Harbor Beach Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

It should be noted that this facility's inspection rating outpaced its overall grade. We awarded it a grade of B+ for its inspections grade, which is a very solid score. Perhaps the most significant factor we consider in calculating our inspection grades is deficiencies. Deficiencies can be found on a nursing home's recent inspection reports. Places with higher scores in this area typically dodged the most severe deficiencies involving things like patient abuse. This facility was hit with 4 deficiencies on its inspection report, but we were relieved to see that none of the deficiencies were considered severe. This tells you that CMS didn't consider any of these deficiencies to create an imminent threat to resident safety or health. A couple minor deficiencies shouldn't lead you to cross a nursing home off your list.

This nursing home's short-term care score turns out to be one of its respectable scores. The nursing home was awarded a B- in this category. Our short-term care grades are vital for people seeking rehabilitation. Rehabilitation usually utilizes higher levels of highly-skilled nursing. This includes a vast range of services, ranging from registered nurses to physical and respiratory therapists, as well as other variations of therapy. We found that this facility was below average in the two key staffing areas we looked at. It provided fewer physical therapist and registered nurse hours per resident than most other facilities. Finally, we looked at the percentage of patients that ultimately were able to return home from this facility. We found that 0 percent of this facility's patients were able to return home. This figure was well below the national average.

This nursing home's next best category was nursing. We awarded it a grade of C in this category. This is basically a middle of the road grade in this category. Our nursing rating includes a number of datapoints. The most important factor is the amount of time nurses spent with patients. This nursing home provided just 0.3 hours of nursing care per patient each day. This figure is significantly below average. Despite having low quantities of nursing care, this facility excelled in some of the quality-based metrics we looked at. It performed well in the area of minimizing its residents' pressure ulcers and major falls.

Moving on to our final category, this nursing home really didn't fare very well. With an abysmal grade of F in long-term care, this is this nursing home's worst grade. For prospective residents seeking a permanent place to live rather than skilled nursing, long-term care grades are an important measure. On top of considering the amount of care provided by aids and other staff, we analyzed the number of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This nursing home administered the vaccine to 100 percent of its patients, which is higher than the vast majority of nursing homes. To our surprise, this facility was able to keep its residents out of the hospital. Indeed, it had only 0.02 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days. Sadly, a few of its other scores in the category were not as favorable as these.