River Crossing of Joliet

Although we gave this facility a terrible overall grade, we awarded it a C for our inspections rating. In fact, the facility received very impressive inspection report this year. Inspection scores take several factors into consideration, including deficiencies and substantiated complaints. You can learn more about each of these factors by reviewing copies of nursing homes' inspection reports. This facility was hit with 7 deficiencies on its inspection report, but we were relieved to find that none were in any of the categories labeled G through L. This tells you CMS did not deem any of the deficiencies to create an imminent danger to resident health or safety. Unfortunately, we also need to draw your attention to the fact that this facility received significant government fines in recent years.

One of the other reasons we graded this nursing home so highly is that it received a very impressive nursing score. This turned out to be its second best category grade. In that area, we gave this facility an C. Nursing scores are heavily correlated with quality and quantity of nursing care. This nursing home provided just 0.4 hours of nursing care per patient each day. This figure is far below the national average. Despite having low quantities of nursing care, this place actually excelled in some of the quality-based metrics we assessed. In fact, it performed well in terms of avoiding pressure ulcers and major falls.

This nursing home's second lowest score is long-term care, where it received a grade of just D in that area. This is a relatively poor grade. For long-term care residents, the primary objective is to keep patients as healthy and safe as possible. This is different than skilled nursing or short-term care where the goal is to rehabilitate patients. In addition to assessing the volume of care provided by nurses and other staff, we looked at the number of residents vaccinated for pneumonia. Thankfully, this facility gave the vaccine to 94.0594 percent of its patients, which is an above average percentage. To our surprise, this place was able to limit hospitalizations. With only 0.04 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days, this facility has less hospitalizations than many nursing homes. Sadly, some of its other scores in the category were not as favorable as these.

The last category we rated was short-term care, where this nursing home was given an abysmal score in this area as well. We gave it a lowly F in this area, which is definitely somewhat alarming. Our short-term care scores are believed to be most meaningful for individuals in need of rehabilitation from their nursing home. Rehabilitation typically utilizes more skilled nursing services. This includes not merely nursing, but also physical and occupational therapy, as well as other forms of therapy. Based on its abysmal rating in this category, we weren't shocked to learn this facility offers substantially fewer physical therapist and registered nurse hours per patient than most other nursing homes. Finally, we assessed the number of patients who ultimately were able to return home from this nursing home. This nursing home didn't fare well here either. In fact, we found that just 2.9 percent of this facility's patients were able to return home.