The Ambassador Sidney
115 Main Street, Sidney IA 51652 · (712) 374-2693 · 85.21% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Sara Levinsohn
The Ambassador Sidney is located in Sidney, Iowa, a city with a total of 1,783 people. Featuring an overall grade of B-, this is likely a middle of the road facility. This place has a few things going for it. The best part of this nursing home's report card was its exemplary inspection rating. We discuss inspections in the next section.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 46 Beds
CCRC :
For profit - Corporation
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Facility Inspections
The main reason this nursing home received a decent overall score is its excellent government inspections in recent years. We awarded them one of our better grades in that category, with an A+. This is a notably better score than the place's overall grade, which was decent but certainly not elite. Our inspection grades account for a host of factors included in a facility's inspection reports. One of the most important criteria we consider is the number and severity of deficiencies. Facilities with higher scores in this category tend to have very few severe deficiencies. This facility was assessed 4 deficiencies on its inspection report, but fortunately none of the deficiencies were considered to be major deficiencies. This means that CMS didn't deem any of the deficiencies to create an immediate risk to patient health or safety. The fact that the deficiencies were relatively minor made us feel better about this inspection report.
Nurse Quality
This nursing home also received a strong nursing grade. In fact, we awarded it a grade of B+ in that category, which is one of our better scores. Nursing grades are primarily based on a nursing home's nurse staffing. This nursing home averages 3.3 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Lastly, we also assessed certain nursing quality-based metrics in computing our nursing grades. These include minimizing residents' pressure ulcers and major falls. We view these metrics as good measures of the caliber of nursing care provided, since better care tends to reduce these problems.
Short-term Care Quality
The next best area we awarded this nursing home in any category came in the area of short-term care, where we awarded it a C. With our short-term care category, we strive to create a meaningful measure for rehabilitation services. In doing so, we assess the nursing home's offerings of highly-skilled nursing services, including both registered nurses and physical therapy, as well as occupational therapy. Fortunately, this nursing home offers both physical therapists and registered nurses. Not all facilities offer both. Lastly, we assessed the percentage of patients who were able to return to the community from this nursing home. We found that 38.3 percent of this facility's residents returned home. At most nursing homes, closer to half of their patients are able to return home so this figure is below average.
Long-term Care Quality
This nursing home's worst area was long-term care, which is the final category we analyzed. In this category, we awarded this facility a grade of just D. For prospective patients seeking a permanent place to live rather than skilled nursing, long-term care is an important category. Once we assessed the volume of care provided by nurses and other staff, we then looked at the facility's vaccination records. This facility vaccinated 98.08917 percent of its residents against pneumonia, which is more than most nursing homes. To our surprise, this facility was able to limit hospitalizations. With only 0.8 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, this facility has less hospitalizations than many nursing homes. Unfortunately, some of its other scores in the category weren't as favorable as these.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
The Ambassador Sidney Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This is the percent of residents who have had a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers, also called bed sores, are routinely caused by patients staying in one position for too long. Better nursing protocols limits the number of pressure ulcers sustained by residents in a nursing home.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This is an indication of the percentage of long-term stay patients which have had a fall resulting in severe injury. Falls can arise for a variety of reasons, but excessive numbers of falls may be a sign of poor nursing care.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This tells you the percentage of patients that suffered from a urinary tract infection. These infections are sometimes associated with insufficient hygiene.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This tells you the percentage of residents who were prescribed antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotic medications are given to residents for many conditions, including cognitive disorders. Tragically, in limited situations, excessive reliance on these medications may mean that a nursing home is using these medications to control patient behavior.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This is an indication of the percentage of long-term residents taking antianxiety medications.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This metric measures the percent of long-term stay residents who are exhibiting depressive symptoms. Some experts argue that this is a measure of quality of life.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
Measures the percentage of long-term patients that were administered the pneumonia and flu vaccines. Respiratory viruses can be deadly for nursing home patients, making these vaccines vital to patient safety.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This tells you the percent of residents that needed more assistance with activities of daily living over time. Higher levels of dependence on staff for assistance with activities of daily living could be a sign of the erosion of a resident's well-being.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This tells you the percent of patients who were able to retain mobility over time. Retaining mobility is usually a good sign for residents' well-being.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
This is the number of times residents are hospitalized per thousand days of care.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This datapoint measures the number of times residents are rehospitalized per thousand days of short-term care. Avoiding the hospital during rehabilitation is key to restoring the health of patients.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better