Western State Nursing Facility

We also found that this facility excelled in our long-term care rating. We awarded them an impressive grade of A+ in this category. When facilities receive this type of grade in long-term care it is a good sign for resident care and suggests that the facility is well-staffed with nurses aids. Once we concluded our assessment of the quantity of care provided by nurses, we then looked at the facility's vaccination data. This facility vaccinated 100 percent of its patients against pneumonia, which is what we like to see. Pneumonia sadly is often a deadly illness for nursing home patients so we like it when a facility does not leave this to chance. Lastly, this facility was able to limit hospitalizations. Indeed, it had less than one hospitalization per 1,000 long-term resident days, which is a remarkably low figure.

We also awarded this nursing home a grade of A+ for its nursing grade. Our nursing score is mostly based on the facility's nurse staffing. This facility provided 0.7 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Finally, we also looked at several nursing quality measures and this place excelled in some of these areas. With less than five percent of its residents sustaining pressure ulcers, it performed as well as any place the country in this category. This is generally a good indicator of quality nursing care. Pressure ulcers can typically be prevented by offering better nursing care, such as having a policy of turning patients at least once a day.

Another quality feature of this facility is its inspection grade. In that category, we gave this facility an A. Perhaps the most important factor we consider in calculating our inspection scores is deficiencies. These deficiencies can be found on a nursing home's inspection reports. Places with better scores in this category most likely avoided the most severe deficiencies involving health risks or even death. While this facility had some deficiencies on its report, none were serious based on CMS' scale. Finally, this facility had no substantiated complaints this year from residents, which is an excellent sign.

In our last area, this facility also was given an excellent short-term care score, with a grade of A-. This wrapped up a first-rate report card. Our short-term care ratings are arguably most important for folks in need of rehabilitation from their nursing home. Rehabilitation typically mandates additional skilled nursing services. This includes not only nursing, but also physical and occupational therapy, as well as other types of therapy. Fortunately, it looks like this facility employs registered nurses. Not every nursing home employs these types of nurses. However, according to the data this nursing home provided, they do not appear to employ physical therapists. The final measure we assessed in this area is the number of patients who ultimately were able to return home from the facility. We found that 0 percent of this nursing home's residents returned home as opposed to remaining at the nursing home on a permanent basis.