Four Chattanooga area nursing homes included on US best list

Four Chattanooga area nursing homes were named among the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report, including three owned by Cleveland, Tennessee-based Life Care Centers of America.

The quality-based ratings, published Thursday, evaluate nearly 15,000 nursing homes in the U.S. Fewer than 19% were named Best Nursing Homes.

The list includes Life Care Center of East Ridge, Life Care Center of Hixson, Life Care Center of Ooltewah and the Center for Advanced Rehabilitation at Parkside in Rossville.

Tennessee had 58 nursing homes on the list, landing it at No. 18 among states for the highest number of best nursing homes in the U.S.

The ratings give nursing homes scores on both short-term rehabilitation care and long-term residential care of below average, average or high performing.

(READ MORE: Son of former Life Care Centers CEO Forrest Preston named conservator)

To be considered a best nursing home, facilities needed to get a high performing score in either or both of the two forms of care.

The centers in Hixson and Ooltewah received high performing ratings in both short-term and long-term care, while the East Ridge center did not have enough data to make a determination about long-term care but secured the highest ranking for short-term care.

The Rossville center received a high performing ranking for short-term care and an average ranking for long-term care.

Each score is based on 17 measures, around twice the number of measures in last year’s methodology. The ranking is designed to help people make better choices about care for themselves or loved ones, said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News & World Report.

“The public is our primary audience,” Harder said in a phone call. “As an organization, we strive to make data available to the public so that people can make data-driven decisions.”

STAFFING STATS

The ratings are based almost entirely on data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a federal agency. Data on the rate of antipsychotic drug use was based on information from the Long Term Care Community Coalition, according to the publication’s methodology.

The 17 quality measures include several related to staffing levels, as well as rates of emergency room visits, hospitalizations and depression.

U.S. News & World Report analyzes invoices from short-term and long-term stays at nursing homes that are compiled by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

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“We have access to each of those invoices,” Harder said. “They contain a lot of information.”

The ratings of best nursing homes debuted in 2009. Facilities do not pay in exchange for an appearance on the list or a high rating, Harder said.

“It’s in our DNA that editorial and business don’t mix,” Harder said. “Our methodology is completely open.”

While quality is not the only factor people consider, it is a major one, Harder said. The rating does not take affordability into account, since prices for short-term and long-term care vary widely at the same facility depending on insurance coverage or the needs of patients.

QUALITY OUTCOMES

Facilities named Best Nursing Homes have 20% more staff per resident per day compared to the national average, the publication said. They have a 15% lower rate for hospitalizations of long-term residents and a 33% lower rate of ER visits for rehab patients.

Life Care Centers of America operates more than 200 nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities in 27 states with around 40,000 employees. It is the largest privately owned operator of long-term care facilities in the U.S.

Three other Life Care Centers in Hamilton County — in Collegedale, Red Bank and Soddy-Daisy — received average rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

Life Care Centers founder Forrest Preston, a 92-year-old billionaire and one of Tennessee’s wealthiest businessmen, was CEO until April. The company’s board named Aubrey Preston, Forrest Preston’s son, CEO after the Bradley County Chancery Court made him conservator of his father’s holdings in March.

Contact business reporter Daniel Dassow at [email protected] or 423-757-6318.