CUMBERLAND — With the release of the Maryland Nursing Home Guide’s 2007 Maryland Nursing Home Family Survey, Allegany and Garrett counties have scored higher than Maryland’s average.

“We have good people, good employees here,” Al Konrad, executive director of Allegany County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and member of the Allegany/Garrett Executives of Long-Term Care, said. “We have occupancy rates around 90 to 95 percent. The average in the state of Maryland runs 80 to 85 percent. That tells you this is where they come, this is where they stay.”

In every category, the two counties scored higher than state averages, from overall satisfaction, to recommending the nursing home, to food quality.

The study showed that while statewide the overall satisfaction on a 1-to-10 scale was 8.1, Allegany County nursing homes received a score of 8.6 and Garrett received a score of 8.8.

Quality of care was 8.7 in Allegany and 8.9 in Garrett, with the state average at 8.2.

Konrad wasn’t surprised by this. He credits much of the satisfaction of the patients and their families to the treatment they receive from staff.

He said that within Allegany County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, his two directors of nursing worked their way to that position. Many employees, he said, have been working at his facility and at others in the county for anywhere from 10 to 20 years.

“You don’t see a lot of moving around,” Konrad said. “It isn’t a case of the grass is greener here. The nursing homes throughout the area are all quality places to work, and the employees know it.”

The survey also showed that an average of 93 percent of the people in Allegany County and 96 percent in Garrett would recommend the nursing home to other families. In Allegany County, Egle Nursing Home received a 100 percent in this category, but nearly all received a score of more than 90 percent.

“It’s our reputation on the line,” Mary Schriver, executive director of the Beverly Living Center in Cumberland, said. “Reputation is important to us. I think Western Maryland is a warm, friendly place. We are all like family.”

Konrad said the same thing, that the people who work in the facilities in the county are neighbors, friends, even family. Even the people that he works with on a daily basis, from the pharmacists to the physical therapists, are familiar faces. He said that is part of the reason he stayed, despite being brought in for a temporary stay.

“I think Western Maryland is unique,” Konrad said. “I’m here by choice. You don’t come for 90 days and stay for seven years.”

All of the 224 Maryland nursing homes with residents who stayed at least 90 days participated in the survey. More than 17,000 surveys were mailed out and more than half were returned.

“The survey results serve two important purposes: providing comparative performance information to consumers interested in selecting a nursing home for themselves or for a family member, and providing nursing home administrators and staff comparative information on areas where their nursing home excels or where there is opportunity for improvement,” said Bruce Kozlowski, director, Maryland Health Care Commission Center for Long-Term and Community-Based Services.

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.