Life Care Center of Merrimack Valley sits in North Billerica, Massachusetts, and has 124 certified beds with private and semi-private rooms, and while it sees about 104 residents daily, it's managed by Life Care Centers of America since December 2015. The facility keeps a steady focus on senior health care and skilled nursing, and it gets steady high ratings over time, with an overall A grade and strong nurse quality ratings. People there get 4.15 nurse hours per resident each day, which is more than the state average, and nurse turnover stands below the statewide rate. Skilled nursing staff, including registered nurses, LPNs, aides, and therapists, are on hand 24 hours, with services covering wound management, IV therapy, suction and oxygen therapies, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech pathologists who manage swallowing disorders using VitalStim® and Parkinson's therapy programs like BIG™ and LOUD™.
The building offers both short-term rehab and long-term care, with options for post-acute care, respite stays, and more advanced levels such as trach care, dialysis, secured memory care for Alzheimer's and dementia, and intermediate care, while also running programs for diabetes management, medication oversight, homemaking, transportation, and nutritional counseling. It provides Closed Pulse Irrigation™ wound care and uses up-to-date equipment and a therapy team that makes personal care plans. There's a special focus on fall prevention, reducing off-label antipsychotic use, and end-of-life care, with campaigns for flu shots and sepsis education. Residents can pay privately or use Medicaid, Medicare, and other options.
The center doesn't have resident or family councils, but it has feedback systems and a Facebook page for updates, and Holly Ruskey is the Admission Coordinator while Therese LaRose leads business development, so there's always someone helping guide new arrivals or handling business needs. Life Care Center is part of the Massachusetts Healthcare Safety and Quality Consortium, and while it's earned strong marks, it's also on the Special Focus Facility Candidate list due to past serious quality issues, and has been fined for problems related to infection control and keeping residents safe from harm, though it now has policies in place aimed at preventing abuse, neglect, and exploitation and works to fix past inspection deficiencies. The facility builds individual rehab plans and care transitions for people who need help moving between hospitals, rehab, and home or different kinds of living situations, and staff handles care planning for many different needs, so people can expect skilled nursing, memory support, and attention to both daily living and more serious health problems under one roof.
