When she was 13, Tamey Stith’s initial reaction to her grandmother’s strokes and dementia was fear. When she worked as a candy striper at Wesley Woods Geriatric Health Center in high school, Stith began to better understand the challenges facing seniors.
“Helping them became my passion,” said Stith, administrator of Gwinnett Extended Care Center, which is on Gwinnett Medical Center’s Lawrenceville campus.
After working in nursing homes for more than 35 years as a nursing assistant, nurse and manager, Stith became the administrator of Gwinnett Extended Care Center in 2000.
This year, U.S. News & World Report recognized the center as one of the top nursing homes in the country. It received an overall 5-star rating for quality control, nurse staffing and health inspections. GECC is an 89-bed facility that provides subacute care for short-term patients who need skilled nursing or rehabilitation between hospitalization and going home. It also provides intermediate care for long-term residents who can no longer live safely on their own. A comprehensive center, GECC provides physical, occupational and speech therapy; skilled nursing care; nutritional support; wound care; case management; and other services.
Stith, NHA, LPN, was awarded the American College of Health Care Administrators 2013 Facility Leadership Award. The award is based on leading a facility that exhibits excellence on health, fire safety and complaint surveys, and improvement in quality measures during a three-year period.
“The award is awesome, but I feel like it’s a team award. Without the collaboration of our staff, the residents and their families, we couldn’t accomplish what we do here,” Stith said. “When I walk through the door in the morning I’m proud to see smiling faces and to be part of this organization.”
Stith has seen enormous change in long-term care over the years.
“At one time, every home assessed patients differently. Now, with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, all facilities use the same national standard for assessment. That, (along) with more research and evidence-based practices, has helped us better understand the needs of our residents,” she said. “We have people that live past 100 in this facility and that’s because the people that live here want to live.”
Stith’s goal is to make GECC a healing environment and as much like home as possible. She goes on rounds every morning, greeting residents and staff members.
“My passion has always been for quality care. A good outcome is to treat each resident holistically, so that he enjoys every day,” she said.
Residents have their own council and meet monthly to vote on activities and improvements to the center. For example, they’ve made decisions about what plants to grow that will attract birds in the center’s courtyard. Gwinnett Braves games are a favorite outing, and the center has its own Red Hat Society.
The residents have raised money for community organizations through bake sales. They also have participated in Hoops for Hearts to donate money to Gwinnett Medical’s Strickland Heart Center and in Hoops for Hunger to give money to a local food bank.
“They sign up their own sponsors and earn $1 a hoop for each basket they make,” Stith said. “Our residents got to tour the Strickland Heart Center, which gave them an even greater sense of pride in their accomplishment. They feel part of the greater community and know that they still have decisions to make that are important to them.”
Families are considered part of the care team and are invited to twice-a-week interdisciplinary team meetings for residents.
“Facilitating a strong focus on family involvement for each patient, whether he needs short-term or long-term care, is the core of the extended care center’s employee values,” said Phil Wolfe, president and CEO of Gwinnett Medical Center.
Stith is proud of the facility’s level of family engagement and the satisfaction rate of residents and staff members.
Because so many short-term residents have positive experiences, GECC often sees repeat customers or new patients referred by former ones.
“One gentleman came here after a knee replacement,” Stith said. “On leaving, he told us that he wanted to make a reservation for when he had to have the other knee done.
“That’s a testament to the excellent care we give. To help someone recover from an illness and be able to return back home or to see long-term residents comfortable and happy in their everyday lives, is priceless. This has truly been my life’s work, and I feel blessed in it.”
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