Benedictine Health Center
935 Kenwood Avenue, Duluth MN 55811 · (218) 723-5957 · 94.79% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Nick Lata
With an address in Duluth, Minnesota, Benedictine Health Center is one of eight available facilities in the city. This facility was given an A- overall, which is one of our higher ratings. In fact, we were so impressed with this nursing home that we ranked it ahead of most of the nursing homes in Duluth, which has a strong selection of nursing homes. The best aspect of this nursing home's impressive profile is its short-term care score. short-term care grades are discussed in the next paragraph
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 96 Beds
CCRC :
Non profit - Corporation
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Short-term Care Quality
In addition to performing well overall, this facility received high marks in the category of short-term care as well. It received our highest grade in that category with an A+. In determining these short-term care grades, we quantify the nursing home's skilled nursing services, such as those performed by registered nurses, speech therapists, physical therapists and other types of skilled professionals. The objective is to create a barometer for sizing up the rehabilitation services of various facilities. This facility excelled in the two key staffing areas we looked at. It offered more care from physical therapists and registered nurses than the average nursing home. This is generally an excellent sign. Lastly, we looked at the number of residents who returned home from this facility. In addition to excelling in the area of physical therapy staffing, we found that it fared as well as just about any nursing home in the country in this area with 68.6 percent of its residents returning home.
Facility Inspections
Adding to this nursing home's impressive resume, we gave this facility an A for inspections. These inspection grades take several factors into consideration, including deficiencies and federal fines. You can learn more about each of these items by reviewing copies of nursing homes' inspection reports. Fortunately, although this place had a few minor dings on its government inspection report, it had zero severe deficiencies. Severe deficiencies are those labeled as categories G, H, I, J, K and L. This means CMS did not deem any of the deficiencies on this facility's report to pose an imminent threat to patient safety or health. A couple minor dings are not something to panic about.
Nurse Quality
Adding to its strong resume, this facility also received an excellent nursing score, with a grade of A-. Our nursing rating is largely based on the facility's level of nurse staffing. This place provides an incredible 4.5 hours of nursing care per resident each day. Out of this total, many of those hours were provided by registered nurses, which is one of the most highly trained levels of nurses. On top of providing impressive levels of care, this facility also performed well in several of the quality measures we assessed. For example, in terms of the percentage of its residents suffering falls resulting in major injury, this place performed as well as any facility the country. Preventing major falls is typically a good indicator that a facility has quality controls in place. Major falls can many times be prevented if more nurses and better safety protocols are employed.
Long-term Care Quality
The next category we scored is long-term care, in which this nursing home was awarded a grade of C. Although this is its poorest category grade, this is nevertheless not a bad grade. Long-term care grades focus on a nursing home's personal care instead of the skilled nursing or healthcare services that are critical to a skilled nursing facility. After assessing the very respectable amount of nursing hours and other staffing provided by this facility, we next considered the facility's vaccination records. This facility vaccinated 97.718636 percent of its patients against pneumonia, which appears to be higher than the majority of nursing homes. This combination proved to be effective as this place also excelled at keeping its patients out of the hospital. Indeed, it had just 1.4 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Benedictine Health Center Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This is the percentage of patients that suffered from a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers are considered to be a measure of the quality of nursing care . Pressure ulcers, which are also referred to as bed sores, are routinely caused by residents not being moved frequently enough.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This is the percent of patients that suffered from a major fall. Falls resulting in major injury are often linked to lower quality nursing care. Additional nurse staffing can limit the percentage of residents in a nursing home who sustain major falls.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This statistic is an indication of the percent of long-term care residents which have experienced UTI's. UTI's could be an indication of worse hygiene protocols. However, this statistic could also be misleading for certain nursing homes due to inconsistent reporting standards for infections.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This statistic measures the percentage of long-term patients who were prescribed antipsychotic medication. High levels of antipsychotic drug use may indicate a facility is using these medications to control patient behavior in situations where such drugs are not medically required. However, some nursing homes may need to rely more on these medications due to an increased number of residents suffering from cognitive disorders.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This statistic tells you the percentage of long-term residents which were given antianxiety medication. These medications are given to patients suffering from depression or anxiety.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This datapoint is a measure of the percentage of long-term patients showing depressive symptoms.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This datapoint is a measure of the percentage of long-term patients that received the flu and pneumonia vaccines. Respiratory viruses can be fatal for seniors, making these types of vaccines vital to patient care.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This indicates the percent of residents who needed additional assistance with activities of daily living over time. Higher levels of needing for assistance with activities of daily living may be a sign of the erosion of a patient's well-being.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This metric tracks the percentage of long-term residents that maintained mobility. Many would argue that mobility is critical to residents' well-being.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
This datapoint measures the number of times residents are hospitalized per thousand days of patient care.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This datapoint measures the number of rehospitalizations per 1,000 days of short-term patient care.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This indicates the number of times residents are sent to the emergency room per thousand days of short-term patient care.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
This datapoint measures the percent of short-term stay residents that saw functional improvements, such as with activities of daily living. Many believe that this is a measure of a nursing home's rehabilitation services.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better