Buckingham's Choice
3200 Baker Circle, Adamstown MD 21710 · (301) 644-1636 · 69.04% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Nick Reese
Buckingham's Choice is in Adamstown, Maryland. The city has 4,515 people. After receiving an A overall grade, this facility has the distinction of being one of the top 25 nursing homes in Maryland. Based on all of the relevant data, you can't go wrong with this place. Headlining this nursing home's exemplary profile is its short-term care rating, which is addressed in the next section.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 42 Beds
CCRC :
For profit - Corporation
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Short-term Care Quality
In addition to receiving a great overall grade, this nursing home received an A+ in the area of short-term care. In determining these short-term care grades, we assess the nursing home's skilled nursing services, such as those performed by registered nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists and other types of skilled professionals. The objective is to formulate a measure for comparing the rehabilitation services of different facilities. When we assessed this facility's nursing hours, we found it offered substantially more care from registered nurses than most nursing homes. The final metric we looked at in this category is the percentage of patients who were able to leave the nursing home and return home. We found that it fared as well as just about any facility in Maryland in this area with 73.9 percent of its patients returning home.
Nurse Quality
This nursing home also received a very impressive nursing grade. In fact, this turned out to be its second best category grade. In that area, we awarded this facility a grade of A. Nursing scores are mostly based on a facility's level of nurse staffing. This nursing home boasts a really impressive 4.7 hours of nursing care per resident daily, of which a significant percentage of those hours were provided by registered nurses. This is one of the most highly trained levels of nurses. This is one of the higher totals of nursing hours we found at any facility. On top of offering high levels of care, this nursing home also performed well in several of the quality measures we assessed. In terms of the percentage of its patients suffering falls leading to serious injury, this place performed as well as any facility Maryland.
Facility Inspections
Racking up another strong category grade, this facility also excelled in inspections, where it earned a score of A-. Few facilities fared better in this area. Our inspection grades weigh several factors found on a nursing home's inspection reports. One key criteria we rely on is the number and severity of deficiencies. Facilities with higher grades in this category typically have very few of these severe deficiencies. While this place had a few minor dings on its government inspection report, it had zero severe deficiencies. Severe deficiencies are ones found in categories G through L. This tells you CMS did not deem 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
The final category we graded was long-term care, where this nursing home received an A-. This topped off an elite report card. Very few nursing homes earned an A- or better in every category. When nursing homes receive a score in this range in long-term care it typically means it has plenty of staff and is an overall good place to reside on a permanent basis. After considering the significant amount of nursing hours and other staffing provided by this nursing home, we turned to the facility's vaccination data. This facility vaccinated 100 percent of its patients for pneumonia, which is far higher than the majority of nursing homes. Finally, this nursing home was able to limit hospitalizations. Indeed, it had only 0.6 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low number.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Buckingham's Choice Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This figure is a measure of the percent of long-term stay residents that suffered from pressure ulcers or bed sores. We use this statistic in calculating both nursing and long-term care grades.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This indicates the percentage of residents that sustained a major fall. Falls resulting in serious injuries are considered to be a measure of nursing care at a nursing home. Falls resulting in injury are often the result of lower quality nursing care.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This datapoint tells you the percent of long-term care patients who had UTI's. While a higher rate of these infections may reflect poorly on a nursing home's nursing care, it can be difficult to compare different facilities due to nursing homes having varying reporting standards.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This indicates the percent of patients prescribed antipsychotic drugs. These medications may be used to treat several medical conditions, such as cognitive disorders.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This metric indicates the percentage of long-term care patients which are given antianxiety medication. These drugs are used to treat residents suffering from anxiety and depression.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This tells you the percentage of residents who are exhibiting signs of depression.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This indicates the percentage of patients that received the pneumonia and flu vaccines. High vaccination rates should be standard at this point.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This tells you the percent of residents that needed more assistance with activities of daily living over time. Higher levels of needing for assistance with activities of daily living could be a sign of the decline of a patient's well-being.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This tells you the percent of residents that maintained mobility over time. Preserving mobility can be a good sign for residents' well-being.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
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 metric measures the number of times residents are rehospitalized per thousand days of short-term resident care. Avoiding the hospital during rehabilitation is critical to restoring the physical abilities of residents.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This datapoint measures the number of emergency room visits per thousand days of short-term patient care.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
This datapoint is a measure of the percentage of short-term stay patients that experienced functional improvements, such as with activities of daily living. Many in the industry argue this is a reliable measure of a facility's rehabilitation services.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better