Meadowbrook Healthcare

In addition to performing well in its overall grade, this nursing home performed at an even higher level in the area of inspections. In fact, it received a nearly flawless inspection report this year. As a result, it received one of our highest grades in that category with a score of A. Our inspection grades weigh several factors found on a nursing home's inspection reports. One of the most important criteria we weigh heavily is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. Nursing homes with higher grades in this area tend to have few severe deficiencies. This nursing home was hit with 2 deficiencies on its inspection report, but we were relieved to see that none were considered to be severe. This tells you that CMS did not deem any of the deficiencies to pose an immediate risk to resident health or safety. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.

Contributing to this facility's list of achievements, it also was given a top-shelf long-term care grade. We awarded them an impressive grade of A in this category. When facilities receive this type of score in this category it is usually a good sign for resident care and indicates that the place is well-staffed with nurses and aids. In addition to considering the amount of care provided by nurses aids and other staff, we looked at the percentage of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This facility provided the vaccine to 100 percent of its patients. Vaccines are critical to keeping residents healthy. Finally, this place was able to limit hospitalizations. It had only 0.02 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low figure.

The next area we looked at was short-term care. This facility was awarded an impressive short-term care score, with a grade of B+ in the category. Our short-term care scores are arguably more meaningful for folks in need of rehabilitation from their nursing home. Rehabilitation typically mandates more highly-skilled nursing services. Skilled nursing means not only nursing, but also physical and speech therapy, as well as other types of therapy. Fortunately, it looks like this nursing home employs registered nurses. Not all facilities employs these skilled professionals. However, according to the data this nursing home provided, it does not look like the facility employs physical therapists. The last statistic we assessed in this area is the number of patients who ultimately were able to return home from the nursing home. We found that 5.5 percent of this nursing home's residents returned home as opposed to remaining at the nursing home on a permanent basis.

The last area we looked at is nursing. In this category, we gave this nursing home a decent grade of C. This ended up being this nursing home's weakest area. The nursing rating consists of a handful of components, most of which are tied to levels of nurse staffing. This particular nursing home provided just 0.3 hours of nursing care per patient on a daily basis. This figure is far below average. Finally, we like to look at quality-based statistics, such as the percentage of patients who experienced pressure ulcers and major falls. Sometimes these metrics are indicators of the quality of nursing care.