Briarwood Healthcare Center
605 Greenwood Drive, Iowa City IA 52246 · (319) 338-7912 · 75% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Sara Levinsohn
Located in Iowa City, Iowa, Briarwood Healthcare Center is one of just three facilities in the area. This facility is among the top nursing homes we found. Being awarded an A+ in our rating system requires first-rate marks across the board. Based on our analysis, you can't go wrong with this facility. Headlining this place's stellar report card is its inspection grade, which you can find in the next paragraph.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 62 Beds
CCRC :
For profit - Partnership
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Facility Inspections
To pair with a strong overall grade, we awarded this nursing home an A+ for our inspections rating. We take several aspects of a facility's inspection report into consideration in determining our inspection ratings. One key factor is health deficiencies. It should be noted that the severity of deficiencies is usually more important than the quantity of deficiencies, as some of these can be relatively minor. While this nursing home had some minor dings on its inspection report, it had zero severe deficiencies. Severe deficiencies are ones labeled as categories G, H, I, J, K and L. This means that the inspectors did not consider any of the deficiencies on this facility's report to pose an imminent threat to patient safety or health. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.
Long-term Care Quality
An additional reason we assessed this facility so favorably is that it received an A+ long-term care score. This is just about as dominant as it gets in this category. Long-term care grades in this range generally require both around the clock care from nurses and aids, as well as quality routine healthcare services. After assessing the impressive nursing care provided by this nursing home, we turned to the facility's vaccination data. This facility vaccinated 99.386505 percent of its patients against pneumonia, which is much higher than the average nursing home. Finally, this place was able to limit hospitalizations. With only 1.06 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days, this nursing home has less hospitalizations than the majority of nursing homes.
Nurse Quality
Another reason we rated this nursing home so highly is that it received an A+ nursing grade. This is simply as good as it gets in this category. There are quite a few datapoints included in this grade. Many of these subcategories relate to levels of nurse staffing. This place provides an incredible 4.6 hours of nursing care per resident on a daily basis. This is much better than what is offered by most places. Lastly, this nursing home also excelled in the quality measures we assessed. It performed as well as any nursing home the country when it comes to minimizing its residents' major falls and pressure ulcers.
Short-term Care Quality
The fourth area we assessed was short-term care, where this nursing home was awarded an A-. This wrapped up a very strong report card. Only a select few nursing homes earned an A- or higher in all four categories. In our short-term care rating, we strive to create a sound gauge for rehabilitation. In doing so, we assess a nursing home's levels of skilled nursing services, including both registered nurses and physical therapy, as well as occupational therapy. When we assessed this facility's nursing hours, we found it offered more care from registered nurses than most nursing homes. The last statistic we assessed in this category is the percentage of patients that eventually returned home from the facility. It performed respectably with 48.3 percent of its residents returning home.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Briarwood Healthcare Center Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This datapoint gauges the percent of long-term care residents who suffer from pressure ulcers. We find that pressure ulcers are a great indicator of nursing care quality.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This indicates the percentage of patients who sustained a major fall. Falls leading to severe injuries are considered to be a measure of the quality of nursing care . Major falls resulting in injury are often the result of poor nursing care.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This indicates the percent of residents who have had a urinary tract infection. Urinary tract infections are often linked to poor nursing care. Closer supervision can reduce the number likelihood of residents sustaining infections. Keep in mind that this statistic is sometimes skewed by the fact that facilities have varying reporting standards for UTI's.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This tells you the percent of patients given antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotic medications are given to residents for a variety of conditions, including Alzheimer's or other dementias. Unfortunately, in limited cases, increased usage of these drugs 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 statistic tells you the percent of long-term patients taking antianxiety drugs.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This indicates the percent of residents exhibiting symptoms of depression. High levels of depression could be an indicator lower quality care.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This is the percentage of patients who were administered the pneumonia and flu vaccines. High vaccination rates should be the norm at this point.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This tells you the percent of residents that needed additional assistance with activities of daily living over time. Higher levels of needing for assistance with ADL's could be a sign of erosion of a patient's health.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This indicates the percentage of residents who remained mobile levels over time. Preserving mobility can be a great sign for residents' health.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
This indicates the number of hospitalizations per thousand days of patient care. There is generally a correlation between avoiding hospitalizations and the quality of nursing home care.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This metric tracks the number of times residents are rehospitalized per thousand days of short-term patient care. Keeping residents out of the hospital during rehabilitation is key to restoring the physical abilities of patients.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This is the number of emergency room visits per 1,000 days of short-term patient care. There is usually a correlation between fewer emergency room visits and the quality of nursing home care.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
This metric measures the percentage of short-term stay patients who saw functional improvements, such as enhanced ability to perform activities of daily living. Some experts argue this is a reasonable measure of a nursing home's rehabilitation performance.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better