HAVERHILL (Aug. 16, 2012) — Pizza parties greeted employees of two Haverhill nursing homes upon release of top ratings for each home by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Lakeview House Skilled Nursing and Residential Care Facility and Baker-Katz Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, both of Haverhill, were again deemed “deficiency free” by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Division of Health Care Quality after separate surveys.

“It is entirely appropriate to reward staff of each facility since they have worked well above and beyond the calls of duty to create safe, clean and home-like atmospheres,” said Jon D. Guarino, president of Guarino-Grimes LLC, managers of the two nursing homes. “The ability of staff, quality of care and cleanliness are among the criteria the state uses to rank health care settings,” he explained. Guarino also thanked William P. Grimes, administrator of Baker-Katz, and James F. Grimes, administrator of Lakeview House, at separate parties for consistently achieving high ratings.

The Commonwealth inspects nursing homes at least every nine to 15 months.

According to the state, five critical areas of each nursing home with more than 100 items are evaluated. These include administration, nursing, resident rights, kitchen and food services and the environment.

Lakeview House Skilled Nursing and Residential Care Facility, founded during the mid-1940s, provides 26 licensed skilled care beds and 65 residential care beds. It came under current management in 1983. Baker-Katz Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, founded during the mid-1960s, provides 72 licensed skilled care beds. It came under current management in 2001.