Flint Hills Care Center

While we gave this place a poor overall score, we actually gave it a fairly respectable grade in the category of inspections, where it received a B-. This was better than its other category grades. We weigh several aspects of a nursing home's inspection report in calculating these inspection ratings. One of those factors is health deficiencies. You should keep in mind that the severity of the deficiencies is arguably more meaningful than the quantity of deficiencies, as some can be relatively insignificant. Fortunately, although this facility had a few minor dings on its inspection report, it had no severe deficiencies. Severe deficiencies are found in categories G through L. This means that the government inspectors didn't consider any of the deficiencies on this facility's report to pose an imminent threat to patient health or safety. Lastly, this facility was flagged by CMS for possible abuse or neglect. We prefer to avoid facilities with this designation. Please do your best to find an alternative nursing home.

One of the other reasons we graded this nursing home so highly is that it received a very impressive nursing score. In that area, we gave this nursing home an B-. Nursing scores are primarily tied to a nursing home's nurse staffing. This nursing home averages just 0.3 hours of nursing care per resident per day. This is a very low figure. Despite having low quantities of nursing care, this nursing home fared better in some of the quality-based metrics we looked at. In fact, it scored well in the area of minimizing its residents' pressure ulcers and major falls. Many consider these areas to be indicators of the quality of nursing care. In some cases, the quality of nursing care is just as important as the quantity of hours of care provided.

We also gave this facility a respectable score in the area of short-term care, with a grade of B-. In the area of short-term care, we strive to assess indicators of a nursing home's rehabilitation services. We analyze the facility's skilled nursing services, including the ones performed by registered nurses and physical therapists. We were surprised to find that this nursing home was below average in the two key staffing areas we looked at. In fact, it offered fewer physical therapist and registered nurse hours per resident than most other nursing homes. Lastly, we looked at the number of residents that were able to return home from this nursing home. We found that 5.4 percent of this facility's patients were able to return home. This figure was well below average.

Turning to our next category, this facility was awarded a B- for long-term care, which is generally a respectable score. In determining our long-term care grades, we quantify the facility's personal care services. On top of considering the amount of care provided by nurses and other staff, we looked at the percentage of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This nursing home administered the vaccine to 91.02564 percent of its patients, which is slightly less than we were hoping for. Nevertheless, this place keeps its residents out of the hospital. In fact, it had less than one hospitalization per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low figure.