Calvert County Nursing Center

Although we gave this nursing home a poor overall score, we actually gave it a somewhat respectable score in the category of inspections, where we gave it a grade of B-. This was quite a bit better than its other category grades. Inspection grades take several factors into consideration, including deficiencies and federal fines. You can find more information about each of these items by obtaining copies of nursing homes' inspection reports. Fortunately, although this place had a few minor dings on its government inspection report, it had zero severe deficiencies. Severe deficiencies are those found in categories G, H, I, J, K and L. This tells you CMS didn't deem any of the deficiencies on this facility's report to pose an imminent threat to patient health or safety. A couple minor deficiencies aren't necessarily the end of the world.

This facility's second highest area was its long-term care score, where it was awarded a grade of B-. In determining our long-term care scores, we analyze the assistance with daily living received by a nursing home's patients. In addition to assessing the amount of care provided by nurses and other staff, we looked at the number of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. We were a bit alarmed this nursing home gave the vaccine to a relatively low 84.47837 percent of its patients. Fortunately, this facility was able to limit hospitalizations. It had less than one hospitalization per one thousand long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low number.

This nursing home's next most favorable category was short-term care. In that category, we awarded this nursing home a grade of C. Our short-term care ratings are arguably most important for those in need of rehabilitation services. Rehabilitation usually utilizes more highly-skilled nursing services. Skilled nursing means not just nursing, but also physical and speech therapy, as well as other types of therapy. In this facility's case, we were surprised to learn that it actually provides less registered nurse and physical therapist hours per patient than a typical facility. The hope is always that this does not adversely affect the quality of care. The last measure we considered in this category is the number of patients who were able to leave the facility and return to the community. We discovered that just 5.1 percent of this facility's residents were able to return home, which is below average.

The last area we analyzed is nursing. We gave it a C in that area. This is basically a middle of the road grade in this area. There are numerous criteria within this area. Many of the criteria are tied to the quantity of nurse staffing. This nursing home provides 0.3 hours of nursing care per resident per day. This is a much lower figure than we are used to seeing. Finally, we also factored some quality-based metrics into our nursing scores. This place was relatively weak in a few of the major areas we focus on, with below average scores for minimizing its patients' major falls and pressure ulcers. These areas are usually measures of the quality of nursing care offered.