Mt. Miguel Covenant Village earns top national honors for nursing centers

 Mount Miguel Covenant Village in Spring Valley is more than just the sum of its parts, and it has the distinguished honors to prove it. The non-profit retirement community recently received a 5-star rating from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, as well as earning a spot in the 2015 US News & World Report’s Best Nursing Homes.

 Mount Miguel Covenant Village in Spring Valley is more than just the sum of its parts, and it has the distinguished honors to prove it. The non-profit retirement community recently received a 5-star rating from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, as well as earning a spot in the 2015 US News & World Report’s Best Nursing Homes.

The fifth annual US News & World Report list ranked Mount Miguel Covenant Village among 16,000 nursing homes nationwide. The separate 5-star federal rating sets Mount Miguel Covenant Village apart from the 86 nursing homes in the county—only 38 in San Diego received this highest rating.

These are very encouraging ratings, ranking and numbers for families with loved ones in Covenant Retirement Communities. For the staff at Covenant Retirement Communities, it is part of their mission.

“Consistent long-term staffing, and consistent quality track record with Department of Public Health unannounced Health inspections” are two main factors that distinguish Mount Miguel Covenant Village, according to Jay Caddell, health care administrator. The 5-star quality measures ranked the care of long stay and short stay residents, Caddell said. Mount Miguel Covenant Village provides many levels of care. Independent living, assisted living plus memory support, and skilled nursing.

“It’s a challenging business,” Caddell said.

Caddell has been in the Skilled Nursing business for 30 years, working with Mount Miguel Covenant Village since 2007, and the business has changed over the last 30 years. Regulations have increased, and so has the call for openness and transparency. Caddell has many long-term employees whose understanding of their job works in harmony with Covenant Retirement Communities philosophy. Fourteen long-term staff members—certified nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses, and a health information management coordinator, have a combined 339 years of service at Mount Miguel Covenant Village.

While the regulations may be getting increasingly complicated, the philosophy of care remains the same. Their care team “works unselfishly together consistently putting others before themselves.” It’s simple, in fact to care about people. Caddell’s staff has shown that it might be a job, but it’s also humanity.

“People at the end of their lives deserve the very best,” he said. In addition to the long-term employees adding to the value of care, “Trust being faith-based and Security,” do as well. Mount Miguel Covenant Village is “a 28 acre gated continuing care retirement community where friends and family visit around the clock. More eyes and ears to keep residents safe. A stand-alone SNF (skilled nursing facility) typically has far less visitors,” Caddell said.

People of all denominations reside at Mount Miguel Covenant Village, as it is an all inclusive community. There are church and chapel services available, chaplains visit residents each morning and are ever present for counsel, and daily prayers are broadcasted through the overhead paging system.  You don't need to belong to a church to live at Mount Miguel although it is owned by the Evangelical Covenant Church. It has a number ofdenominations outside of the Evangelical Covenant Church represented at Mount Miguel with the largest being Baptist.

Technology is incorporated to make the coordinated care as best as it can be—with 48 hours of admittance, new residents are evaluated, managers visit their bedside personally to ensure everything has transitioned smoothly, and voice messages are left for the next CNA shift. While the newer methods like headsets and electronic communication are maximized to best potential, the benefits face-to-face interactions are never overlooked. Issues are remedies and corrected as quick as the staff hears about it, Caddell insists.

Being non-profit, Caddell is assured, and makes the biggest difference in what Mount Miguel Covenant Village has accomplished, and does every single day. Being non-profit means “More programming, looking out for the person.”

The residents, the people they care for, are the reason the community exists, not a bottom line. From the CNA’s and on-site administrators to the CEO, it is an understood, concerted effort that landed Mount Miguel Covenant Village on distinguished lists. Terri Cunliffe, current CEO of Covenant Retirement Communities, started as a health care administrator and rose up through the ranks. According to Caddell, having someone who “understands the business” overseeing all campuses “elevates skilled nursing.”