Effingham Skilled Nursing Center has received a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), thereby placing it among the top 10 percent of nursing homes in the country.

The rating is the highest awarded by CMS and is based on a nursing home exceeding standards in three core areas: health inspections, staffing patterns and quality measures.

In 2010, the center received the prestigious Silver Achievement in Quality Award and the Excellence in Action Award from the American Healthcare Association and the National Center for Assisted Living.

Combined, the prestigious third-party awards further validate that Effingham Skilled Nursing Center is committed to and focused on always delivering exceptional long-term care services in a compassionate manner.

"To be among the 10 percent of nursing homes in the country is an exceptional honor about which the entire Effingham Health System family should feel proud," said Norma Jean Morgan, CEO and nursing home administrator of Effingham Health System. "I’d like to extend a special ‘thank you’ to the members of our medical staff, who help make our nursing home stand head and shoulders above others through their caring leadership and their meticulous attention to the management of long-term care."

In 2011, the center added a new, dedicated Alzheimer’s and special needs care unit as part of the organization’s overall facility modernization plan.

To learn more about Effingham Health System, visit www.EffinghamHealth.org.