The Sequoias
501 Portola Road, Portola Valley CA 94028 · (650) 851-1501 · 59.06% estimated occupancy 1Updated: Aug 1, 2020 · By Sara Levinsohn
Located in Portola Valley, California, The Sequoias is the only option we found in this city. This facility is among the most impressive facilities we found. Being awarded an A+ in our rating system requires top-notch performance across the board. Based on our analysis, you can not go wrong with this nursing home. Headlining this place's remarkable report card is its nursing score, which you can find in the next section.
Additional Details:
Accepts Medicare 1 :
Accepts Medicaid 1 :
CCRC :
Non profit - Corporation
Resident Council:
Family Council:
Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2019)
Nurse Quality
On top of being a first rate nursing home overall, this nursing home also excelled in the category of nursing, where it received an A+. Few nursing homes fared better in this category. In computing our nursing grades, we analyze both nursing hours and the skill levels of those nurses. This place provides an incredible 5.8 hours of nursing care per patient each day. Out of this total, many of those hours were provided by registered nurses, which is one of the more highly trained levels of nurses. On top of offering high levels of nursing care, this facility was also above average in each of the major quality measures we looked at in this category. It performed well when it comes to minimizing its residents' major falls and pressure ulcers.
Short-term Care Quality
This facility also received an A+ for its short-term care grade. Short-term care scores are based in part on a facility's quantity of skilled highly skilled professionals. This means a broad range of nursing services, spanning from registered nurses to physical and occupational therapists, in addition to other variations of therapy. This nursing home provided more physical therapist and registered nurse hours per resident than most facilities. This is what we like to find when assessing a facility in this category. The final statistic we looked at in this area is the number of patients who were able to leave the nursing home and return to the community. We found that it performed as well as just about any facility in California in this area with 66.5 percent of its patients returning home.
Long-term Care Quality
The next area we analyzed is long-term care. This facility excelled in our long-term care rating also. We awarded them an exemplary grade of A+ in this category. When nursing homes receive a grade in this range in long-term care it typically means it has plenty of staff and is an overall good place to live on a permanent basis. In addition to assessing the volume of care provided by nurses and other staff, we also looked at the percentage of residents vaccinated for pneumonia. This nursing home administered the vaccine to 96.36363 percent of its residents, which is what we like to see. Pneumonia is often a deadly condition for nursing home patients so we strongly prefer when a facility doesn't leave this to chance. Lastly, this place was able to limit hospitalizations. In fact, it had only 0 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is an impressively low number.
Facility Inspections
This facility has earned near flawless government inspections in recent years. We gave them an impressive grade of A in this category. This is one of the few facilities in the nation to receive an A- or better in every category. Inspection grades account for several factors found on a nursing home's inspection report. One of the most important criteria we rely on is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. Facilities with higher scores in this area tend to have very few severe deficiencies. Although this nursing home had a few deficiencies on its government inspection report, none were severe based on CMS' scale. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.
Overall Rating Over Time
Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.
The Sequoias Quality Metrics
Minimizes Pressure Ulcers
This datapoint gauges the percent of long-term care residents who suffer from pressure ulcers. We find that pressure ulcers are a great indicator of nursing care quality.
Percent of Patients with Pressure Ulcers
Lower is Better
Minimizes Serious Falls
This indicates the percentage of patients who sustained a major fall. Falls leading to severe injuries are considered to be a measure of the quality of nursing care . Major falls resulting in injury are often the result of poor nursing care.
Percent of Patients with Serious Falls
Lower is Better
Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections
This indicates the percent of residents who have had a urinary tract infection. Urinary tract infections are often linked to poor nursing care. Closer supervision can reduce the number likelihood of residents sustaining infections. Keep in mind that this statistic is sometimes skewed by the fact that facilities have varying reporting standards for UTI's.
Percent of Patients with UTIs
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication
This tells you the percent of patients given antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotic medications are given to residents for a variety of conditions, including Alzheimer's or other dementias. Unfortunately, in limited cases, increased usage of these drugs may mean that a facility is using these medications to control patient behavior.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication
This statistic tells you the percent of long-term patients taking antianxiety drugs.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Managing Depression Among Residents
This indicates the percent of residents exhibiting symptoms of depression. High levels of depression could be an indicator lower quality care.
Percent of Patients
Lower is Better
Appropriate Vaccine Usage
This is the percentage of patients who were administered the pneumonia and flu vaccines. High vaccination rates should be the norm at this point.
Percent of Patients
Higher is Better
Residents Maintain Autonomy
This tells you the percent of residents that needed additional assistance with activities of daily living over time. Higher levels of needing for assistance with ADL's could be a sign of erosion of a patient's health.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Ability to Keep Residents Mobile
This indicates the percentage of residents who remained mobile levels over time. Preserving mobility can be a great sign for residents' health.
Percentage of Residents
Higher is Better
Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations
This metric tracks the number of times residents are rehospitalized per thousand days of short-term patient care. Keeping residents out of the hospital during rehabilitation is key to restoring the physical abilities of patients.
Percentage of Residents Rehospitalized
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: ER Visits
This is the number of emergency room visits per 1,000 days of short-term patient care. There is usually a correlation between fewer emergency room visits and the quality of nursing home care.
Percentage of Patients
Lower is Better
Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement
This metric measures the percentage of short-term stay patients who saw functional improvements, such as enhanced ability to perform activities of daily living. Some experts argue this is a reasonable measure of a nursing home's rehabilitation performance.
Percentage of Resident
Higher is Better