Diversicare of Riverchase
2500 Riverhaven Drive, Birmingham AL 35244 · (205) 987-0901 · 85.98% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Nick Reese
Diversicare of Riverchase is a large nursing home located in Birmingham, Alabama. We gave this facility an overall grade of C. A score of this caliber requires some decent scores. Birmingham received a city grade of B+, so there are other options in the city worth looking at. The best part of this place's profile was its exemplary inspection rating. Inspection grades are discussed in the next paragraph.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 132 Beds
CCRC :
For profit - Corporation
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Facility Inspections
While this nursing home's overall grade was not bad, it really excelled in the area of inspections. In fact, we awarded it a grade of A for that category, which is one of our highest scores. Perhaps the most important factor we look at in determining our inspection grades is deficiencies. Deficiencies can be found on a nursing home's inspection reports. Facilities with higher grades in this category typically dodged the more severe deficiencies involving things like patient abuse. While this facility had some minor dings on its report, it had no severe deficiencies. Severe deficiencies are those found in categories G, H, I, J, K and L. This tells you the government inspectors did not deem any of the deficiencies on this facility's report to pose an imminent threat to patient health or safety. A few minor deficiencies shouldn't lead you to cross a nursing home off your list.
Long-term Care Quality
This nursing home's second most favorable area came in the area of long-term care. In that area, we awarded this facility a B-. In the category of long-term care, we focus on the quantity of services offered by a facility, as opposed to more sophisticated services. In addition to considering the quantity of care provided by aids and other staff, we also looked at the number of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This facility vaccinated 82.85714 percent of its patients. This is quite a bit less than what we expected. Finally, we looked at the nursing home's number of hospitalizations. With 1.97 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, this facility is also below average.
Nurse Quality
We also gave this nursing home a decent score in the category of nursing care, with a grade of C. Our nursing rating is largely based on the facility's level of nurse staffing. This nursing home provides 3 hours of nursing care per resident per day. This is a much lower figure than we are used to seeing. Finally, our nursing scores also factor in some quality-focused measures. We especially like to look at the percent of patients who sustained pressure ulcers and major falls. These metrics are indicators of the quality of nursing care, since better care can reduce these problems.
Short-term Care Quality
This facility's weakest category was short-term care, which is the last area we analyzed. For this area, we awarded this nursing home a grade of just D. In our short-term care category, we endeavor to craft a fair gauge for rehabilitation services. In doing so, we look at the nursing home's levels of skilled nursing services, including both registered nurses and physical therapy, as well as occupational therapy. With its poor grade in this area, we weren't stunned to discover that this nursing home provides far fewer physical therapist and registered nurse hours per patient than most other facilities. The last statistic we considered in this category is the percentage of residents that returned home from the nursing home. This facility a bit in this metric as well, with just 45.3 percent of its patients returning home. Unfortunately, this was below average.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Diversicare of Riverchase Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This statistic tells you the percent of long-term care patients who are suffering from new or worsened pressure ulcers. We've found that pressure ulcers are a solid barometer of a facility's nursing care quality.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This tells you the percent of patients that suffered from a major fall. Falls leading to major injury are considered by many in the nursing home industry to be an indicator of nursing care at a nursing home. Major falls are often the result of poor nursing care.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This figure measures the percent of long-term patients who experienced urinary tract infections. UTI's may be an indication of lower quality nursing care. However, this statistic could be skewed for certain nursing homes due to varying reporting standards for infections.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This tells you the percent of residents prescribed antipsychotic medications. These drugs are sometimes used for a variety of conditions, such as Alzheimer's or other dementias.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This indicates the percent of residents given antianxiety drugs. Antianxiety medications are administered to patients experiencing depression and anxiety.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This metric measures the percentage of long-term stay residents exhibiting symptoms of depression. Some experts argue that this is a reliable measure of resident quality of care.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This metric is a measure of the percentage of long-term stay patients that were vaccinated against pneumonia and flu.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This is a measure of the percentage of long-term residents who required increased assistance with activities of daily living over time. Activities of daily living include activities such as taking medications and eating.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This metric measures the percentage of long-term stay patients who remained mobile levels.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
Measures the number of hospitalizations per thousand days of patient care. Avoiding the hospital is important to maintaining the physical health of nursing home residents.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This is the number of times residents are rehospitalized per 1,000 days of short-term care. There is typically a correlation between staying out of the hospital and a nursing home's quality of short-term rehabilitation.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This metric tracks 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 tells you the percent of short-term stay residents that experienced functional improvements, such as enhanced ability to perform activities of daily living.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better