Nursing Home Case Study: Rocky Mountain Care – Cottage on Vine

How IntelyCare helped a partner to increase its CMS Star Rating, reduce reliance on 1099 agencies, and find full time hires.

Highlights:

• Rocky Mountain Care – Cottage on Vine
• Murray, Utah
• Transitional Rehab & Skilled Nursing Facility
• 61 beds

Nursing Home Case Study Overview

The team at Rocky Mountain Care – Cottage on Vine (RMC) struggled to maintain a healthy CMS star rating and positive team culture.

The facility had poor experiences with 1099 contractors, often leading to RMC nursing leaders working 24-hour shifts and 60+ hour work weeks.

RMC needed to eliminate the use of unhelpful and unprofessional 1099 staffing agencies and instead focus on working with a healthcare talent partner that could provide quality, W2 care providers.

RMC discovered the value of working with IntelyCare, ultimately boosting their CMS star rating from 2.1 to 3.5 over the course of five months.

The Problem

Rocky Mountain Care – Cottage on Vine (RMC) struggled with insufficient staffing levels at their facility, resulting in their CMS star rating dropping to 2.1. Nursing leaders at RMC often worked 24-hour shifts and 60+ hours work weeks to compensate for the lack of internal staff.

The facility attempted to work with established 1099 staffing agencies, as well as smaller mom-and-pop agencies in their area to make up for the understaffing problem they were facing. The support that they were promised from these agencies was anything but helpful – external staff members would frequently call out, and if they showed up, they were often unprofessional and unprepared to care for RMC’s residents. Furthermore, when the staff at RMC turned to these agencies for help, there was no one to speak with.

Time for a Change

RMC brought in new leadership, including Rebekah W., Staffing Coordinator, to help turn things around. Rebekah recognized an immediate need to address the team culture at the facility. She knew that RMC’s low CMS star rating was discouraging to the internal staff, and that they needed additional staffing support.

Rebekah felt that the first step towards righting the ship was to acknowledge this. Rebekah recounted telling the staff, “We are a team. We’re all about helping out on the floor.” Rebekah stepped up immediately to fill open shift needs and provide residents with the high-quality care that she wanted to set as the standard for RMC, but this wasn’t a long-term solution.

The next step Rebekah took was to audit the staffing agencies RMC worked with. She wanted to eliminate the use of unhelpful and unprofessional 1099 agencies and instead focus her efforts on working with a healthcare talent partner that hired their nurses and aides as W2 employees and could provide the facility with the quality care providers they needed; that healthcare talent partner was IntelyCare.

When bringing in providers through IntelyCare, Rebekah wanted to make one thing very clear: “We hold our internal staff to the same standard as our external partners. For example, we need three days’ notice if you’re going to call out.” Not only have IntelyCare’s nurses and aides have been able to meet this standard, they have gone above and beyond to impress Rebekah and to improve the CMS star rating at RMC.

A Rapid Increase in RMC’s CMS Star Rating

Leaning on IntelyCare for support has “turned out great” for RMC, according to Rebekah. After she got hired to RMC, Rebekah took over all the scheduling for the facility. As she put it, “I started concentrating on working with only the partners I liked. I really liked the IntelyCare platform, and I connected with the IntelyPro CNAs and nurses.”

Better staffing ratios at the facility – thanks to the growth of RMC’s partnership with IntelyCare – and the quality of the care provided to RMC’s residents allowed their CMS star rating to go from a 2.1 to a 3.5 in a short amount of time. This increase has led to higher reimbursement from CMS, the ability to attract more full-time talent, higher patient outcomes, and higher patient and family satisfaction.

The IntelyCare Difference – Full-Time Hires

One of IntelyCare’s CNAs, Monique C., started working shifts at RMC under Rebekah’s supervision, and developed a great working relationship with her. Rebekah shared, “I talked with Monique one day and she had all these goals. I said to her, ‘How can I help you so that you can make your goals a reality?’ She kept picking up shifts at our facility and we continued talking about her goals. She’s a great worker, and I loved her attitude. I finally said to her, ‘How do you feel about getting hired here full-time?’”

Monique agreed to join the RMC team, which IntelyCare supported and helped to facilitate. Since then, she completed a 90-day training program for RMC in just 30 days, received her MedTech certification – passing with a 97% score – and is now registered for nursing school. “She’s so amazing,” Rebekah says.

Without IntelyCare, Monique may never have had the opportunity to work at Rocky Mountain Care – Cottage on Vine and Rebekah may never have met her. Rebekah feels strongly that the support, flexibility, and W2 benefits that IntelyCare is able to provide nurses and aides makes a huge difference. She can see it in the quality of the providers, and through their dedication.

“In addition to Monique, we have three nurses from IntelyCare who get full-time hours through us, and there are some days where my whole building is just IntelyCare providers.” Rebekah trusts IntelyCare to deliver nurses and aides that will not only meet but exceed her standards of quality.

Conclusion

RMC’s staff is no longer overworked and overburdened. Their culture is healthy, and their patients are thriving. Rebekah was proud to share, “The relationships with everyone who comes into our building have improved.”

Rebekah has also built a relationship with her IntelyCare Account Manager, who is local to the facility, and provides dedicated, one-on-one support. “That’s a really key part of working with a healthcare talent partner like IntelyCare. There is someone I can call or text to say, ‘I’m having a problem with this – whatever it may be. Is there any way you can help?’” Having this kind of support has contributed to the success of RMC’s partnership with IntelyCare.

Rebekah and her team have been so impressed by their experience that they want to use IntelyCare exclusively as their healthcare hiring and talent management partner. “I have actually referred five people – two nurses and three CNAs – from a 1099 staffing agency to IntelyCare,” Rebekah said. “IntelyCare is so great.”

Are You Ready to Partner with IntelyCare?

This nursing home case study for Rocky Mountain Care – Cottage on Vine demonstrates just one of many ways that IntelyCare can support your facility. If you’re ready for a partner that will add nurses to your shifts and real value to your business, reach out to us today.