Ellen Sagar Nursing Center
1817 Jonesville Highway, Union SC 29379 · (864) 301-3500 · 90.08% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Sara Levinsohn
Ellen Sagar Nursing Center is an average-sized government-owned nursing home located in Union, South Carolina. Sporting an overall rating of A, this nursing home is ranked among the best facilities we looked at. We could not find many negative things to say about this place. Its grades are impeccable. One of the major highlights of this facility's stellar report card is its long-term care grade. Long-term care grades are discussed in the next section.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 113 Beds
CCRC :
Government - Hospital district
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Long-term Care Quality
In addition to receiving a great overall grade, this nursing home received an A+ in the area of long-term care. When nursing homes receive this type of score in long-term care it is typically a good sign for patient care and indicates that the place is well-staffed with nurses and aids. In addition to assessing the amount of care provided by nurses aids and other staff, we also looked at the number of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This nursing home provided the vaccine to 99.02913 percent of its patients, which is much higher than the majority of nursing homes. Lastly, this facility was able to limit hospitalizations. With just 1.67 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, this nursing home has fewer hospitalizations than many nursing homes.
Nurse Quality
One of the other reasons we rated this facility so highly is that it earned a very impressive nursing score. In fact, nursing turned out to be its second best category grade. In that category, we gave this facility an A+. Our nursing grade focuses on the facility's level of nurse staffing. We look at both the levels of skill of the nurses as well as the amount of time spent with patients. This particular nursing home provided 3.6 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Finally, our nursing grades also factor in quality-based assessments, such as avoiding major falls. This facility performed well in this area. Avoiding major falls is typically a good indicator that a place has reliable quality controls in place. Major falls can generally be avoided if more nurses aids and better safety protocols are in place.
Facility Inspections
Tallying another strong category grade, this nursing home also excelled in the area of inspections, where it earned a grade of A-. We take several aspects of a facility's inspection report into consideration in determining our inspection ratings. One key factor is deficiencies. You should keep in mind that the severity of these deficiencies is usually more meaningful than the quantity of deficiencies, as some deficiencies are quite insignificant. 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.
Short-term Care Quality
The next category we scored was short-term care, in which this nursing home received a B-. Although this wound up being its poorest category grade, this is still not the end of the world. In determining our short-term care ratings, we quantify the facility's skilled nursing services, including those performed by registered nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists and other types of therapists. Our objective is to devise a tool for sizing up the rehabilitation services of various facilities. This nursing home employs both physical therapists and registered nurses. Not all facilities employ these skilled professionals. The last datapoint we looked at in this category is the percentage of patients who were able to leave the facility and return home. We discovered that just 27.5 percent of this facility's patients were able to return home, which is below average.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Ellen Sagar Nursing Center Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This indicates the percentage of residents that suffered from a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers, which are also referred to as bed sores, are often the result of patients staying in one position for too long. Better nursing care reduces the number of pressure ulcers sustained by residents in a nursing home.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This metric gauges the percentage of long-term stay residents that suffered falls resulting in serious injury. Falls can arise for a variety of reasons, but high rates of major falls could be an indicator of lower quality nursing care.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This indicates the percentage of patients who sustained a urinary tract infection. UTI's are considered by many in the nursing home industry to be an indicator of nursing care at a nursing home. UTI's are routinely the result of worse hygiene protocols. However, this datapoint may also be misleading for some nursing homes due to inconsistent reporting standards for urinary tract infections.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This is the percent of patients who were prescribed antipsychotic drugs. While antipsychotic drugs may be helpful for many residents, it is important to make sure these medications are being used appropriately. In some situations, 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 indicates the percentage of patients given antianxiety drugs. Antianxiety medications are prescribed to residents suffering from anxiety and depression.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This is the percentage of patients who are demonstrating depressive symptoms.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This indicates the percent of residents who were given the pneumonia and flu vaccines. Higher vaccination rates should be demanded by residents.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This tells you the percent of residents that needed increased assistance with activities of daily living over time. High levels of needing for assistance with activities of daily living could be a sign of the decline of a patient's well-being.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
Measures the percent of long-term care patients that were able to retain mobility.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
This metric tracks the number of hospitalizations per thousand days of patient care.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This datapoint measures the number of rehospitalizations per thousand days of short-term care.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This is the number of emergency room visits per thousand days of short-term patient care. There is generally a correlation between reduced emergency room visits and the overall quality of care.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
This indicates the percentage of short-term stay residents that saw functional improvements, such as enhanced ability to perform activities of daily living.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better