of the appropriate use of key services and consistent performance in quality measures.

“It’s ‘great.’  ‘We are excited to be recognized for such a high standard of care,’” CWA Local 1168-represented Occupational Therapist Bridget Braley, who’s worked at DeGraff for 17 years, told WNYLaborToday.com of her and her Co-Workers reaction to the news.

“Teamwork, mutual respect, dedication and hard work,” answered Braley when asked why she thought DeGraff’s Staff was so instrumental in the facility receiving such an honor (Photo Below Courtesy Of CWA Local 1168's's Mary Nowocien).

“This is a ‘very hard job.’  It is ‘very emotional because it is so hard to take care of people, especially so many who are now isolated from their families (because of COVID-19).’  While we are following the rules, ‘it’s heartbreaking.’  ‘We’re doing everything we can to provide them with a good quality of life.’  ‘We don’t do this for the recognition,” she said.

Newly-elected CWA Local 1168 Vice President Patrick Weisansal II told Your On-Line Labor Newspaper: “The Staff at DeGraff ‘has been cut back (by Kaleida Health) and that has been extremely demoralizing.’  But this is a ‘very bright’ spotlight (that has been focused on the CWA-represented Health Care Workers).  ‘They have been unwavering in the care that they provide.’  ‘Even after what Kaleida has done, our Members have stuck with it.’  We had ‘zero’ (Coronavirus) deaths at DeGraff during this first wave of COVID throughout the region.  ‘Nobody has been talking about how great that is and (the Union-represented Staff’s) commitment to their work.’”

Now in its 11th year, the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Nursing Homes ratings and profiles offer comprehensive information about care, safety, health inspections, staffing and more for nearly all of the Nation’s 15,000-plus nursing homes.

The Best Nursing Homes ratings reflect the U.S. News & World Report’s exclusive analysis of publicly-available data using a methodology defined by U.S. News & World Report that evaluates factors that it has determined most greatly impact patient and resident care, safety and outcomes.

This year, to accompany the new ratings, nursing home profile pages were updated to include a patient safety summary that reflects COVID-19 data alongside other measurements of safety and related advice on choosing a home or facility amidst the pandemic.

“U.S. News & World Report strives to provide access to information that allows consumers to make educated decisions on all types of care,” said Ben Harder, Managing Editor and Chief of Health Analysis at U.S. News & World Report’s. “Updating the profiles to include a patient safety summary that highlights COVID-19 data paired with other measures of care arms families, Caregivers and patients with the information needed to make a decision that keeps safety at the highest priority.”

The Best Nursing Home finder features ratings on both long-term and short-term care.

The Long-Term Care Rating aims to provide prospective residents who need help with daily activities, and their families, with analysis and information regarding the quality of care provided by nursing homes.

The rating includes data on staffing, success in preventing Emergency Room visits and pneumonia vaccination rates, among other metrics.

The short-term rating incorporates measures of quality including consistency of registered nurse staffing, use of antipsychotic drugs and success in preventing falls.

“We are so proud and honored to be recognized by U.S. News and World Report as a Best Nursing Home,” said Eugene Gonsiorek, Vice President of Long Term Care at Kaleida Health, in a released statement. “It’s our Staff’s unwavering commitment to those they care for every day that has earned us a spot among the best in the country.”    

However, Gonsiorek failed to mentioned - specifically, the CWA Local 1168-represented Workforce at DeGraff and the Union’s commitment to excellence which enabled the DeGraff Rehabilitation & Skilled Nursing Facility to receive such an honor.

Meanwhile, CWA Local 1168 is currently demanding Buffalo-headquartered Kaleida Health come back to the table and bargain over a slew of COVID-19 issues as the region and the country gets ready to deal with a second wave of the Coronavirus.

Both CWA and 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) – which also represents Kaleida Staff at its Buffalo area facilities - say Kaleida Health “is ‘not willing’ to bargain over our (Members’) needs due to changing work conditions - including Staff burnout and the fact that many of Kaleida Health’s Union-represented Health Care Employees are testing positive for COVID and are now dealing with the repercussions, firsthand,” Union Officials said.

For More On This Labor News Story, Read WNYLaborToday.com’s Labor News Report: With More Of Their Members Testing Positive For COVID, CWA Local 1168 & 1199 SEIU ‘Demand’ Buffalo’s Kaleida Health Come To The Table And Bargain Over A Myriad Of Coronavirus Issues

To Access Kaleida Health’s Press Release, Go To: www.kaleidahealth.org/kyi/news/?i=15068