The Laurels of Hudsonville

Although this facility's overall grade is not a highlight, it actually received a slightly more favorable grade in the category of inspections. We awarded it a grade of B- for that category, which is not bad. Inspection grades account for a host of factors found on a facility's inspection report. One of the most important criteria we consider is the number and severity of deficiencies. This facility received 3 deficiencies on its inspection report, but we were relieved to see that none were considered severe. This means that the government inspectors did not consider any of the deficiencies to pose an imminent risk to resident health or safety. Finally, CMS cited this nursing home for possible abuse or neglect. Hopefully, its performance improves in the future, but until then we simply can't recommend this facility.

This nursing home actually received a decent grade in the area of nursing as well. We awarded it a grade of B- for that category, which is not a bad score. Nursing grades are primarily based on the facility's nurse staffing. This nursing home provides only 0.3 hours of nursing care per resident per day. This is a somewhat discouraging figure which is well below average. Lastly, while this place got docked a bit for nursing hours, it actually excelled in a few of our quality-based metrics. With less than five percent of its patients sustaining pressure ulcers, it fared well in this metric.

This nursing home's next highest category ended up being its short-term care score, where it was given a B-. In forming these short-term care ratings, we assess the facility's skilled nursing services, including those performed by registered nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists and other types of skilled professionals. Our purpose is to create a barometer for sizing up the rehabilitation services of various nursing homes. In this facility's case, we were surprised to learn that it actually provides less physical therapist and registered nurse hours per resident than the typical facility. The hope is that this does not adversely affect the quality of care. Finally, we considered the number of residents who were able to return to the community from this facility. We found that 5 percent of this facility's patients returned home. At most facilities, closer to half of their patients are able to return home so this figure is below average.

Moving on to the fourth area, this facility received a B- in long-term care, which is generally a decent score. Long-term care grades are used to gauge a facility's performance as a traditional convalescent home, as opposed to focusing on the skilled nursing services offered by a rehabilitation facility. Once we looked at the amount of care provided by aids and other staff, we then looked at the facility's vaccination statistics. We were pleased to find that this nursing home vaccinated 99.65278 percent of its patients against pneumonia. This facility was able to keep its residents out of the hospital. Indeed, it had only 0.02 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low number.