Ashland Healthcare

On top of earning a great overall score, this facility also received an elite nursing grade. We gave them one of our better scores in that area, with an A. We scrutinized the levels of nurses at the nursing home, as well as the number of hours those nurses were with patients, in computing our score in this area. This nursing home averages 0.3 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Finally, our nursing grades also factor in quality-based assessments, such as avoiding major falls. This nursing home performed well in this area. Avoiding major falls is typically a good indicator that a nursing home has reliable quality controls in place. Major falls can many times be prevented if more nurses aids and better safety protocols are in place.

This nursing home also excelled in inspections. In fact, we gave it an B+ for that category, which is one of our highest grades. This is one of the few nursing homes with an overall grade in this range which received multiple category grades this high. Inspection scores weigh several factors found on a nursing home's inspection report. One key criteria we rely on is the number and severity of deficiencies. Places with better scores in this area typically have very few severe deficiencies. While this place had a few deficiencies on its inspection report, none were severe based on CMS' scale. The fact that none of the deficiencies were severe leaves us less concerned with this inspection report.

This nursing home was given its next highest category score in the category of short-term care. We awarded this nursing home a B- in this category, which is a decent grade. In computing our short-term care scores, we look at the nursing home's levels of highly skilled nursing, which includes registered nurses, physical therapists speech therapists and other types of therapists. This score is often a reliable assessment of the facility's ability to rehabilitate patients. We weren't able to locate information about this nursing home's registered nurse or physical therapy staffing. Lastly, we considered the number of residents who were able to return to the community from this nursing home. We found that 0 percent of this facility's residents returned home. At most facilities, closer to half of their residents are able to return home so this figure is below average.

The last category we assessed is long-term care. We awarded it a C in this area. This is not a bad grade in this category. In computing our long-term care scores, we assess the assistance with daily living received by a nursing home's patients. On top of looking at the amount of care provided by aids and other staff, we analyzed the percentage of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This facility administered the vaccine to 100 percent of its patients. This place keeps 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 number.