Alto Lucero Transitional Care
3880 via Lucero, Santa Barbara CA 93110 · (805) 687-6651 · 80.32% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Sara Levinsohn
Alto Lucero Transitional Care is a large nursing home located in Santa Barbara, California. This is a well below average facility, with an overall grade of D. If you are not happy with this facility's relatively poor overall grade, you will be pleased to know there are six other nursing homes in Santa Barbara. We wouldn't blame you if you're ready to stop reading and find another nursing home. However, if you want to learn more about this facility's category grades, inspection reports are discussed in the next section.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 156 Beds
CCRC :
For profit - Corporation
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Facility Inspections
Although we did not have many positive things to say about this place's overall score, it did receive a somewhat respectable inspection report this year. It received a decent grade in that area with a score of B-. We take several aspects of a facility's inspection report into consideration in calculating our inspection grades. One key factor is deficiencies. You should keep in mind that the severity of the deficiencies is arguably more meaningful than the number of deficiencies, as some deficiencies can be relatively minor. This facility received 7 deficiencies on its inspection report, but fortunately none of the deficiencies were considered to be major deficiencies. This means that CMS didn't consider any of the deficiencies to create an imminent risk to patient safety or health. A couple minor deficiencies aren't the end of the world.
Nurse Quality
We also awarded this facility a grade of B- for our nursing rating. Our nursing grade is primarily tied to the facility's nurse staffing. Based on the CMS data, this nursing home offers 3.7 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Lastly, we also looked at a few quality-based metrics in calculating our nursing ratings. This facility was above average in two of the major metrics we assessed, including minimizing its residents' pressure ulcers and major falls. These datapoints are generally reliable measures of the quality of nursing care provided.
Long-term Care Quality
This nursing home's next most favorable area turned out to be long-term care. In that category, we awarded this facility a grade of B-. Our long-term care grade focuses on a facility's assistance with daily living instead of the skilled therapy and medical services that are critical to a rehabilitation facility. On top of looking at the volume of care provided by nurses and other staff, we also looked at the number of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. Thankfully, this nursing home gave the vaccine to 100 percent of its residents, which is a very respectable percentage. Finally, this facility was also able to limit hospitalizations. Indeed, it had less than one hospitalization per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is an impressively low number.
Short-term Care Quality
The final category we graded is short-term care. We awarded it a grade of C in this area. This is a decent grade in this category. With our short-term care grade, we attempt to create a valuable measure for rehabilitation. In doing so, we look at a facility's offerings of skilled nursing services, including both registered nurses and physical therapy, as well as respiratory therapy. This nursing home employs both physical therapists and registered nurses. Not all facilities employ these skilled professionals. Lastly, we assessed the number of patients who ultimately returned home from this nursing home. This place performed respectably in this area with 45.2 percent of its patients returning home.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Alto Lucero Transitional Care Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This is the percent of residents that have had a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers are skin damage due to remaining in the same position for too long.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This is the percentage of residents who sustained a major fall. Falls leading to serious injuries are considered to be a barometer of the quality of nursing care . Major falls which result in injury are often caused by poor nursing care.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This indicates the percentage of residents who have had a urinary tract infection. These infections are sometimes associated with poor hygiene.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This tells you the percent of residents who were given antipsychotic medications. These medications are sometimes used for several medical conditions, including dementia.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This indicates the percent of residents prescribed antianxiety medications. Antianxiety drugs are administered to residents suffering from anxiety or depression.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This indicates the percent of patients showing symptoms of depression.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This datapoint is a measure of the percent of long-term patients that were vaccinated against pneumonia and flu.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
Measures the percentage of long-term residents who needed additional assistance with activities of daily living over time. ADL's include activities such as taking medications and taking a bath. Many argue that this is a reliable measure of a resident's well-being.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This tells you the percent of patients that were able to retain mobility over time. Retaining mobility is often a great sign for residents' well-being.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
This metric tracks the number of hospitalizations per 1,000 days of patient care. Staying out of the hospital is critical to the physical health of nursing home residents.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This indicates the number of times residents are rehospitalized per thousand days of short-term patient care.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This metric measures the number of times residents are sent to the emergency room per 1,000 days of short-term patient care. Staying out of the emergency room is one way to assess the well-being of patients during rehabilitation.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
This is a measure of the percentage of short-term care patients who experienced functional improvements.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better