Algoma Long Term Care Unit

To go along with its strong overall grade, we awarded this nursing home a grade of A+ for our inspections rating. Our inspection ratings weigh a host of factors found on a nursing home's inspection reports. One key criteria we consider is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. Places with higher grades in this category tend to have very few of these severe deficiencies. This place was hit with 3 deficiencies on its inspection report, but none of the deficiencies were considered severe. This indicates that the inspectors didn't deem any of the deficiencies an immediate threat to resident health or safety. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.

One of the other reasons we rated this facility so highly is that it received a very impressive nursing grade. In that area, we awarded this nursing home an A+. Nursing ratings are based largely on nurse staffing levels. This facility provides an incredible 4.9 hours of nursing care per patient daily. Out of that total, many of the hours were provided by registered nurses, which is one of the more highly trained levels of nurses. In addition to offering impressive levels of nursing care, this place also excelled in the quality measures we looked at. By way of illustration, it performed as well as any nursing home in the country in terms of minimizing its residents' major falls and pressure ulcers. We view these metrics as good measures of the caliber of nursing care offered.

We also awarded this nursing home a of A+ for its long-term care grade. When facilities receive a grade in this range in long-term care it generally means it has plenty of staff and is an overall good place to live on a permanent basis. In addition to considering the volume of care provided by aids and other staff, we analyzed the percentage of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This facility gave the vaccine to 95.55555 percent of its patients, which is very impressive. Pneumonia is too frequently a life or death ailment for nursing home patients so we strongly prefer when a nursing home doesn't leave its residents vulnerable. Lastly, this facility was able to limit hospitalizations. With just 1.51 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days, this facility has less hospitalizations than the majority of nursing homes.

In our last category, this facility also was given a first-rate short-term care grade, with an A. This completed a straight A report card. Our short-term care ratings are based in part on a nursing home's quantity of skilled skilled healthcare professionals. This means a vast spectrum of nursing services, spanning from registered nurses to physical and occupational therapists, in addition to other forms of therapy. One of this nursing home's strengths is registered nurse hours. We found that it offers more care from registered nurses to its residents than most facilities. The final item we assessed in this category is the number of patients who were able to leave the facility and return home. We found that it fared as well as just about any nursing home in Wisconsin in this area with 63.7 percent of its residents returning home. For most facilities, less than half of their short-term residents ever return home.