Casa De Las Campanas

In addition to receiving a great overall grade, this nursing home received an A+ for nursing. We looked at the skill-level of nurses employed by the nursing home, as well as the quantity of hours those nurses spent with residents, in determining our grade in this category. This nursing home averages 0.5 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Finally, our nursing grades also factor in quality-based assessments, such as avoiding major falls. This place performed well in this area. Avoiding major falls is typically a good indicator that a facility has reliable quality controls in place. Major falls can frequently be prevented if more nurses aids and better safety protocols are in place.

An additional reason we graded this nursing home so highly is that it received an A+ short-term care grade. This is just about as elite as it gets in this category. In calculating our short-term care ratings, we look at the nursing home's levels of highly skilled nursing, which includes registered nurses, physical therapists speech therapists and other highly skilled individuals. This rating is generally a fair assessment of the facility's rehabilitation services. Fortunately, it appear that this nursing home has registered nurses on staff. Not every nursing home employs these skilled professionals. On the other hand, based on the information this nursing home provided, it does not look like the facility employs physical therapists. The final item we considered in this category is the number of patients who were able to return home from the nursing home. We found that 6.6 percent of this nursing home's residents returned home as opposed to remaining at the facility on a permanent basis.

This facility also received a nearly flawless inspection report. As a result, it received one of our highest grades in that category with a score of A+. Inspection grades weigh a host of factors found on a facility's inspection reports. One key criteria we look at is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. Facilities with better scores in this area usually have few of these severe deficiencies. 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. Even some of the best nursing homes receive an occasional ding on their inspection report.

The last area we scored was long-term care. This facility received an above average nursing score in our assessment, with a B. Although this was not quite as elite as some of its other grades, this is nevertheless one of the stronger grades for that category. Facilities that receive this type of grade in long-term care typically provide consistent around the clock care to ensure residents are kept in good health. In addition to assessing the quantity of care provided by nurses and other staff, we analyzed the number of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This facility administered the vaccine to 98.4 percent of its patients. Vaccines are critical to keeping patients out of the hospital. Finally, this nursing home was able to limit hospitalizations. It had less than one hospitalization per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is an impressively low number.