Aubertine Secures $100k for Samaritan Keep Home

Senator announces funding Tuesday, meets with seniors, staff at skilled nursing facility

WATERTOWN (September 21, 2010)—State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine visited the Samaritan Keep Home today to meet with seniors and announce a $100,000 legislative grant to help the nursing home facility with the digitization of its patient’s medical records.

“The dollars that Senator Aubertine was able to secure will help fund the implementation of a comprehensive electronic medical record system at the Samaritan Keep Home,” said Richard A. Brooks, Vice President, Long Term Care and Support Services and Administrator of Samaritan Keep Nursing Home. “This system significantly improves our ability to document, coordinate and track all aspects of our residents’ treatment, such as quality and safety. By linking all of the different aspects of resident  care—therapy, nutrition, social services, activities and medical services—our staff has real time access to every detail about a resident’s plan of care. In today’s challenging healthcare reimbursement climate, especially in the area of long-term care, these funds help ensure we can continually improve the quality of services we offer our residents here at Samaritan Keep Home.”

Samaritan Keep Home is a 272 bed skilled nursing facility on the campus of Samaritan Medical Center. The facility provides a full range of skilled nursing care, rehabilitative therapies, social and recreational activities, with a medical model adult day healthcare program and comprehensive transportation services.

“The Samaritan Keep Home plays a central role in our healthcare system here in Jefferson County,” said Sen. Aubertine. “This is a great place and the seniors are well taken care of by the staff. This grant will help the nursing home to make sure its records are in good working order so that the great people here can continue providing excellent care for the patients. I’m proud to have been able to secure this funding for the nursing home and enable it to utilize technology to better care for its residents.”

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