Brookdale Easley

Although we gave this facility a poor overall rating, we actually awarded it a somewhat respectable score in the category of inspections, where it received a B-. This was better than its other category grades. We would argue that one of the most critical factors in evaluating an inspection report is deficiencies. We especially focus on the severity of those deficiencies. Although this facility had a few deficiencies on its government inspection report, none of them were major deficiencies based on CMS' scale. Finally, this facility was cited by CMS for possible abuse or neglect. We would not recommend this facility under any circumstance.

One of the other reasons we graded this facility so highly is that it earned a very impressive nursing score. This proved to be its second best category grade. In that area, we awarded this nursing home a grade of B-. Nursing grades are largely associated with the nursing home's level of nurse staffing. This place provided just 0.4 hours of nursing care per resident daily. This is a relatively low total compared to most facilities. Despite having low quantities of nursing care, this nursing home fared better in some of the quality measures we looked at. It performed well in terms of avoiding major falls and pressure ulcers.

The next category we looked at is short-term care, where this facility received a B- in this category. Our short-term care ratings are critical for residents needing rehabilitation. Rehabilitation typically utilizes more skilled nursing. This includes a wide range of services, spanning from registered nurses to physical and occupational therapists, as well as other variations of therapy. We were surprised to find that this place was below average in the two key staffing areas we assessed. It offered fewer physical therapist and registered nurse hours per resident than most other nursing homes. It is still important to determine whether this is adversely impacting the quality of care. The last measure we assessed in this category is the number of patients that ultimately were able to return home from the facility. We found that just 6.3 percent of this nursing home's patients returned home.

Turning to the final area, this facility was awarded a grade of B- for long-term care, which is a respectable rating. Long-term care scores are based on a facility's amount of nursing services. This includes a broad scope of personal care services, ranging from assistance with activities of daily living to routine medical services. After considering the quantity of care provided by nurses and other staff, we then looked at the facility's vaccination record. Frankly, we were a bit alarmed this nursing home vaccinated 56.25 percent of its residents for pneumonia, which happens to be significantly less than what we were hoping for. Nevertheless, this place keeps its patients out of the hospital. In fact, it had only 0.02 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low figure.