The Heights of Bulverde
384 Harmony Hills, Spring Branch TX 78070 · (830) 438-1276 · 72.82% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Nick Lata
The Heights of Bulverde is a large government-owned nursing home located in Spring Branch, Texas. This is a lower end facility, with an overall grade of D. This wasn't the worse nursing home we found, but we'd still be very reluctant to recommend it. If you aren't deterred by this nursing home's report card, you can continue reading to find out about its category scores. Inspection grades are discussed in the next section.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 : 124 Beds
CCRC :
Government - Hospital district
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Facility Inspections
Although we did not rate this facility highly overall, we want to draw your attention to its excellent government inspections in recent years. We awarded them an A- in this category. Our inspection ratings account for a host of factors found on a facility's inspection report. One key criteria we weigh heavily is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. You should avoid nursing homes with a list of deficiencies flagged. This particular nursing home received 2 deficiencies on its inspection report. Overall, this is still a solid inspection report, but we'd always recommend looking into any deficiencies you find troubling.
Short-term Care Quality
We awarded this nursing home just a D for our short-term care rating and that actually turned out to be its second highest score. Our short-term care grades are believed to be more critical for residents in need of a nursing home for rehabilitation. Rehabilitation usually mandates additional skilled nursing. Skilled nursing includes not merely nursing, but also physical and occupational therapy, as well as other forms of therapy. In this nursing home's case, we found that it provides less physical therapist and registered nurse hours per resident than the average facility. Lastly, we assessed the number of patients who were able to return to the community from this facility. We were surprised to find that it performed better in this area, with 54 percent of its residents returning home. This was just about this nursing home's sole highlight in this area.
Long-term Care Quality
Sadly, this nursing home only received a grade of D for its long-term care grade, which is not an impressive grade. Nursing homes that don't score well in long-term care often do not provide as much nursing care and also may be lagging in a few of the areas of routine personal care we looked at. After we finished looking at the volume of care provided by nurses, we turned to the nursing home's vaccination record. We were a bit alarmed this facility vaccinated a relatively low 76.17021 percent of its residents against pneumonia. Surprisingly, this nursing home was actually able to limit hospitalizations. With just 1.66 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, this facility had less hospitalizations than many nursing homes. This was its best score in this category.
Nurse Quality
The final area we analyzed was nursing, in which this facility was given a rock bottom grade in this category also. Sadly, it received a lowly F in this area, which is definitely very concerning. Our nursing score assesses a handful of components, but the most important consideration is the level of nurse hours spent with patients. This place provided only 2.6 hours of nursing care per patient on a daily basis. This is an alarmingly low total. To pair with its subpar totals in the area of nursing hours per resident, this facility also didn't fare as well in the quality-based measures we looked at in calculating our nursing grades. We looked at the percent of residents experiencing major falls and pressure ulcers. This facility had more falls and pressure ulcers than the average facility.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
The Heights of Bulverde Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This metric tells you the percentage of long-term residents who are suffering from new or worsened pressure ulcers . We bake this statistic into both nursing and long-term care grades.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This indicates the percentage of residents that suffered from a major fall. Falls resulting in major injury are often caused by lower quality nursing care. Better nursing care minimizes the number of major falls sustained by residents in a nursing home.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This is the percentage of patients who sustained a urinary tract infection. Urinary tract infections are considered by many experts to be an indicator of nursing care . UTI's are routinely associated with lower quality nursing care. However, this metric could be misleading for some facilities due to inconsistent reporting standards for infections.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This indicates the percentage of residents given antipsychotic drugs. These medications are sometimes used for several medical conditions, such as Alzheimer's or other dementias.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This is an indication of the percent of long-term patients that are prescribed antianxiety medication. These medications are generally prescribed to residents experiencing anxiety and depression.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This datapoint is a measure of the percentage of long-term care patients demonstrating symptoms of depression.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This indicates the percentage of residents who received the flu and pneumonia vaccines. Higher vaccination rates should be demanded by residents.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This indicates the percentage of residents who required more assistance with activities of daily living over time. Higher levels of dependence on staff for assistance with ADL's may indicate the erosion of a resident's health.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This tells you the percent of residents that maintained mobility over time. Retaining mobility can be a great sign for residents' health.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Hospitalizations
This is the number of times residents are hospitalized per thousand days of patient care. There is generally a correlation between having fewer hospitalizations and the overall quality of care.
Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
Measures the number of rehospitalizations per thousand days of short-term resident care. Avoiding rehospitalizations during rehabilitation is key to restoring the physical well-being of residents.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
Measures the number of times residents are sent to the emergency room per 1,000 days of short-term patient care.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
This is the percentage of short-term stay patients that experienced functional improvements, such as with activities of daily living.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better