Arleigh Burke Pavilion

In addition to a phenomenal overall grade, this facility also received A+ nursing grade. Nursing ratings are based in large part on levels of nurse staffing. This particular nursing home provided 0.6 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Finally, we also looked at several nursing quality-based metrics 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 many times be avoided by offering better nursing care, such as by employing a system of turning residents more often.

This nursing home also was awarded an A+ short-term care grade, making it one of the few facilities to receive several A+ category grades. In forming these short-term care ratings, we quantify the nursing home's skilled nursing services, such as those performed by registered nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists and other types of skilled professionals. Our goal is to devise a barometer for comparing the rehabilitation services of different nursing homes. Fortunately, it appear that this facility has registered nurses on staff. Not every facility employs these types of nurses. On the other hand, based on the data they provided, they do not appear to employ physical therapists. The last datapoint we considered in this area is the number of patients who were able to return home from the facility. We found that 6.9 percent of this nursing home's residents returned home as opposed to remaining at the facility on a permanent basis.

Adding to this facility's impressive resume, we awarded this nursing home a grade of A for our inspections rating. Our inspection ratings weigh a host of factors included in a nursing home's inspection reports. One of the most important criteria we look at is the number and severity of deficiencies. Nursing homes with better grades in this category generally have few of these severe deficiencies. While this place had some minor dings on its report, it had no severe deficiencies. Severe deficiencies are labeled as categories G through L. This means CMS did not deem any of the deficiencies on this facility's report to pose an imminent threat to patient health or safety. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.

Switching gears to the next area, this nursing home also excelled in our long-term care category. In fact, we awarded it a grade of A for that category. This wrapped up a straight A report card. Nursing homes that receive this type of score in this category typically provide consistent around the clock care to ensure residents are kept in good health. Once we assessed the volume of care provided by aids and other staff, we then analyzed the facility's vaccination record. This facility vaccinated 100 percent of its residents against pneumonia, which is significantly higher than most nursing homes. Clearly, this place is doing something right in this area as it also excelled at keeping its patients out of the hospital. In fact, it had less than one hospitalization per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is an impressively low figure.