Emerald Coast Center
114 Third Street Se, Fort Walton Beach FL 32548 · (850) 243-6134 · 86.75% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Nick Lata
Emerald Coast Center is an average-sized non-profit nursing home located in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. We awarded this nursing home an overall grade of B. A grade of this caliber requires solid scores in most areas. Based on the data we reviewed, you could do much worse than this place. This facility was better in some categories than others, but it did not have any poor grades in any of the major areas discussed below. More information about these categories can be found below.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 120 Beds
CCRC :
Non profit - Corporation
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Facility Inspections
To pair with its strong overall grade, we awarded this facility an A+ for the area of inspections. Our inspection ratings weigh a host of factors found on a facility's inspection report. One key criteria we rely on is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. Nursing homes with higher scores in this category usually have very few severe deficiencies. While this place had some deficiencies on its inspection report, none of them were serious based on CMS' scale. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.
Long-term Care Quality
This facility fared well in the area of long-term care. As a result, we awarded it a grade of A for that area, which happens to be one of our highest scores. When facilities receive a score in this range in this category it typically means it has plenty of staff and is an overall good place to live on a permanent basis. In addition to assessing the volume of care provided by nurses aids and other staff, we looked at the number of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This nursing home vaccinated 100 percent of its residents. Vaccines are critical to keeping patients out of the hospital. Finally, we looked at the facility's number of hospitalizations. We found that this facility had 2.39 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days.
Nurse Quality
Next, we looked at the nursing category where we awarded this nursing home a grade of C. This facility didn't perform quite as well in this category as it did in some other categories. Nevertheless, this is still a respectable score. We looked at the skill-level of nurses employed by the facility, as well as the number of hours the nurses worked with residents, in calculating our rating in this area. This facility provided 3.7 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Lastly, our nursing grades also factor in quality-based measures, such as preventing major falls. This place performed admirably in this area.
Short-term Care Quality
The next category we looked at is short-term care. This facility received a C for the area. In determining these short-term care scores, we quantify the nursing home's skilled nursing services, including those performed by registered nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists and other types of skilled professionals. The purpose is to create a tool for sizing up the rehabilitation services of nursing homes. One reason for this facility's strong score in this category is that it provides a greater volume of physical therapist hours to its residents than the average nursing home. Lastly, we assessed the number of residents who were able to return to the community from this facility. We found that 31.3 percent of this facility's patients returned home. At most facilities, closer to half of their residents are able to return home so this is below average.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Emerald Coast Center Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This tells you the percentage of patients who have had a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers, which are also called bed sores, are often caused by patients staying in one position for too long. Better nursing protocols can limit the percentage of residents in a nursing home who sustain pressure ulcers.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This statistic tells you the percentage of long-term patients which suffered a fall resulting in severe injury. Falls can arise for a variety of reasons, but excessive numbers of falls could be a sign of lower levels of patient supervision.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This statistic is an indication of the percentage of long-term stay residents who have experienced UTI's. While more of these infections could reflect poorly on a facility's hygiene protocols, it can be difficult to compare different facilities due to varying reporting standards.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This figure gauges the percentage of long-term stay residents taking antipsychotic drugs. While antipsychotic medications play an important role in caring for many residents, it is important to make sure these drugs are being used only where medically required. In limited cases, excessive reliance on these medications may indicate a nursing home is using these medications to subdue residents.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This indicates the percentage of patients given antianxiety drugs. Antianxiety drugs are given to patients suffering from anxiety or depression.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This indicates the percent of patients showing depressive symptoms. Higher levels of depression may be an indicator lower quality care.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This is the percentage of patients that received the pneumonia and flu vaccines. High vaccination rates should be standard at this point.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This datapoint measures the percent of long-term stay residents who needed additional assistance with activities of daily living over time. ADL's include activities such as getting dressed and using the bathroom. Some would argue that this is a reasonable measure of a resident's well-being.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This is the percent of residents that were able to retain mobility over time. Optimizing mobility can be a great sign for residents' well-being.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
This indicates the number of hospitalizations per 1,000 days of care.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This is a measure of the number of times residents are rehospitalized per thousand days of short-term care.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This tells you the number of times residents are sent to the emergency room per thousand days of short-term patient care. There is a correlation between keeping patients out of the emergency room and the overall quality of rehabilitation.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
This metric is a measure of the percentage of short-term patients that experienced functional improvements, such as with activities of daily living. Some experts believe that this is a reliable measure of a nursing home's rehabilitation performance.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better