Good Shepherd The

In addition to performing well in its overall grade, this nursing home performed at an even higher level in the area of inspections. In fact, it received a nearly flawless inspection report this year. As a result, it received one of our highest grades in that category with a score of A. Our inspection ratings weigh a host of factors included in a facility's inspection report. One key criteria we weigh heavily is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. Places with better grades in this area tend to have very 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. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.

Among the reasons we rated this facility so well is that it was given a strong long-term care score. Indeed, long-term care is its second most impressive category grade. In that area, we awarded this nursing home a grade of A-. When nursing homes receive this kind of grade in this category it is usually a good sign for patient care and suggests that the facility is well-staffed with nurses and aids. In addition to assessing the volume of care provided by nurses and other staff, we analyzed the number of residents vaccinated for pneumonia. This nursing home gave the vaccine to 100 percent of its residents, which is what we like to see. Pneumonia can be a life threatening illness for nursing home patients so we like it when a nursing home doesn't take any chances. Finally, this place was able to limit hospitalizations. In fact, it had only 0.01 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days, which is an impressively low figure.

This nursing home received an impressive short-term care score as well. We awarded it one of our higher grades in that area with a score of B+. In computing these short-term care scores, we look at the nursing home's skilled nursing services, including those performed by registered nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists and other types of therapists. The objective is to formulate a barometer for comparing the rehabilitation services of various nursing homes. Fortunately, it appear that this nursing home employs registered nurses. Not every facility employs these skilled professionals. On the other hand, based on the information this nursing home provided, they do not appear to employ physical therapists. The final item we looked at in this area is the percentage of patients who ultimately were able to return home from the facility. We found that 6 percent of this nursing home's patients returned home as opposed to remaining at the nursing home on a permanent basis.

The last category we rated was nursing. This nursing home was awarded a strong nursing grade in our assessment, with a grade of B-. Even though this isn't nearly as good as many of its other category grades, this remains a respectable score in this area. There are quite a few factors included in this category. Many of these factors relate to nurse staffing. This facility provided just 0.5 hours of nursing care per resident per day. This is a relatively low total compared to most other facilities. Finally, we also assessed several nursing quality-based metrics. Although this place got dinged a bit for nursing hours per resident, it excelled in a few of these quality measures. With less than five percent of its residents sustaining pressure ulcers, it performed well in this area. This can be a good indicator of quality nursing care. Pressure ulcers can often be avoided by providing better nursing care, such as employing a protocol of turning a resident at least once a day.