Rochester Health Services West is a nursing care facility located in Rochester, Minnesota, operating as a small, for-profit corporate-owned center with a total of 48 beds. The facility caters to individuals requiring both short-term rehabilitation following hospital stays and those in need of long-term nursing care, participating in both Medicare and Medicaid programs. It is not part of a broader continuing care retirement community, focusing its services specifically on skilled nursing and support to residents with daily living and medical needs. The facility does not appear to have any specialized units such as a designated Alzheimer’s care wing, and is not within a hospital campus. The ownership structure is corporate, which can influence operational policies and procedures.
In terms of care quality, Rochester Health Services West has an overall rating that reflects both its short-term and long-term care performance. The short-term rehabilitation program is rated as average. Approximately 60.3% of residents benefiting from short-term rehabilitation were able to return home after their stay, reflecting a reasonable rate of post-discharge autonomy. The facility also monitors a variety of key quality indicators: 2.6% of individuals in short-term care experienced a fall with major injury, and 6.6% had infections significant enough to require hospitalization. About 23.6% of residents in short-term rehabilitation had emergency room visits during their stay. On the nursing side, the staffing levels average 3 hours and 14 minutes of nurse staffing per resident per day, including both weekdays and weekends, which is consistent with national norms for similar facilities.
The long-term care services at Rochester Health Services West are assessed as below average. Most metrics in this area focus on residents’ ability to maintain self-care, emergency room utilization, and infection prevention practices. While 87.5% of long-term residents were able to retain the ability to complete everyday activities independently, such as eating and using the bathroom, the facility recorded an average rate of 2.6 emergency room visits per 1,000 patient days and maintained a high flu vaccination rate of 98.4% among residents. The nurse staffing figure is the same as for short-term rehabilitation, indicating consistent staffing ratios throughout the facility.
The regulatory record for Rochester Health Services West includes a series of inspections and citations. Recent inspection history points to several deficiencies, many of which were categorized as having the potential for low harm, with relatively few residents directly affected in each instance. Areas cited include honoring resident rights, timely and complete resident assessments, safe administration of medications and IV fluids, and the maintenance of a safe, home-like environment. Additional citations noted needed improvements in infection prevention and control, more precise pharmaceutical services, adequate nurse staffing and competencies, and safe storage and labeling of medications. There were also several occasions where the facility needed to enhance its documentation and coordination of transfers or discharges, as well as to provide appropriate respiratory care and responses to alleged violations.
Rochester Health Services West has also received citations related to their flu and pneumonia vaccination policies and the submission of staffing data to regulatory agencies. In previous years, the facility paid several fines in response to these issues, reflecting a recent period of increased regulatory oversight. Despite these challenges, the care team managed to address the majority of the cited issues within the required time frames.
In sum, Rochester Health Services West offers skilled nursing services with a specific focus on rehabilitation after hospitalization and ongoing long-term care, supported by Medicare and Medicaid for qualifying residents. With a small-capacity, for-profit model, the facility strives to provide daily medical and personal assistance, but continues to work towards improvement in key areas such as infection control, medication safety, and staff adequacy. The collected data reflects both the strengths and ongoing opportunities for quality advancement in the delivery of care to residents.