Encore at Turf Valley

On top of performing well overall, this facility also received nearly flawless government inspections. Consequently, it earned one of our best scores in that area with an A+. Inspection scores weigh several factors found on a facility's inspection reports. One key criteria we weigh heavily is the number and severity of deficiencies. Nursing homes with higher scores in this area generally have few 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.

Adding to its elite resume, this facility also excelled in our short-term care category. In fact, we awarded it a grade of A for the category. With our short-term care grade, we strive to craft a sound gauge for rehabilitation. In this process, we look at the nursing home's scope of skilled nursing services, including both registered nurses and physical therapy, as well as occupational therapy. This nursing home provides more services with registered nurses and physical therapists than most nursing homes we looked at. The last metric we assessed in this area is the number of patients that were able to return home from the nursing home. We found that it performed as well as just about any nursing home in Maryland in this area with 66.8 percent of its patients returning home.

This facility received a very good nursing grade this year as well. It received one of our better scores in that category with a grade of B+. The nursing rating includes quite a few factors, however, the paramount one is the number of nurse hours per patient per week. This facility provided 3.9 hours of nursing care per resident each day. This is an impressive figure which typically leads to higher quality care. Finally, this facility also performed well in several of the quality-based metrics we looked at. For example, in terms of the percentage of its residents suffering from pressure ulcers, this place performed better than the national average. This is generally an indicator that a place has reliable quality controls. Pressure ulcers can many times be prevented with better nursing care and having a policy of regularly turning residents to avoid bed sores.

Turning to the next area, this nursing home was awarded a strong long-term care score. Even though this isn't quite as impressive as a few of its other category grades, this remains one of our better grades we offer. When facilities receive a score in this range in long-term care it generally means it's well-staffed and is a quality place to live on a permanent basis. On top of looking at the volume of care provided by nurses aids and other staff, we also looked at the percentage of residents vaccinated for pneumonia. This facility vaccinated 94.31818 percent of its residents, which is more than the vast majority of nursing homes. Lastly, this facility was able to limit hospitalizations. With only 1.53 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, this facility has fewer hospitalizations than the majority of nursing homes.