The Gardens at Tunkhannock
30 Virginia Drive, Tunkhannock PA 18657 · (570) 836-5166 · 90.72% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Sara Levinsohn
With an address in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, The Gardens at Tunkhannock is the lone option we identified there. Featuring an overall score of D, this is a subpar nursing home. Based on our assessment, this place may not be a great fit for most people. If you aren't deterred by this place's report card, you can continue reading to learn more about its category grades. Inspection grades are discussed in the next section.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 124 Beds
CCRC :
For profit - Corporation
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Facility Inspections
Although we didn't rate this nursing home favorably overall, we did give it an excellent grade in the category of inspections, where it received an A-. Our inspection scores account for a host of factors found on a facility's inspection reports. One key criteria we rely on is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. You should avoid facilities with a bunch of deficiencies flagged. This facility was assessed 4 deficiencies on its inspection report, but fortunately none were considered severe. This means that the inspectors didn't consider any of the deficiencies to be an imminent risk to patient safety or health. A couple minor deficiencies are not necessarily the end of the world.
Short-term Care Quality
This nursing home's next best category ended up being its short-term care score, where it was awarded a B-. In the area of short-term care, we try to qualify indicators of a facility's rehabilitation services. We assess the facility's skilled nursing services, including those performed by registered nurses and physical therapists. Remarkably, this facility provides its residents with at least 50% more physical therapist hours per week than the average facility. Finally, we assessed the number of residents who were able to return to the community from this facility. It outperformed the majority of nursing homes with 55.1 percent of its residents returning home.
Nurse Quality
We were stunned to find that this nursing home also excelled in the area of nursing. We gave it a score of D for that category, which is one of our highest scores. The nursing rating analyzes several components, however, the main consideration is the number of nurse hours per patient per week. This facility provided just 3.1 hours of nursing care per resident per day. This is a very low total compared to most nursing homes. Finally, we also looked at some quality-based metrics in calculating our nursing grades. This nursing home was above average in two of the major areas we considered, with solid marks for minimizing its residents' pressure ulcers and major falls. These metrics are typically reliable indicators of the quality of nursing care available.
Long-term Care Quality
Switching gears to the final category, we awarded this facility a grade of D for the area of long-term care. This was the nursing home's weakest category rating. In a long-term care setting, the facility's 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 residents. In addition to looking at the volume of care provided by nurses aids and other staff, we looked at the number of residents vaccinated against pneumonia. This facility vaccinated 97.79614 percent of its patients, which is better than the majority of nursing homes. Surprisingly, this place was able to keep its patients out of the hospital. Indeed, it had just 1.21 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days. Unfortunately, a few 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 Gardens at Tunkhannock Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This is the percent of patients that sustained a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers are damage to the skin resulting from staying in the same position for too long.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This tells you the percentage of patients who suffered from a fall leading to serious injury.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This figure is an indication of the percent of long-term residents that had a urinary tract infection. Although more of these infections may reflect poorly on a facility's nursing care, it is difficult to compare different facilities due to facilities having differing reporting standards.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This tells you the percent of residents prescribed antipsychotic medications. While antipsychotic medications may be helpful for many residents, it is important to make sure these medications are being used only where medically required. In some situations, high levels of antipsychotic drug use may suggest that a nursing home is using these drugs to subdue residents.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This tells you the percentage of patients prescribed antianxiety drugs. Antianxiety medications are administered to patients experiencing depression or anxiety.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This indicates the percent of patients who are showing depressive symptoms.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This indicates the percentage of patients that have received the flu and pneumonia vaccines. High vaccination rates should be standard at this point.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This is the percentage of patients who needed additional assistance with activities of daily living over time.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This datapoint is a measure of the percent of long-term stay residents that were able to retain mobility. Some believe that mobility is important for residents' well-being.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
This is the number of hospitalizations per 1,000 days of care.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This is the number of times residents are rehospitalized per 1,000 days of short-term care. There is a correlation between avoiding hospitalizations and a nursing home's quality of short-term rehabilitation.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This datapoint is a measure of 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
Measures the percent of short-term patients that experienced functional improvements, such as with activities of daily living. Some experts argue this is a reliable measure of a facility's rehabilitation services.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better