Hillview Health Center

In addition to being a great overall grade, this facility also received A+ health inspections in recent years. Its inspections were virtually flawless. Inspection grades weigh a host of factors found on a facility's inspection report. One of the most important criteria we look at is the number and severity of deficiencies. Facilities with higher scores in this category generally have very few severe deficiencies. Fortunately, although this nursing home had a few minor dings on its government inspection report, it had zero severe deficiencies. Severe deficiencies are ones labeled as categories G through L. This means the inspectors did not consider any of the deficiencies on this facility's report to pose an imminent 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 highly is that it was given a favorable long-term care score. Indeed, long-term care ended up being its second most impressive category grade. In that category, we awarded this nursing home a score of A-. Facilities that excel in long-term care tend to provide patients with better supervision and stay on top of routine medical care. On top of assessing the amount of care provided by nurses aids and other staff, we looked at the number of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This facility administered the vaccine to 100 percent of its patients, which is an impressive figure. Pneumonia is too frequently a life threatening ailment for nursing home residents so we strongly prefer when a facility does not leave its residents vulnerable. Clearly, this facility is doing something right in this area as it was able to keep its residents out of the hospital. It had less than one hospitalization per one thousand long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low number.

This nursing home's third highest area turned out to be its short-term care grade, where it was given a grade of B-. In calculating our short-term care scores, we quantify the nursing home's skilled nursing services, including those performed by registered nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapists and other types of therapists. Our purpose is to formulate a barometer for sizing up the rehabilitation services of various facilities. Fortunately, it looks like this facility employs registered nurses. Not every facility employs these types of nurses. On the other hand, according to the data this nursing home provided, it does not look like the facility employs physical therapists. The final metric we assessed in this category is the number of patients who were able to leave the nursing home and return home. We discovered that just 4.7 percent of this facility's patients were able to return home, which is below average.

The final category we assessed was nursing. In that area, we gave this nursing home a decent grade of C. This was this facility's weakest area. Our nursing rating weighs many data points, many of which are associated with levels of nurse staffing. This place provides 0.4 hours of nursing care per resident daily. This is a lower figure than we were hoping for. Finally, we look at quality-based statistics, such as the percent of residents who experienced pressure ulcers and major falls. Sometimes these statistics are indicators of the quality of nursing care.