Aberjona Nursing Center

We also want to emphasize the fact that this facility excelled in our nursing rating. We gave them an impressive grade of A+ in this category. Nursing grades are heavily correlated with nurse staffing levels. This nursing home averages 0.4 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Finally, we also looked at several nursing quality measures and this facility excelled in some of these areas. With less than five percent of its residents sustaining pressure ulcers, it performed as well as any place the state in this category. This is generally a good indicator of quality nursing care. Pressure ulcers can often be prevented by offering better nursing care, such as employing a policy of turning residents at least once a day.

We also awarded this nursing home a grade of A+ for its long-term care grade. When nursing homes receive this type of score in long-term care it is a good sign for resident care and suggests that the facility is well-staffed with nurses aids. After considering the quantity of care provided by aids and other staff, we turned to the facility's vaccination records. This nursing home vaccinated 100 percent of its patients against pneumonia, which is far higher than the vast majority of nursing homes. Clearly, this place is doing something right in this area as it was able to keep its residents out of the hospital. It had less than one hospitalization per one thousand long-term resident days, which is an impressively low number.

In the third category we looked at, this facility received quality marks in the category of short-term care. As a result, it was given one of our highest scores in that category with a of A+. Our short-term care grades are probably most critical for individuals requiring rehabilitation from their nursing home. Rehabilitation usually mandates additional skilled nursing. This means not just nursing services, but also physical and occupational therapy, as well as other types of therapy. Fortunately, it looks like this nursing home has registered nurses on staff. Not all facilities employs these types of nurses. On the other hand, based on the information this nursing home provided, it does not look like the facility employs physical therapists. Lastly, we looked at the percentage of residents who who were able to eventually return home from this nursing home. We found that 6.1 percent of this facility's residents returned home.

Lastly, this nursing home has earned near flawless government inspections in recent years. We awarded them an A in this category. This is one of the few facilities in the nation to receive an A- or better in all four categories. Our inspection ratings account for a host of factors included in a nursing home's inspection reports. One of the most important criteria we consider is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. Nursing homes with better grades in this area typically have very few severe deficiencies. This particular nursing home had just a single deficiency on its inspection report and it was not one deemed to pose a threat to patient health or safety. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.