Lowry Hills Care and Rehabilitation
10201 East Third Avenue, Aurora CO 80010 · (303) 364-3364 · 71.57% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Nick Lata
Lowry Hills Care and Rehabilitation is located in Aurora, Colorado, which is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country. We gave this nursing home an F, which is just about as bad as it gets in our grading scheme. Fortunately, this nursing home is one of 11 nursing homes in this city so if you aren't impressed, you should have better options. We would not blame you if you're ready to stop reading and find another facility. However, if you want to learn more about this place's category grades, we will discuss nursing in the next section.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 108 Beds
CCRC :
For profit - Corporation
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Nurse Quality
Although we gave this facility a terrible overall grade, we awarded it a grade of B- for our nursing rating. The nursing rating is based on a host of subcategories. The most important one is the quantity of hours nurses spent with patients. This nursing home averages 2.8 hours of nursing care per patient daily, which is a very low figure. Lastly, we also assessed some nursing quality-based metrics. While this nursing home got docked a bit for its nursing hours, it actually excelled in some of these quality-based metrics. With fewer than five percent of its residents experiencing pressure ulcers, it did remarkably well in this area. This is often an indicator of quality nursing care. Pressure ulcers can many times be avoided by offering better nursing care, such as by employing a protocol of turning a patient more frequently.
Short-term Care Quality
We were also stunned to find that this facility received a solid short-term care rating in our assessment. We awarded it a grade of B- in this area. In calculating these short-term care grades, we analyze the facility's skilled nursing services, including those performed by registered nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapists and other types of skilled professionals. Our objective is to devise a scale for comparing the rehabilitation services of various nursing homes. Fortunately, this nursing home offers both physical therapists and registered nurses. Not all facilities offer both. The last datapoint we considered in this area is the percentage of patients who were able to leave the nursing home and return to the community. We discovered that just 40.2 percent of this facility's residents were able to return home, which is actually below average.
Long-term Care Quality
The next area we looked at was long-term care. This facility's was given a rock-bottom long-term care score where it was given a lowly F. Nursing homes that receive this type of score in long-term care likely don't provide the kind of consistent around the clock care that some other facilities provide. One of the criteria we considered after nurse's aid hours is vaccines. Candidly, we were a bit bothered by the fact that this facility provided the pneumonia vaccination to only 43.64821 percent of its residents. Surprisingly, this facility was not as bad as we expected at keeping its patients out of the hospital. While it had 3.43 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, its risk adjusted metric wasn't bad since it had some more complicated patients.
Facility Inspections
Moving on our last area of inspections, this facility received an F here. Since this information is compiled by independent government inspectors, we heavily weight poor results in this category. We would advise paying close attention to any deficiencies on a facility's inspection reports when it receives this bad of an inspection score. We recommend you pay close attention to the severity of those deficiencies. This facility was hit with 2 deficiencies by government inspectors. The only positive thing we found is that none of the deficiencies were in the categories that indicate that they posed a risk to patient health or safety. 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.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
Lowry Hills Care and Rehabilitation Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This is the percentage of patients that sustained a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers are considered to be a barometer of the quality of nursing care . Pressure ulcers, which are also known as bed sores, are routinely the result of patients staying in one position for too long.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This indicates the percentage of patients who sustained a fall resulting in major injury.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This figure tells you the percent of long-term residents that sustained UTI's. Although more of these infections may reflect poorly on a nursing home's hygiene protocols, it can be problematic to compare between nursing homes due to facilities having varying reporting standards.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This datapoint is a measure of the percentage of long-term care patients receiving antipsychotic medications. While antipsychotic drugs play an important role in caring for many residents, it is important to confirm these drugs are being used appropriately. In some situations, increased usage of these drugs may suggest a facility is using these medications to subdue residents.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This statistic tells you the percentage of long-term care residents which were given antianxiety medication. These drugs are commonly prescribed to residents experiencing anxiety or depression.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This indicates the percent of residents exhibiting depressive symptoms. Increased rates of depression could indicate a lower level of care.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This tells you the percentage of patients who have received the flu and pneumonia vaccines. Higher vaccination rates should be the norm at this point.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This metric measures the percentage of long-term care patients who needed more assistance with activities of daily living over time. Activities of daily living include activities such as moving around and eating. Some believe that this is a measure of a patient's well-being.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This metric tracks the percentage of long-term patients that retained mobility levels. Some experts believe that mobility is critical to patients mental and physical health.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
This tells you the number of times residents are hospitalized per 1,000 days of care. There is usually a correlation between avoiding hospitalizations and the overall quality of care.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This metric tracks the number of rehospitalizations per 1,000 days of short-term care.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This indicates the number of emergency room visits per 1,000 days of short-term patient care.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
This tells you the percentage of short-term stay residents who experienced functional improvements, such as with activities of daily living.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better