Budd Terrace at Wesley Woods, Emory Healthcare’s skilled nursing facility, has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a Best Nursing Home for 2020-21. Just 21 percent of U.S. skilled nursing facilities made the Best Nursing Homes list this year. Budd Terrace received a four out of five in overall ratings.
Patients may come to Budd Terrace, a 250-bed facility, for short-term rehabilitation following a hospital stay or surgery, or for long-term care for those in need of daily assistance with medical and non-medical needs.
Budd Terrace earned Best Nursing Home status by achieving a rating of high performing for short-term rehabilitation, the highest possible rating for that category. The facility scored three out of three in the short-term rehabilitation category. Data used to evaluate these facilities come from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) and include metrics of nurse staffing, patient outcomes, facility complaints and rehabilitation therapy.
“We are pleased to be recognized as a Best Nursing Home this year by U.S. News & World Report,” says John Pulliam, administrator of Budd Terrace. “We are proud of our staff and physicians who have worked tirelessly to care for our patients and residents during a very challenging year with COVID-19 on the forefront.”
For long-term care, Budd Terrace scored two out of three, or average performing. The data used to evaluate long-term care in nursing homes also come from CMS and include metrics of nurse staffing, adherence to best practices in preventive care and resident safety and minimizing the need for and use of anti-anxiety or hypnotic medications.
This year, to accompany the new ratings, nursing home profile pages were updated to include a patient safety summary that reflects COVID-19 data alongside other measurements of safety and related advice on choosing a home or facility amidst the pandemic.
Budd Terrace has taken stringent measures to care for and isolate patients with COVID-19, while following proper protocols and guidelines to maintain disinfection and cleanliness of the facility. COVID-19 testing has been instrumental throughout this year for the low number of COVID-19 patients at Budd Terrace.
Other safety measurements include: short-term rehabilitation patients in nursing homes being given timely flu vaccinations (92.4 percent at Budd Terrace), long-term care of residents receiving pneumonia vaccines (98.8 percent at Budd Terrace), short-term rehabilitation patients who did not experience any falls resulting in major injury (99.8 percent at Budd Terrace) and no infection control violations.
“Many in our community and beyond depend on Budd Terrace, its excellent staff and physicians to provide both short-term and long-term care resources for patients,” says Sharon Pappas, PhD, RN, chief nurse executive for Emory Healthcare, who oversees the skilled nursing facility. “We are committed to providing safe, high-quality care and exceptional services to those who depend on us.”
Now in its 11th year, the U.S. News Best Nursing Homes ratings and profiles offer comprehensive information about care, safety, health inspections, staffing and more for nearly all of the nation’s 15,000-plus nursing homes. The Best Nursing Homes ratings reflect U.S. News’ exclusive analysis of publicly available data using a methodology defined by U.S. News that evaluates factors it has determined most greatly impact patient and resident care, safety and outcomes.