Allegiant Healthcare of Phoenix

While we gave this place a weak overall score, we awarded it a somewhat respectable score in the area of inspections, where we gave it a B-. This was better than its other categories. We would argue that one of the most important factors in evaluating an inspection report is deficiencies. We especially look at the severity of those deficiencies. While this nursing home had a few deficiencies on its government inspection report, none were major deficiencies based on CMS' deficiency scale. Finally, this facility was cited by CMS for possible abuse or neglect. We would not recommend this facility under any circumstance.

One of the other reasons we graded this facility so highly is that it received a very impressive nursing score. In fact, nursing turned out to be its second best category grade. In that category, we awarded this facility an B-. In determining our nursing ratings, we factor in both staffing levels and the levels of licensure of those nurses. This place provides only 0 hours of nursing care per resident on a daily basis. This is a somewhat alarming figure which is well below the national average. Finally, we also looked at several nursing quality measures. While this facility got dinged a bit for its nursing hours, it excelled in some of these quality metrics. With fewer than five percent of its residents suffering from pressure ulcers, it did very well in this statistic. This can be an indicator of quality nursing care. Pressure ulcers can typically be avoided by offering better nursing care, such as by employing a policy of moving residents more often.

The next category we looked at is short-term care, where this nursing home received a B- in this category. In forming our short-term care ratings, we quantify the facility's skilled nursing services, including those performed by registered nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists and other types of skilled professionals. The goal is to devise a tool for sizing up the rehabilitation services of different nursing homes. We were surprised to find that this place was below average in the two key staffing areas we assessed. The facility offered fewer physical therapist and registered nurse hours per resident than most other nursing homes. It is important to determine whether this is adversely impacting the quality of care. Finally, we looked at the number of patients that eventually returned home from this facility. We found that 5.3 percent of this facility's patients were able to return home. This figure was actually quite a bit below average.

This facility's least impressive area is long-term care, which is the final area we looked at. For this area, we awarded this nursing home a D. For patients looking for a permanent residence rather than skilled nursing, long-term care grades are very important. After assessing the volume of care provided by aids and other staff, we then analyzed the nursing home's vaccination statistics. This nursing home vaccinated 98.75777 percent of its residents against pneumonia, which is more than most nursing homes. To our surprise, this facility was able to limit hospitalizations. With only 0 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days, this facility has fewer hospitalizations than many nursing homes. Sadly, a few of its other scores in this category were not as favorable as these.