Upmc Heritage Place

While we gave this facility a poor overall score, we actually gave it a somewhat respectable score in the area of inspections, where it received a B-. This was quite a bit better than its other categories. We believe that one of the most critical factors in assessing an inspection report is deficiencies. We especially look at the severity of those deficiencies. While this facility had a few minor dings on its inspection report, it had no severe deficiencies. Severe deficiencies are labeled as categories G, H, I, J, K and L. This tells you that the government inspectors didn't consider any of the deficiencies on this facility's report to pose an imminent threat to patient health or safety. Lastly, this facility was flagged by CMS for possible abuse or neglect. We prefer to avoid facilities with this designation. Please do your best to find an alternative nursing home.

We awarded this facility a respectable grade in the area of nursing as well, with a grade of B-. Our nursing grade is mostly tied to a nursing home's level of nurse staffing. This facility provided just 0.5 hours of nursing care per patient on a daily basis. This is a low total compared with most other nursing homes. Lastly, despite not having the highest total nursing hours, this facility actually performed admirably in the metric of preventing major falls. This is often an indicator that a nursing home has quality controls in place.

The third highest category we awarded this nursing home in any category came in the area of short-term care, where we gave it a grade of B-. In the area of short-term care, we strive to qualify measures of a facility's rehabilitation. We assess the facility's skilled nursing services, including the ones performed by registered nurses and physical therapists. We found that this nursing home was below average in the two key staffing areas we looked at. In fact, it offered fewer registered nurse and physical therapist hours per resident than most other nursing homes. It is important to determine whether this also correlates to a lower quality of care. The last measure we assessed in this category is the number of residents who were able to leave the nursing home and return to the community. We discovered that just 5.2 percent of this facility's patients were able to return home, which is actually below average.

Turning to our final area, this nursing home was given a B- for long-term care, which is generally an acceptable grade. In a long-term care setting, the nursing home's primary objective is to maintain patients' quality of life and keep them safe. On top of looking at the volume of care provided by aids and other staff, we also looked at the number of residents vaccinated for pneumonia. Thankfully, this nursing home provided the vaccine to 100 percent of its residents, which is a very respectable statistic. Finally, this facility was also able to limit hospitalizations. Indeed, it had less than one hospitalization per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low number.