Big Sky Care Center
2475 Winne Ave, Helena MT 59601 · (406) 442-1350 · 32.03% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Nick Reese
Big Sky Care Center is an average-sized nursing home located in Helena, Montana. This nursing home received an overall rating of F. Keep in mind that Helena received a city grade of C, so should look at other options in the city as well. We wouldn't blame you if you are ready to stop reading and find another facility. However, if you want to learn more about this place's category grades, we will discuss nursing in the next paragraph.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 108 Beds
CCRC :
For profit - Limited Liability company
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Nurse Quality
Even though we graded this nursing home incredibly poorly overall, it received a fairly respectable nursing rating this year. We gave it a B- in that category. When computing our nursing ratings, we analyze both the number of hours nurses spend with residents and the training levels of the nurses. This nursing home averages 3.7 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Lastly, we also factored a few quality-based metrics into our nursing grades. This place was relatively weak in two of the areas we focus on, with below average scores for minimizing its patients' major falls and pressure ulcers. These areas are generally reliable indicators of the quality of nursing care provided.
Short-term Care Quality
Remarkably, we awarded this facility a grade of B- for our short-term care rating, which isn't too bad of a score. In calculating our short-term care ratings, we quantify the nursing home's skilled nursing services, such as those performed by registered nurses, speech therapists, physical therapists and other types of therapists. Our purpose is to devise a tool for comparing the rehabilitation services of different nursing homes. This facility was satisfactory in the two key staffing areas we looked at. It offered a reasonable level of care from both physical therapists and registered nurses. Lastly, we looked at the number of residents who were able to return to the community from this facility. This place outperformed most facilities in this metric with 56.7 percent of its residents returning home. This really bolstered its score in this area.
Facility Inspections
Among this nursing home's alarming category grades was a lowly F for its inspection rating. More often than not, this indicates we found red flags on the nursing home's government inspections. You should pay close attention to any deficiencies on a nursing home's inspection reports when it receives this bad of an inspection grade. We would pay close attention to the severity of those deficiencies. This particular nursing home was assessed a category J or K deficiency, which are among the worst deficiencies. Another red flag is that CMS cited this nursing home for possible abuse or neglect. Hopefully, its performance improves in the future, but until then we simply can't recommend this facility.
Long-term Care Quality
The last category we graded is long-term care. This facility received a poor grade of F in this area. In a long-term care setting, the nursing home's primary goal is to maintain patients' quality of life and keep them safe. One of the data points we considered after nursing hours is vaccinations. Thankfully, this facility provided the pneumonia vaccination to 97.93103 percent of its patients. To our surprise, this facility was able to limit hospitalizations. Although it had 1.75 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days, its risk adjusted metric wasn't bad since it had some more complex patients.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Big Sky Care Center Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This tells you the percentage of patients who have had a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers are considered by many in the nursing home industry to be a barometer of nursing care at a nursing home. Pressure ulcers, which are also known as bed sores, are routinely the result of residents not being moved frequently enough.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This is the percentage of patients that suffered from a major fall. Falls leading to severe injuries are often the result of lower quality nursing care. Better nursing protocols can reduce the number of major falls sustained by residents in a nursing home.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This is the percentage of patients who sustained a urinary tract infection. Urinary tract infections are considered by many experts to be an indicator of nursing care at a nursing home. UTI's are often caused by worse hygiene protocols. Nevertheless, this statistic could be skewed for certain facilities due to inconsistent reporting standards for urinary tract infections.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This is the percentage of patients given antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotic drugs are given to patients for a variety of conditions, such as cognitive disorders. Unfortunately, in some situations, high levels of antipsychotic drug use may mean that a facility is using these medications to control patient behavior.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This figure measures the percent of long-term patients who were given antianxiety medication. These drugs are typically prescribed to residents experiencing depression or anxiety.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This indicates the percentage of residents who are exhibiting signs of depression.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This indicates the percentage of residents who were given the flu and pneumonia vaccines. High vaccination rates should be demanded by residents.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This tells you the percentage of residents who required more assistance with activities of daily living over time. Higher levels of needing for assistance with ADL's may be a sign of the deterioration of a resident's medical condition.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This datapoint is a measure of the percentage of long-term care residents that maintained mobility.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
This datapoint is a measure of the number of hospitalizations per 1,000 days of patient care.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This tells you the number of rehospitalizations per thousand days of short-term patient care. There is usually a correlation between keeping patients out of the hospital and the quality of rehabilitation services.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This is the number of emergency room visits per thousand days of short-term patient care. There is usually a correlation between having fewer emergency room visits and the quality of rehabilitation.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
This indicates the percent of short-term stay residents who saw functional improvements, such as enhanced ability to perform activities of daily living.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better