Latimer Nursing Home

On top of receiving a great overall grade, this facility also received an excellent long-term care rating, with an impressive grade of A. Facilities that do well in long-term care typically provide patients with closer supervision and stay on top of routine medical care. On top of assessing the quantity of care provided by aids and other staff, we also looked at the percentage of residents vaccinated for pneumonia. This nursing home administered the vaccine to 99.02913 percent of its patients, which is what we like to see. Pneumonia sadly is often a deadly ailment for nursing home residents so we prefer when a facility does not leave its residents vulnerable. Finally, this facility was able to limit hospitalizations. It had less than one hospitalization per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low figure.

Adding to its impressive resume, this nursing home also excelled in our nursing category. In fact, we awarded it a grade of A for that category. Nursing ratings are primarily tied to the nursing home's nurse staffing. With 4 hours of nursing care per patient each day, this place was above the national average. Lastly, this facility also excelled in several quality-based metrics we assessed. With fewer than five percent of its residents suffering from pressure ulcers, it performed as well as any facility the country in this category. This is usually an indicator that a place has reliable quality controls. Many pressure ulcers can be avoided by providing better nursing care and a protocol of moving patients more often.

Moving on to another of this nursing home's strengths, it also received a very impressive inspection grade. This proved to be one of its best grades. In that category, we gave this facility a grade of B+. Our inspection ratings weigh several factors found on a nursing home's inspection report. One of the most important criteria we weigh heavily is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. Nursing homes with better scores in this area typically have few severe deficiencies. Although this facility had a few deficiencies on its government 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.

The final category we assessed is short-term care, in which this nursing home was given a grade of B. While this ended up being its lowest category rating, this is nevertheless a favorable grade. Short-term care grades are important for patients requiring rehabilitation. Rehabilitation usually mandates more highly-skilled nursing services. Skilled nursing means a wide range of services, ranging from registered nurses to physical and respiratory therapists, as well as other types of therapy. Fortunately, this nursing home offers both physical therapists and registered nurses. Not all facilities offer both. The last statistic we looked at in this category is the percentage of residents that were able to return home from the nursing home. We found that 0 percent of this nursing home's patients returned home as opposed to remaining at the facility on a permanent basis.