Hill View Retirement Center

To go along with its strong overall grade, we awarded this nursing home a grade of A+ for our inspections rating. We weigh several aspects of a nursing home's inspection report in determining our inspection ratings. One of those factors is deficiencies. You should keep in mind that the severity of these deficiencies is arguably more meaningful than the number of deficiencies, as some are relatively insignificant. This nursing home was assessed 3 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 the deficiencies an immediate 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 graded this nursing home so well is that it was awarded a strong long-term care grade. Indeed, long-term care is its second most favorable category score. In that category, we awarded this facility a score of A-. Long-term care grades in this range generally require both around the clock care from nurses and aids, as well as quality routine healthcare services. Once we assessed the quantity of nursing care, we then looked at the facility's vaccination data. This facility vaccinated 100 percent of its residents against pneumonia, which is an impressive figure. Pneumonia is too frequently a dangerous ailment for nursing home residents so we prefer when a facility doesn't take any chances. Lastly, this place was able to limit hospitalizations. It had only 0.01 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low figure.

In addition, this facility also was awarded favorable short-term care grades this year. In fact, we gave it one of our better scores in that area, with a score of B+. Short-term care grades are based in part on the facility's quantity of skilled skilled healthcare professionals. This includes a vast range of nursing services, spanning from registered nurses to physical and respiratory therapists, as well as other forms of therapy. Fortunately, it looks like this facility employs registered nurses. Not every facility employs these skilled professionals. However, according to the information they provided, they do not appear to employ physical therapists. The final measure we assessed in this category is the number of patients who ultimately were able to return home from the nursing home. We found that 5.8 percent of this nursing home's residents returned home as opposed to remaining at the facility on a permanent basis.

The last area we looked at is this facility's worst category. However, even in its worst category we still awarded it a decent grade of B- in our nursing category. Our nursing rating is based on numerous factors. The most heavily weighted factor is the amount of time nurses spent with residents. This nursing home averages just 0.4 hours of nursing care per patient on a daily basis, which is not an impressive total. Finally, we also factored some quality-based metrics into our nursing scores. This place was relatively weak in two of the major areas we look at, with below average scores for minimizing its residents' major falls and pressure ulcers. These areas are usually indicators of the quality of nursing care offered.