Buckner Westminster Place

In addition to being a great overall grade, this facility also received A+ health inspections in recent years. Its inspections were virtually flawless. We weigh several aspects of a nursing home's inspection report in computing these inspection grades. One of those factors is deficiencies. You should keep in mind that the severity of these deficiencies is usually more meaningful than the quantity of deficiencies, as some end up being relatively minor. 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. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.

This facility also received an A+ for its long-term care score. When facilities receive this type of grade in this category it is typically a good sign for resident care and indicates that the nursing home is well-staffed with nurses aids. After looking at the volume of care provided by aids and other staff, we then looked at the facility's vaccination data. This nursing home vaccinated 100 percent of its patients against pneumonia. Vaccines are vital to keeping patients healthy. Finally, this nursing home was able to limit hospitalizations. In fact, it had less than one hospitalization per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low figure.

In the third area we analyzed, this nursing home received dominant marks in the category of short-term care. As a result, it received one of our best scores in that category with a grade of of A+. Our short-term care ratings are based on a nursing home's quantity of highly-skilled skilled healthcare professionals. This includes a vast scope of nursing services, spanning from registered nurses to physical and occupational therapists, not to mention other types of therapy. Fortunately, it appear that this facility employs registered nurses. Not all facilities employs these skilled professionals. On the other hand, based on the data they provided, it does not look like the facility employs physical therapists. The final item we considered in this area is the number of residents who were able to leave the nursing home and return to the community. We found that 6.8 percent of this facility's patients were able to return home.

In the final category, this facility received another A+ for its nursing grade, wrapping up a clean sweep of A+'s in all four categories. Our nursing score weighs many data points, most of which are based on levels of nurse staffing. This nursing home provides 0.6 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Finally, we also looked at several nursing quality-based metrics and this facility excelled in some of these areas. With less than five percent of its residents sustaining pressure ulcers, it performed as well as any nursing home the nation in this category. This is generally a good indicator of quality nursing care. Pressure ulcers can frequently be avoided by offering better nursing care, such as employing a system of turning patients at least once a day.