With an address in Forest Lake, Minnesota, Birchwood Health Care Center is the lone facility we identified in this area. We gave this facility an overall grade of D. A score of this caliber generally indicates some concerning datapoints. This was not the worse facility we looked at, however, we would still be very reluctant to recommend it. More information on this nursing home's category grades may be found below. Its best category was inspections, which is addressed in the next paragraph.
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Birchwood Health Care Center
- Nursing Home
- Assisted Living
- Memory Care
Updated Nov 1, 2023 by Nick Reese
Note: Birchwood Health Care Center has been flagged for abuse in the past 12 months. We have capped this facility's overall grade accordingly.
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- Accepts Medicare 1
- Accepts Medicaid 1
- No CCRC
- Has Resident Council
- Has Family Council
- Non profit - Corporation
- Secure Memory Care
- Offers Post-Acute Care
- Offers Inpatient Rehab
Specialized Services
- Personal Care
- Medication Management
- Home Making
- Speech Therapy
- Stroke Recovery
- IV Antibiotic Therapy
- Wound Care
- Occupational Therapy
- Diabetes Management
- Physical Therapy
- Nutritional Counseling
- Recreational Therapy
- Pain Management
- Bariatric Care
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Registered Staff Hours
Facility Inspections
Although we did not have many positive things to say about this nursing home's overall score, it did receive a somewhat respectable government inspection report this year. It received a decent score in that area with a B-. We believe that one of the most critical factors in assessing an inspection report is deficiencies. We especially look at the severity of those 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. Lastly, this facility was flagged by CMS for possible abuse or neglect. We prefer to avoid facilities with this designation. Please do your best to find an alternative nursing home.
Nurse Quality
We also want to point out that this facility received a decent grade in our nursing category. We awarded it a grade of B- in the area. Nursing scores are heavily correlated with levels of nurse staffing. This place provides 0.3 hours of nursing care per patient on a daily basis. This is a much lower figure than we were hoping for. Lastly, we also assessed some nursing quality-based metrics. Although this place got docked a bit for nursing hours, it excelled in some of these quality metrics. With less than five percent of its patients sustaining pressure ulcers, it fared well in this subcategory. This is typically a good indicator of quality nursing care. Pressure ulcers can often be avoided by offering better nursing care, such as employing a protocol of moving residents at least once a day.
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Short-term Care Quality
The third area we assessed is short-term care. In that category, we awarded this nursing home a solid grade of B-. In determining our short-term care grades, we assess a nursing home's levels of skilled nursing services, which includes registered nurses, physical therapists occupational therapists and other highly skilled individuals. This area is more often than not a solid assessment of a facility's ability to rehabilitate patients. We found that this facility was below average in the two key staffing areas we focus on. In fact, it supplied fewer registered nurse and physical therapist hours per resident than most other facilities. Lastly, we assessed the percentage of patients who were able to return to the community from this nursing home. We found that 6.5 percent of this facility's residents returned home. At most facilities, closer to half of their patients are able to return home so this figure is below average.
Long-term Care Quality
The final category we scored was long-term care. We gave this nursing home a B- in that category. In the category of long-term care, we focus more on the quantity of care provided by a nursing home, rather than more healthcare-oriented services. After assessing the amount of care provided by nurses aids and other staff, we then looked at the facility's vaccination record. We were pleased to discover that this facility vaccinated 99.57806 percent of its residents for pneumonia. Finally, this place was also able to limit hospitalizations. Indeed, it had only 0 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days, which is an impressively low figure.
Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Birchwood Health Care Center Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 2.25% of Patients had Pressure Ulcers
This is the percent of patients who have had a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers, which are also referred to as bed sores, are routinely caused by patients not being moved frequently enough. Better nursing care can reduce the percentage of residents in a nursing home who sustain pressure ulcers.
Minimizes Serious Falls
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 4.64% of Patients had Serious Falls
This tells you the percent of patients who have had a fall which resulted in serious injury.
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 2.54% of Patients had UTIs
This tells you the percentage of residents that have had a urinary tract infection. These infections could be linked to poor hygiene.
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 15.02% of Patients use Anti-Psychotic Medication
This figure is a measure of the percentage of long-term stay residents that are given antipsychotic drugs. Increased usage of these drugs may indicate that a nursing home is using these medications to control patient behavior in scenarios where such medications are not medically indicated. Nevertheless, some facilities need to rely on these drugs due to having more patients with dementia.
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 2.51% of Patients use Anti-Anxiety Medication
This measures the percentage of long-term patients that are prescribed antianxiety medication. These drugs are commonly used to treat residents suffering from depression or anxiety.
Managing Depression Among Residents
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 7.14% of Patients
This is the percentage of residents demonstrating depressive symptoms.
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 96.3% of Patients
Measures the percent of long-term stay residents that received the flu and pneumonia vaccines. Respiratory viruses can be very dangerous for seniors, making these types of vaccines indispensable.
Residents Maintain Autonomy
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 11.62% of Patients
This is a measure of the percent of long-term stay residents who required more assistance with activities of daily living over time. ADL's include activities such as moving around and continence.
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 15.24% of Residents
This datapoint is a measure of the percentage of long-term patients that maintained mobility.
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 15.24% of Residents Rehospitalized
This is the number of times residents are rehospitalized per 1,000 days of short-term care. There is typically a correlation between keeping patients out of the hospital and the quality of rehabilitation services.
Short-term Care: ER Visits
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 26.88% of Patients
This tells you the number of emergency room visits per thousand days of short-term care.
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
In Birchwood Health Care Center, 77.57% of Resident
This indicates the percent of short-term stay residents who saw functional improvements, such as with activities of daily living.
Nearby Hospitals
- Fairview Lakes Medical CenterAcute Care Hospitals 2.61 miles away5200 Fairview Boulevard Wyoming Minnesota 55092Voluntary non-profit - Private(763) 389-6481
- Ladd Memorial HospitalCritical Access Hospitals 13.76 miles away2600 65th Avenue Osceola Wisconsin 54020Voluntary non-profit - Private(715) 294-2111
- Healtheast St John's HospitalAcute Care Hospitals 18.03 miles away1575 Beam Avenue Saint Paul Minnesota 55109Voluntary non-profit - Private(651) 232-7000
- Lakeview Memorial HospitalAcute Care Hospitals 18.3 miles away927 West Churchill Street Stillwater Minnesota 55082Voluntary non-profit - Private(651) 430-5330
- St Croix Regional Medical CenterCritical Access Hospitals 18.55 miles away235 State Street Saint Croix Falls Wisconsin 54024Voluntary non-profit - Private(715) 483-0556
Nearby Dialysis
- Davita - Wyoming Dialysis2.45 miles away5657 257th St Wyoming Minnesota 55092Dialysis Stations: 12 (651) 408-8938
- Fmc - Blaine Dialysis13.6 miles away12555 Central Ave Ne Minneapolis Minnesota 55434Dialysis Stations: 13 (763) 754-6774
- Central Avenue Dialysis14.65 miles away10994 Baltimore St Ne Minneapolis Minnesota 55449Dialysis Stations: 12 (763) 786-5026
- Fmc Dialysis - North Suburban17.6 miles away9144 Springbrook Dr Nw Minneapolis Minnesota 55433CMS Rating: 2 stars Dialysis Stations: 18 (763) 783-0103
- Fmc - Maplewood Heights17.61 miles away1725 Legacy Pkwy E Ste 200 Saint Paul Minnesota 55109CMS Rating: 3 stars Dialysis Stations: 12 (651) 748-7989
- Arden Hills Dialysis of Davita17.71 miles away3900 Northwoods Dr Ste 110 Saint Paul Minnesota 55112Dialysis Stations: 12 (651) 483-3159
- Maplewood Dialysis of Davita18.16 miles away2785 White Bear Ave, Suite 201 Saint Paul Minnesota 55109Dialysis Stations: 16 (651) 779-2222
- Coon Rapids Dialysis of Davita18.51 miles away3960 Coon Rapids Blvd, Suite 309 Minneapolis Minnesota 55433Dialysis Stations: 16 (763) 421-8717