Meadowbrook at Chetek

To go along with its strong overall grade, we awarded this nursing home a grade of A- for our inspections rating. Our inspection scores weigh a host of factors found on a facility's inspection report. One of the most important criteria we consider is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. Places with higher grades in this area typically have few severe deficiencies. Fortunately, although this facility had some minor dings on its report, it had zero severe deficiencies. Severe deficiencies are those labeled as categories G through L. This means that CMS didn't deem any of the deficiencies on this facility's report to pose an imminent threat to patient safety or health. The fact that the deficiencies were relatively minor leaves us less concerned with this inspection report.

Adding to its strong performance in other categories, we gave this nursing home an B+ for our nursing rating. Our nursing score is mostly associated with the nursing home's level of nurse staffing. This particular nursing home provided 0.4 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Finally, we also looked at several nursing quality measures 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 nursing home the nation in this category. This is generally a good indicator of quality nursing care. Pressure ulcers can often be avoided by offering better nursing care, such as by having a policy of turning a resident at least once a day.

This nursing home received its third best category score in the area of short-term care. We awarded this facility a B- in this category, which is a reasonably acceptable grade. Our short-term care scores are considered to be most important for individuals in need of rehabilitation from their nursing home. Rehabilitation generally mandates more skilled nursing. This means not only nursing services, but also physical and respiratory therapy, as well as other forms of therapy. Fortunately, it looks like this facility has registered nurses on staff. Not all nursing homes employs these types of nurses. However, according to the data this nursing home provided, it does not look like the facility employs physical therapists. Finally, we considered the number of patients who were able to return to the community from this nursing home. We found that 3.8 percent of this facility's patients returned home. At most nursing homes, closer to half of their residents are able to return home so this figure is below average.

Moving on to the next area, this facility received a C in long-term care, which is an acceptable rating. Our long-term care ratings are more critical for individuals needing more traditional assistance related to activities of daily living. In addition to looking at the volume of care provided by aids and other staff, we looked at the number of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This facility provided the vaccine to 100 percent of its residents, which is more than most nursing homes. Lastly, this nursing home was also able to limit hospitalizations. Indeed, it had only 0.02 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low number.