Avoca Specialty Care is the lone facility located in Avoca, Iowa. This nursing home was awarded an overall grade of C, which is a middle of the pack grade. Based on our analysis, there are definitely much worse facilities out there. This facility did not meet our expectations in every category we looked at, but it did not receive any rock-bottom grades either. Additional information about its category grades can be found below.
Avoca Specialty Care
- Nursing Home
- Assisted Living
Updated Sep 1, 2022 by Nick Reese
Quick Details
- Accepts Medicare 1
- Accepts Medicaid 1
- No CCRC
- Has Resident Council
- No Family Council
- Non profit - Corporation
- Offers Hospice
- Offers Respite Care
- Offers Inpatient Rehab
- Offers Outpatient Rehab
Specialized Services
- Personal Care
- Medication Management
- Speech Therapy
- IV Antibiotic Therapy
- Wound Care
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Nutritional Counseling
- Recreational Therapy
- Pain Management
- Lymphedema Care
- Total Parenteral Nutrition
Registered Staff Hours
Nurse Quality
This nursing home's nursing grade is notably better than its overall grade. With a strong performance in this category, it received a quality score in that category with a grade of B. The nursing score is based on many factors. The most heavily weighted variable is the number of hours nurses spend with patients. This nursing home provides 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 facility has reliable quality controls in place. Major falls can often be prevented if more nurses aids and better safety protocols are in place.
Facility Inspections
This nursing home's second best category is inspections. In that area, we gave this facility a grade of B. It actually outperformed most nursing homes in this category. These inspection ratings take several factors into consideration, including deficiencies and federal fines. You can find more information about each of these items by obtaining copies of nursing homes' inspection reports. This facility was assessed 5 deficiencies on its inspection report, but fortunately none of the deficiencies were considered severe. This indicates that the government inspectors did not consider any of these deficiencies to be an immediate risk to patient health or safety. A couple of minor deficiencies should not lead you to cross a nursing home off your list.
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Long-term Care Quality
We also gave this nursing home a solid grade in the area of long-term care, with a C. For prospective residents looking for a permanent place to live as opposed to rehabilitation, long-term care grades are very important. One of the factors we considered on top of nursing hours is vaccines. This nursing home administered the pneumonia vaccine to 93.37748 percent of its patients. Nevertheless, this place keeps its residents out of the hospital. In fact, it had only 0.02 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is an impressively low number.
Short-term Care Quality
The next category we scored is short-term care, ended up being this facility's weakest area. We awarded this facility a grade of D in that area. In determining these short-term care scores, we look at the facility's skilled nursing services, such as those performed by registered nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapists and other types of therapists. Our purpose is to formulate a barometer for comparing the rehabilitation services of different facilities. Considering its score in this area, we weren't surprised to find that this facility is well below average in terms of the number of registered nurse and physical therapy hours provided to its patients based on the metrics we looked at. Honestly, this was what we expected here. Lastly, we assessed the percentage of patients that ultimately were able to return home from this facility. This facility didn't fare well here either. In fact, we found that just 4.8 percent of this facility's patients were able to return home. This figure was well off the national average.
Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Avoca Specialty Care Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
In Avoca Specialty Care, 6.11% of Patients had Pressure Ulcers
This indicates the percentage of residents that have had a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers are considered to be an indicator of nursing care . Pressure ulcers, which are also known as bed sores, are often the result of residents not being moved frequently enough.
Minimizes Serious Falls
In Avoca Specialty Care, 3.69% of Patients had Serious Falls
This metric is a measure of the percent of long-term care patients that have experienced a fall leading to serious injury. Falls can happen for a variety of reasons, but high rates of major falls could be a sign of lower quality nursing care.
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
In Avoca Specialty Care, 3.09% of Patients had UTIs
This tells you the percent of patients that suffered from a urinary tract infection. These infections are sometimes linked to poor hygiene.
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
In Avoca Specialty Care, 16.77% of Patients use Anti-Psychotic Medication
This tells you the percentage of patients who were prescribed antipsychotic drugs. While antipsychotic medications may be vital to many patients, it is important to ensure these medications are being used appropriately. In some cases, increased usage of these drugs may mean a nursing home is using these drugs to control patient behavior.
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
In Avoca Specialty Care, 18.7% of Patients use Anti-Anxiety Medication
This indicates the percent of patients prescribed antianxiety medications. Antianxiety drugs are given to residents experiencing anxiety or depression.
Managing Depression Among Residents
In Avoca Specialty Care, 4.48% of Patients
Measures the percent of long-term care residents who are exhibiting depressive symptoms. Many in the industry would argue this is a reliable measure of patient quality of life.
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
In Avoca Specialty Care, 94.58% of Patients
Measures the percent of long-term residents who received the flu and pneumonia vaccines.
Residents Maintain Autonomy
In Avoca Specialty Care, 16.82% Percentage of Patients
This datapoint is a measure of the percent of long-term patients who needed more assistance with activities of daily living over time. Activities of daily living include activities such as moving around and bathing.
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
In Avoca Specialty Care, 19.24% Percentage of Residents
This indicates the percent of residents who maintained mobility over time. Optimizing mobility can be a great sign for residents' health.
Hospitalizations
In Avoca Specialty Care, 1.24 Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
This metric measures the number of times residents are hospitalized per 1,000 days of patient care.
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
In Avoca Specialty Care, 19.24 Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
This tells you the number of times residents are rehospitalized per 1,000 days of short-term care.
Short-term Care: ER Visits
In Avoca Specialty Care, 11.86 Percentage of Patients
This datapoint is a measure of the number of times residents are sent to the emergency room per 1,000 days of short-term care. Avoiding emergency medical situations is one way to gauge patient well-being during rehabilitation.
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
In Avoca Specialty Care, 79.45% Percentage of Resident
Measures the percent of short-term care residents who experienced functional improvements.
Nearby Hospitals
- Myrtue Medical CenterCritical Access Hospitals 10.06 miles away1213 Garfield Avenue Harlan Iowa 51537Voluntary non-profit - Other(712) 755-5161
- Cass County Memorial HospitalCritical Access Hospitals 18.94 miles away1501 East Tenth Street Atlantic Iowa 50022Government - Local(712) 243-3250
Nearby Dialysis
- Harlan Dialysis10.01 miles away1213 Garfield Avenue Harlan Iowa 51537Dialysis Stations: 6 (712) 755-4257
- Atlantic Dialysis18.93 miles away1500 E 10th Street Ste B Atlantic Iowa 50022Dialysis Stations: 6 (712) 243-7485