FILE - Edward Williams, 62, a resident at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, receives a COVID-19 booster shot in New York Sept. 27, 2021. Medicare says it's shining a light on key markers for nursing home quality. Starting Wednesday, the program is posting details on staff turnover and weekend nurse coverage on its “Care Compare” website, where families research individual facilities. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Fewer employees at nursing homes in Chautauqua County are leaving their jobs when compared to state and national averages.

Staffing information — including “total nursing staff turnover,” “registered nurse turnover” and “total number of nurse staff hours per resident per day” — is now included on Medicare’s website and touted as a way for families to compare facilities for their loved ones.

“Higher staffing levels and lower staffing turnover in a nursing home may mean higher quality of care for residents,” Medicare noted on its website. “Staffing hours of different types of staff are reported by nursing homes, and are used to calculate a ratio of staffing hours per resident per day and the staffing turnover rate.”

Using the information available online, The Post-Journal and OBSERVER reviewed the following nursing homes: Heritage Park Rehab & Skilled Nursing, Heritage Green Rehab & Skilled Nursing, Heritage Village Rehab and Skilled Nursing, Lutheran Retirement Home, Absolut Care of Westfield, Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Dunkirk Rehabilitation & Nursing Center and Gowanda Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.

Nursing staff turnover is defined by Medicare as the “percent of nursing staff or number of administrators that stop working in a facility within a given year. Low turnover indicates that facilities generally retain their staff for longer periods of time.

Lower turnover is preferred because staff who work in facilities for longer periods of time may become more familiar with the residents and the facility’s operating procedures.”

Nationwide, the average “total nursing staff turnover” rate at nursing homes is 51.6% while the average in New York state is 44%.

The national average for “registered nurse turnover” is 49.8% while the state average is 46.2%.

Heritage Park and Heritage Green have lower total nursing staff and registered nurse turnover rates when compared to the national and state average. Heritage Village beat the national average for total nursing staff and both averages for registered nurse turnover.

Lutheran beat the national and state average for total nursing staff turnover but was above both averages for registered nurse turnover.

Tom Holt, Lutheran president and CEO, said staffing scores Medicare provides can be attributed to the current state of the health care industry.

“The difference for us are our outcomes,” he said. “Our five-star quality measures were validated by our most recent New York State Department of Health survey and proved that the work our staff is doing matters and makes a tremendous difference in the lives of those we serve. Beyond the nursing home, we also work on and maintain the same or similar quality measures at Hultquist Place, our assisted living program. This ensures that, regardless which level of care our residents are in, we can maintain consistent, high-quality care that maximizes our resident and family experiences.”

Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center beat both averages for the two turnover metrics while Dunkirk Rehabilitation & Nursing Center beat the national average for total nursing staff turnover and both averages for registered nurse turnover.

Gowanda Rehabilitation and Nursing Center beat the national average for total nursing staff turnover and both averages for registered nurse turnover.

Staffing hours per resident per day is defined by Medicare as the “total number of hours worked by the staff member(s) divided by the total number of residents. It doesn’t necessarily show the number of nursing staff present at any given time, or reflect the amount of care given to any one resident.”

All eight facilities were below the national average of three hours and 46 minutes and state average of three hours and 29 minutes.

Full data on the nursing homes is as follows:

¯ Heritage Park Rehab & Skilled Nursing: average number of residents per day: 130; total number of nurse staff hours per resident per day: three hours and 17 minutes; total nursing staff turnover: 29.4%; registered nurse turnover 6.7%.

¯ Heritage Green Rehab & Skilled Nursing: average number of residents per day: 109.8; total number of nurse staff hours per resident per day: two hours and 48 minutes; total nursing staff turnover: 36.2%; registered nurse turnover: 28.6%.

¯ Heritage Village Rehab and Skilled Nursing: average number of residents per day 104.1: total number of nurse staff hours per resident per day: two hours and 58 minutes; total nursing staff turnover: 45.8%; registered Nurse turnover: 42.1%.

¯ Lutheran Retirement Home: average number of residents per day: 108.7; total number of nurse staff hours per resident per day: three hours and 5 minutes; total nursing staff turnover 38%; registered nurse turnover: 54.2%.

¯ Absolut Care for Nursing & Rehab Westfield: average number of residents per day: 81.2; total number of nurse staff hours per resident per day: three hours and 28 minutes; total nursing staff turnover: 58.8%; registered nurse turnover: 59.1%.

¯ Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center: average number of residents per day: 179; total number of nurse staff hours per resident per day: three hours and 8 minutes; total nursing staff turnover: 42.7%; registered nurse turnover: 16%.

¯ Dunkirk Rehabilitation & Nursing Center: average number of residents per day: 35.4; total number of nurse staff hours per resident per day: three hours and 1 minute; total nursing staff turnover: 48.6%; registered nurse turnover: 33.3%.

¯ Gowanda Rehabilitation and Nursing Center: average number of residents per day: 106; total number of nurse staff hours per resident per day: two hours and 56 minutes; total nursing staff turnover: 47.1%; registered nurse turnover: 41.7%.

To find the new information, consumers must go to the Care Compare website, select a particular nursing home, and then click on “View Staffing Information.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.