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United Living Community

Nursing Home
Independent Living
Assisted Living
Adult Day Care
Memory Care

Updated Nov 1, 2023 by Nick Reese

Historical Rating

See Rating Overview

United Living Community's website

405 First Ave,
Brookings SD 57006

(605) 692-5351

62.71% estimated occupancy ¹

United Living Community is an average-sized non-profit nursing home located in Brookings, South Dakota. With an A overall grade, we rated this nursing home in the top 20 percent of all nursing homes in the nation. We really can not say enough good things about this place. If you scroll down, you can see this nursing home's category ratings, which are also strong.

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Quick Details

Accepts Medicare ¹
Accepts Medicaid ¹
Is CCRC
Has Resident Council
No Family Council
Non profit - Other
Offers Hospice
Offers Post-Acute Care
Offers Inpatient Rehab

Specialized Services

Personal Care
Medication Management
Home Making
Transportation
Speech Therapy
Amputee Recovery
Occupational Therapy
Cardiac Therapy
Diabetes Management
Physical Therapy
Respiratory Therapy
Nutritional Counseling
Recreational Therapy
Pain Management
Orthopedic Rehabilitation
Aquatic Therapy

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Registered Staff Hours

Medical Staff Hours Per Patient (2022)

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Facility Inspections

In addition to being an elite nursing home overall, this nursing home also excelled in the area of inspections, where it earned a grade of A+. Very few places fared as well in this category. Perhaps the most significant factor we look at in determining our inspection grades is deficiencies. These deficiencies are found on a nursing home's recent inspection reports. Nursing homes with higher scores in this area most likely avoided the more severe deficiencies involving health risks or even death. This particular nursing home had just a single deficiency on its inspection report and it was not one deemed to pose a threat to patient health or safety. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.

Long-term Care Quality

This facility also performed well in the category of long-term care, where we gave it a grade of A-. Only a select group of nursing homes fared better in this category. Long-term care scores of this caliber generally require both around the clock care from nurses and aids, as well as quality routine medical care. Once we assessed the volume of care provided by aids and other staff, we then looked at the nursing home's vaccination data. This nursing home vaccinated 100 percent of its patients against pneumonia, which is far higher than the vast majority of nursing homes. Clearly, this facility is doing something right in this area as it was able to keep its patients out of the hospital. Indeed, it had only 0.01 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low number.

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Nurse Quality

Adding to its impressive resume, this nursing home also excelled in our nursing category. In fact, we awarded it a grade of A- for that category. Our nursing grade assesses the nursing home's level of nurse staffing. We look at both the levels of licensure of those nurses as well as the number of hours spent with patients. This nursing home provides 0.5 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Finally, our nursing grades also factor in quality-based assessments, such as avoiding major falls. This facility performed well in this area. Avoiding major falls is typically a good indicator that a facility has reliable quality controls in place. Major falls can generally be prevented if more nurses aids and better safety protocols are in place.

Short-term Care Quality

Switching gears to our last area, this facility was awarded a strong short-term care grade. In fact, we awarded it a grade of B+ in that area, topping off one of our more favorable report cards. Short-term care scores are based on the nursing home's quantity of highly-skilled highly skilled professionals. This means a broad spectrum of nursing services, ranging from registered nurses to physical and respiratory therapists, not to mention other variations of therapy. Fortunately, it appear that this nursing home employs registered nurses. Not all facilities employs these types of nurses. However, according to the data they provided, it does not look like the facility employs physical therapists. Finally, we looked at the number of residents who were able to return to the community from this nursing home. We found that 4.9 percent of this nursing home's residents returned home.

Rating Over Time

Compared to national and state averages across all facilities.

United Living Community Quality Metrics

Minimizes Pressure Ulcers

In United Living Community, 7.44% of Patients had Pressure Ulcers

This indicates the percent of patients that suffered from a pressure ulcer. Pressure ulcers are damage to the skin resulting from staying in one position for an excessive period of time.

Minimizes Serious Falls

In United Living Community, 8.51% of Patients had Serious Falls

This is the percent of residents that have had a major fall. Falls leading to severe injury are often associated with lower quality nursing care. Better nursing care limits the number of major falls sustained by residents in a nursing home.

Minimizes Urinary Tract Infections

In United Living Community, 1.63% of Patients had UTIs

This indicates the percentage of patients that have had a urinary tract infection. Urinary tract infections are considered by many experts to be a barometer of nursing care at a nursing home. UTI's are routinely associated with a nursing home with worse hygiene protocols. Nevertheless, this datapoint can be misleading for certain nursing homes due to inconsistent reporting standards for these infections.

Appropriately Uses Anti-Psychotic Medication

In United Living Community, 34.76% of Patients use Anti-Psychotic Medication

This datapoint indicates the percent of long-term stay patients that were prescribed antipsychotic drugs. High levels of antipsychotic drug use may indicate a facility is using these medications to subdue residents in situations where such medications are not medically required. Nevertheless, some facilities need to rely more on these drugs due to an increased number of patients with Alzheimer's or other dementias.

Appropriately Uses Anti-Anxiety Medication

In United Living Community, 11.95% of Patients use Anti-Anxiety Medication

This metric indicates the percent of long-term stay patients receiving antianxiety medications.

Managing Depression Among Residents

In United Living Community, 12.43% of Patients

This is the percent of residents who are showing signs of depression.

Appropriate Vaccine Usage

In United Living Community, 98.57% of Patients

This metric measures the percent of long-term stay patients who have received the flu and pneumonia vaccines. Respiratory viruses can be fatal for nursing home patients, making these types of vaccines vital to patient safety.

Residents Maintain Autonomy

In United Living Community, 12.03% of Patients

This indicates the percent of patients who needed additional assistance with activities of daily living over time.

Ability to Keep Residents Mobile

In United Living Community, 14.23% of Residents

This indicates the percent of patients who retained mobility levels over time. Retaining mobility is usually a good sign for residents' well-being.

Hospitalizations

In United Living Community, 0.01 Hospitalizations per 1,000 resident days

This metric tracks the number of hospitalizations per thousand days of patient care. Minimizing hospitalizations is key to preserving the physical well-being of patients.

Short-term Care: Rehospitalizations

In United Living Community, 14.23% of Residents Rehospitalized

This tells you the number of rehospitalizations per thousand days of short-term patient care. There is usually a correlation between avoiding hospitalizations and the quality of rehabilitation services.

Short-term Care: ER Visits

In United Living Community, 6.62% of Patients

This tells you the number of times residents are sent to the emergency room per thousand days of short-term patient care.

Short-term Care: Facilitates Functional Improvement

In United Living Community, 82.76% of Resident

This indicates the percentage of short-term stay patients who experienced functional improvements, such as with activities of daily living. High levels of independence with ADL's usually correlates with superior rehabilitation.