Lake Minnetonka Care Center

One of the reasons this turned out to be a great nursing home is that it received a very impressive nursing rating. Nursing actually ended up being its best category. In that category, we gave this nursing home an A+. Our nursing score analyzes several subcategories, but the paramount one is the level of nurse hours spent with patients. This nursing home averages 0.3 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Lastly, we also looked at some nursing quality measures in determining our nursing grades. This place performed very well when it comes to avoiding pressure ulcers and major falls. We consider these areas to be good indicators of the quality of nursing care.

Another strong feature for this facility is that it was given an above average short-term care grade. In fact, this turned out to be its second best category grade. In this category, we awarded this nursing home a B+. In the area of short-term care, we endeavor to qualify indicators of a facility's rehabilitation. We analyze a nursing home's skilled nursing services, such as the ones performed by registered nurses and physical and occupational therapists. Fortunately, it appear that this facility employs registered nurses. Not all nursing homes employs these skilled professionals. However, according to the data this nursing home provided, it does not look like the facility employs physical therapists. The final item we assessed in this area is the number of patients who were able to leave the nursing home and return home. We found that 0 percent of this facility's residents returned home.

This nursing home earned a solid inspection report this year as well, with few dings from the applicable government inspectors. As a result, it received one of our better grades in that category with a score of B-. We would argue that one of the most important factors in evaluating an inspection report is deficiencies. In this regard, we especially look at the severity of the deficiencies. While this place had some deficiencies on its inspection report, none were severe based on CMS' deficiency scale. Keep in mind that deficiency-free inspection reports are rare in the industry.

The final category we analyzed was long-term care. We awarded this nursing home a grade of C in this category. Long-term care grades are used to assess a facility's performance as a traditional convalescent home, as opposed to focusing more on the skilled nursing services provided by a rehabilitation facility. Once we looked at the quantity of care provided by aids and other staff, we then looked at the nursing home's vaccination record. We were pleased to find that this nursing home vaccinated 100 percent of its residents for pneumonia. Finally, this nursing home was also able to limit hospitalizations. It had less than one hospitalization per one thousand long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low figure.