Lewis & Clark Gardens

Although we gave this facility a poor overall score, it did receive a slightly more favorable grade in long-term care. We gave it a grade of B- in that category. This was better than its other grades. In computing these long-term care scores, we assess the facility's personal care services. On top of looking at the quantity of care provided by aids and other staff, we analyzed the percentage of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This nursing home gave the vaccine to 96.66667 percent of its patients, which is more than the vast majority of nursing homes. Finally, this place was also able to limit hospitalizations. It had only 0 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low number.

We also awarded this facility a grade of C for our nursing rating. Our nursing score is mostly tied to the nursing home's nurse staffing. This nursing home averages just 0.3 hours of nursing care per resident per day. This is a very low figure. Despite having low quantities of nursing care, this place actually fared better in some of the quality-based metrics we looked at. In fact, it performed well in terms of minimizing its residents' major falls and pressure ulcers. Many consider these areas to be good measures of the quality of nursing care. In many cases, the quality of nursing care is as important as the number of hours of care offered.

This facility received slightly below average government inspections in recent years. We awarded them a C in this area. We would argue that one of the most important factors in assessing an inspection report is deficiencies. In this regard, we especially focus on the severity of those deficiencies. This nursing home was assessed 5 deficiencies on its government inspection report, but none were in any of the categories labeled G through L. This means this facility dodged the more ominous classes of deficiencies. Lastly, this facility was flagged by CMS for possible abuse or neglect. We prefer to avoid facilities with this designation. Please do your best to find an alternative nursing home.

The next category we rated is short-term care, which ended up being a weak link for this nursing home. We gave this facility a grade of just D for our short-term care category. Our short-term care ratings are critical for prospective residents looking for rehabilitation. Rehabilitation usually mandates additional skilled nursing services. Skilled nursing means a wide range of nursing services, spanning from registered nurses to physical and respiratory therapists, as well as other forms of therapy. Not surprisingly, we found that this nursing home provides far less physical therapist and registered nurse hours per resident than the average facility. The final statistic we looked at in this area is the number of patients who were able to return home from the facility. This nursing home struggled quite a bit in this area as well, with just 0 percent of its residents returning home.