The Shore Winds

While this facility's overall score was as bad as it gets, it actually performed pretty well in the category of inspections. In fact, we awarded it a B for that category, which is one of our better scores. Our inspection grades weigh a host of factors included in a nursing home's inspection reports. One of the most important criteria we look at is the number and severity of deficiencies. You generally want to avoid facilities with a bunch of severe deficiencies flagged. While this place had a few minor dings on its government inspection report, it had zero severe deficiencies. Severe deficiencies are found in categories G, H, I, J, K and L. This means CMS didn't consider any of the deficiencies on this facility's report to pose an imminent threat to patient health or safety. A couple minor deficiencies aren't necessarily the end of the world.

We were also surprised to find that this facility received a decent nursing grade this year. We gave it a grade of C in that category. There are several factors within this area. Many of the datapoints relate to levels of nurse staffing. This facility provided just 0.3 hours of nursing care per resident per day. This is a relatively low total compared to most other facilities. Lastly, we also assessed some nursing quality-based metrics. Although this nursing home got dinged a bit for its nursing hours per resident, it actually excelled in a few of these quality measures. With less than five percent of its patients experiencing pressure ulcers, it did very well in this subcategory. This can be an indicator of quality nursing care. Pressure ulcers can frequently be prevented by providing better nursing care, such as employing a system of turning a patient more often.

Additionally, we gave this facility a rock-bottom F in the category of long-term care. Long-term care scores in this range generally are a bad sign for the quantity and quality of care provided by nurses and aids, as well as the levels of routine medical care available. In addition to considering the amount of care provided by nurses aids and other staff, we also looked at the number of residents vaccinated for pneumonia. We were a bit concerned this nursing home administered the vaccine to only 69.69697 percent of its residents. Surprisingly, this facility actually fared well at keeping its residents out of the hospital. In fact, it had just 0.01 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days. This is its best score in this category.

Turning to our last area, this facility really didn't fare well in this area either. With an abysmal grade of F in short-term care, this is about as as uninspiring as it gets. Our short-term care ratings are considered to be most important for patients in need of rehabilitation from their nursing home. Rehabilitation usually mandates higher levels of skilled nursing. This includes not only nursing services, but also physical and occupational therapy, as well as other forms of therapy. Not surprisingly, we found that this nursing home provides far less physical therapist and registered nurse hours per resident than the average facility. The last measure we looked at in this area is the percentage of patients who were able to return home from the nursing home. This facility struggled quite a bit in this area as well, with just 2.8 percent of its residents returning home.