Baldomero Lopez Memorial Veterans Nursing Home

We also wanted to emphasize that this facility has received near flawless inspections recently. We awarded them an A+ in this category. 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. Facilities with higher scores in this category usually have few severe deficiencies. This particular nursing home had just a single deficiency on its inspection report and it was not one deemed to pose a threat to patient health or safety. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.

One of the other reasons we rated this facility so highly is that it received a very impressive nursing grade. In fact, nursing turned out to be its second best category grade. In that area, we awarded this nursing home an A+. Our nursing score is based on several subcategories, many of which are tied to levels of nurse staffing. This facility provided 0.6 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Finally, we also assessed some nursing quality measures in determining our nursing grades. This place performed very well when it comes to avoiding pressure ulcers and major falls. We consider these areas to be good indicators of the quality of nursing care.

Moving on our third category, we awarded this nursing home a grade of A for its long-term care grade. This is a first-rate score. Long-term care scores in this range generally require both 24/7 care from nurses and aids, as well as quality routine medical care. One of the statistics we considered on top of nursing hours is vaccinations. This nursing home administered the pneumonia vaccination to 100 percent of its residents. This is a proven method to minimize negative health outcomes for the nursing home population. Finally, this facility was able to limit hospitalizations. It had only 0.01 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low number.

Switching gears to the last category, this facility was awarded an extremely favorable short-term care rating. We awarded it a grade of A- in this area, resulting in this facility receiving straight A's. In determining our short-term care scores, we assess a facility's levels of highly skilled nursing, which includes registered nurses, physical therapists speech therapists and other highly trained professionals. This category is more often than not a useful assessment of a facility's rehabilitation. Fortunately, it looks like this facility employs registered nurses. Not every nursing home employs these types of nurses. On the other hand, based on the data this nursing home provided, they do not appear to employ physical therapists. Lastly, we looked at the number of patients who were able to return to the community from this facility. We found that 0 percent of this facility's patients returned home.