Medicare provides nursing home rating

SunBridge Care & Rehabilitation of Alleghany ranked close to state and national averages in most indicators, according to Medicare's nursing home comparison data.

Data are available for 17,000 nursing homes across the nation; 414 of those are in North Carolina. SunBridge is the only Medicare-certified nursing home listed in Alleghany County.

The report listed SunBridge as having seven health deficiencies during the complaint reporting period — from June 1, 2001 to Aug. 31, 2002 — and averaging 3.71 nursing staff hours per resident per day.

The range of health deficiencies among North Carolina nursing homes was zero to 59. Seven was the average for both the state and the nation. Nursing staff hours per resident per day averaged 4.2 in the state and 3.8 in the U.S.

A spokesperson at SunBridge Health Care Corporation said the deficiencies have been corrected and that the nursing home is in substantial compliance.

Quality Measures

The Medicare report listed information for SunBridge on all 10 of the quality measures it uses. Those measures indicated that among SunBridge residents:

30 percent have loss of ability in basic daily tasks, compared to a state average of 15 percent and a national average of 15 percent;

12 percent have pressure sores (a.k.a. bed sores), compared to 10 percent statewide and 8 percent nationwide;

8 percent have pain, compared to 10 percent statewide and 11 percent nationwide;

4 percent are in physical restraints, compared to 10 percent statewide and 10 percent nationwide;

8 percent have infections, compared to 15 percent statewide (the national average was listed as not available);

3 percent of short stay residents have delirium, compared to 3 percent statewide and 4 percent nationwide;

26 percent of short stay residents have pain, compared to 25 percent statewide and 25 percent nationwide.

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