Dubuque Specialty Care
2935 Kaufmann Avenue, Dubuque IA 52001 · (563) 556-0673 · 57.44% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Nick Reese
Dubuque Specialty Care is just one of 10 options in Dubuque, Iowa. With an overall score of B, this facility is a very good option. Based on our ratings, this facility has quite a bit going for it. We were also pleased to find that this nursing home didn't have any weak links in any of the four major categories. More information about these categories can be found below.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 98 Beds
CCRC :
Non profit - Corporation
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Facility Inspections
This nursing home received a quality overall score as described above, but we especially want to emphasize its nearly flawless inspections in recent years. We awarded it an impressive grade of A+ in this area. We weigh several aspects of a nursing home's inspection report in computing these inspection grades. One key factor is health deficiencies. It should be noted that the severity of these deficiencies is usually more important than the quantity of deficiencies, as some deficiencies are quite insignificant. This place was hit with 4 deficiencies on its inspection report, but fortunately none were considered to be severe. This tells you that the inspectors did not consider any of these deficiencies to create an imminent risk to resident health or safety. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.
Long-term Care Quality
Adding to this nursing home's list of strengths, it also was awarded a high-end long-term care score. We gave them a dominant strong of A in this category. When facilities receive this kind of score in this category it is typically a good sign for patient care and suggests that the facility is well-staffed with nurses aids. In addition to assessing the amount of care provided by nurses and other staff, we looked at the number of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This nursing home administered the vaccine to 94.68599 percent of its patients, which is more than the vast majority of nursing homes. The last datapoint we assessed is the nursing home's hospitalization rate. Here we found that this facility had 2.71 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days.
Short-term Care Quality
The next best area we gave this facility in any area came in the area of short-term care, where we gave it a C. Our short-term care scores are arguably most meaningful for residents needing rehabilitation from their nursing home. Rehabilitation typically mandates more skilled nursing services. Skilled nursing includes not merely nursing services, but also physical and speech therapy, as well as other variations of therapy. Fortunately, we found that this nursing home provided respectable levels of physical therapist and registered nurse hours per resident. The final statistic we considered in this area is the percentage of patients who were able to leave the facility and return to the community. We discovered that just 36.2 percent of this facility's patients were able to return home, which is actually below average.
Nurse Quality
Switching gears to the next category, this facility received a grade of C in nursing, which we consider to be a respectable rating. The nursing grade weighs several data points, however, the paramount consideration is the number of nurse hours per patient per week. This facility provided just 3.1 hours of nursing care per resident per day. This is a relatively low total compared to most other facilities. Lastly, we also baked some quality measures into our nursing ratings. This nursing home was subpar in two of the major metrics we focus on, with below average scores for minimizing its residents' pressure ulcers and major falls. These areas are often reliable indicators of the quality of nursing care provided.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Dubuque Specialty Care Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This tells you the percent of patients who sustained a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers are damage to the skin caused by remaining in one position for too long.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This is the percentage of residents who suffered from a major fall. Falls resulting in serious injury are considered to be a barometer of the quality of nursing care . Falls leading to injury are routinely caused by lower quality nursing care.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This indicates the percent of patients who suffered from a urinary tract infection. Urinary tract infections are often caused by facilities with lower levels of hygiene. Better hygiene protocols reduces the number of UTI's sustained by residents in a nursing home. Keep in mind that this statistic is affected by by the fact that facilities have varying reporting standards for UTI's.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This metric measures the percentage of long-term patients receiving antipsychotic drugs. While antipsychotic drugs play an important role in caring for many residents, it is important to ensure these drugs are being used only where medically required. In some cases, excessive reliance on these medications may mean a facility is using these medications to control patient behavior.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This gauges the percentage of long-term care residents which are administered antianxiety drugs. These medications are commonly prescribed to residents suffering from depression and anxiety.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This is the percent of patients who are exhibiting signs of depression. High levels of depression could imply worse patient care.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This indicates the percent of residents that were given the flu and pneumonia vaccines. Higher vaccination rates should be demanded by residents.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This tells you the percentage of residents that needed more assistance with activities of daily living over time. Higher levels of dependence on staff for assistance with ADL's may indicate the decline of a resident's well-being.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
Measures the percent of long-term care patients that remained mobile levels.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
This tells you the number of times residents are hospitalized per 1,000 days of patient care.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This indicates the number of rehospitalizations per thousand days of short-term patient care.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This is the number of emergency room visits per 1,000 days of short-term patient care.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
This metric is a measure of the percentage of short-term residents that saw functional improvements, such as with activities of daily living. Some experts believe that this is a reasonable measure of a nursing home's rehabilitation performance.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better