Western State Nursing Facility

In addition to receiving a great overall grade, this facility also received an A+ long-term care grade. When nursing homes receive this type of score in long-term care it is typically a good sign for resident care and indicates that the nursing home is well-staffed with nurses and aids. One of the datapoints we considered in addition to nursing hours is vaccinations. This facility administered the pneumonia vaccination to 100 percent of its patients. Vaccination is a reliable method to avoid unnecessary deaths for the aged 65 and up population. Finally, this place was able to limit hospitalizations. It had only 0.02 hospitalizations per one thousand long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low number.

One of the other reasons we graded this nursing home so highly is that it received a very impressive nursing score. This turned out to be its second best category grade. In that area, we awarded this facility a grade of A+. Our nursing grade is based on a number of factors. The most important variable is the amount of time nurses spent with patients. This nursing home provides 0.7 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Lastly, we also assessed some nursing quality measures in determining our nursing grades. This place performed very well when it comes to avoiding major falls and pressure ulcers. We consider these areas to be good indicators of the quality of nursing care.

In addition, this facility also earned a nearly flawless government inspection report. It received one of our highest grades in that category with a score of A. Inspection grades weigh a host of factors included in a facility's inspection report. One key criteria we rely on is the quantity and severity of deficiencies. Facilities with higher scores in this category generally have very few severe deficiencies. This place was hit with 2 deficiencies on its inspection report, but we were relieved to see that none of the deficiencies were considered to be severe. This indicates that the inspectors didn't deem any of the deficiencies to create an imminent risk to patient safety or health. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.

The fourth category we assessed is short-term care, where this nursing home was given an A-. This rounded out a very favorable profile. Not many facilities received an A- or better in every category. Our short-term care grades are important for individuals requiring rehabilitation. Rehabilitation usually mandates higher levels of highly-skilled nursing services. This includes a vast spectrum of nursing services, spanning from registered nurses to physical and respiratory therapists, as well as other variations of therapy. Fortunately, it looks like this facility has registered nurses on staff. Not every facility employs these skilled professionals. However, based on the information this nursing home provided, it does not look like the facility employs physical therapists. The last statistic we considered in this area is the number of residents who were able to leave the facility and return home. We found that 0 percent of this facility's patients were able to return home.