Laredo Medical Center Transitional Care

On top of receiving a strong overall score, this facility also earned an A+ inspection score. This score is based on its recent inspection reports. An A+ in this category is one of the best complements we can pay to a nursing home. Our inspection scores weigh a host of factors found on a nursing home's inspection report. One key criteria we consider is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. Facilities with better scores in this category tend to have few of these severe deficiencies. Although this facility had a few deficiencies on its inspection report, none were major deficiencies based on CMS' deficiency scale. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.

Another reason we rated this facility so highly is that it was awarded an A+ short-term care score. This is simply as dominant as it gets in this category. Our short-term care scores are probably most important for individuals needing rehabilitation from their nursing home. Rehabilitation typically mandates higher levels of highly-skilled nursing. Skilled nursing includes not just nursing services, but also physical and occupational therapy, as well as other variations of therapy. Fortunately, it appear that this nursing home employs registered nurses. Not all nursing homes employs these types of nurses. On the other hand, based on the data they provided, it does not look like the facility employs physical therapists. The last datapoint we looked at in this category is the percentage of residents who ultimately returned home from the nursing home. We found that 6.8 percent of this nursing home's patients returned home as opposed to remaining at the facility on a permanent basis.

In addition, this facility received high marks in the area of nursing. As a result, it received one of our highest grades in that category with a score of A+. Our nursing score focuses on the facility's level of nurse staffing. We consider both the levels of skill of those nurses and the quantity of hours spent with residents. This particular nursing home provided 0.6 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Finally, our nursing grades also factor in quality-based assessments, such as avoiding major falls. This nursing home performed well in this area. Avoiding major falls is typically a good indicator that a nursing home has reliable quality controls in place. Major falls can generally be prevented if more nurses aids and better safety protocols are in place.

The fourth category we scored is long-term care, where this facility was awarded a grade of A. This topped off a very strong profile. Not many nursing homes earned an A- or better in in each area we assessed. For long-term care residents, the primary goal is to keep patients healthy and safe. This is different than skilled nursing or short-term care where the goal is to rehabilitate residents. On top of looking at the amount of care provided by nurses aids and other staff, we analyzed the percentage of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. We were not able to track down information on vaccination rates. Clearly, this facility is doing something right in this area as it also excelled at keeping its patients out of the hospital. Indeed, it had less than one hospitalization per one thousand long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low number.