10450 LOTTSFORD ROAD
MITCHELLVILLE, MD 20721
(301) 925-9610
We are nursing home lawyers that bring lawsuit against nursing homes when they harm their residents by neglect or abuse. We do not make it a habit of speaking well of nursing homes. And, sometimes, even the best nursing home make mistakes that can cause hare to a patient. That said, Collington Episcopal Life Care appear to be an excellent nursing home.
Medicare's rating system for nursing homes gives a facility 1 to 5 stars for three main categories, and 1 to 5 stars overall. That's 20 possible stars a facility can get. In its most recent inspection, Collington Episcopal Life Care got 18 out of 20 - and if you dig into the weeds of the analysis you can argue that it should have scored even higher. This facility has earned some bragging rights.
In its last standard Medicare inspection, in September, 2015, Collington received an overall 5-star ranking (much above average), as well as 5 stars for quality measures. It received 4 stars each for its health inspection and its staffing. Yet with regard to staffing in particular, Collington's metrics were so much higher than the Maryland and U.S. averages that a 4-star rating on staffing seems low. And staffing relates directly to quality measures (which are numerical gauges of the level of care), for which Collington did get the top 5-star rating.
CompetitionBefore we dig any deeper into this nursing home, let's look at the competitors in the area, listed by distance from Collington.
That is not to say that this facility is perfect. The last health inspection turned up a total of 5 deficiencies at Collington - although it beat both the Maryland and U.S. averages of 11 and 7.1, respectively. But Collington came in below par on fire safety, having 6 deficiencies in this category, versus an average of 4 for Maryland, 3.4 for the U.S.
Collington also has had a complaint inspection, conducted concurrently with its standard inspection in 2015 - but in view of the rest of Medicare's very positive findings, these complaints may have been the exceptions that prove the rule. (Collington has had no federal fines or payment denials in the past three years.)
The complaint inspection turned up five separate issues. However, In all five cases, Medicare found that there was minimal harm or potential for actual harm, and only a few residents were affected. Inspectors said, for instance, that Collington staffers provided therapy to three residents but failed write their plan of treatment; they failed to check whether they should update two residents' treatment regimens; they failed to clean debris from a wheelchair or fix a hole in a wall. This is not to say that these deficiencies are unimportant, but they seem far from life-threatening.
Lots of Nurse TimeThat's about it for the minus side. Collington scored exceedingly well on staffing and quality measures, which indicate how much care residents are actually receiving.
A nonprofit corporation, Collington is an affiliate of Kendal, which operates 13 facilities in eight states. By the measure of resident population, Collington is exceptionally small - its total of 34 residents representing just a minor fraction of the average populations for Maryland (107.5) and the U.S. (86.2). According to the Medicare figures, those 34 Collington residents got lots of nursing attention.
The total nursing time per resident per day at Collington was 2 hours, 52 minutes: more than an hour longer than the Maryland average (1 hour, 51 minutes) and U.S. average (1 hour, 42 minutes). On RN time, this facility came in right between the Maryland and U.S. averages, although it got an above-average 4-star rating for RN staffing. Collington was a little above average on residents' time with certified nursing assistants, and much above average in two other staffing categories. Residents here got more than twice the average amount of time daily with LPNs and LVNs (licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational nurses), and two to three times as much time with physical therapists.
In Medicare's quality care metrics for short-term residents, Collington's results were outstanding. For short-stayers, Collington swept the board, outperforming the national and Maryland state averages in every one of the nine measured categories. What's even more remarkable is that in most cases, Collington's scores were much better than the state and U.S. averages.
Collington short-termers were only about a third as likely as the state and national averages to report having significant pain. They were just over a third as likely to have issues with bed sores (pressure ulcers).
In Maryland and the U.S. as a whole, 2.2 percent of short-stayers receive antipsychotic meds; at Collington the percentage was zero. On average, nursing homes in Maryland and other states vaccinate about four out of five short-stay residents for flu and pneumonia. Collington gave the shots to nearly all of its short-stay residents. And on the measure of successful discharge rates (which is the goal of the short-stay resident, after all), this facility was markedly better, at 73.7 percent, than Maryland (59.1 percent) and the national average (55 percent).
More Superb ScoresOn quality measures for long-stay residents, Collington again had superb metrics. It came in below average in three measures, and about equal to the state and U.S. averages on two others, but it beat the Maryland and U.S. averages in 10 categories - usually by a long shot.
Collington had some superlative scores. Among its long-stay residents, the percentage rate of falls with injury; zero. Rate of depressive symptoms: zero. Percentage of these residents subject to physical restraints: zero. Needless to say, Collington was far superior to the Maryland and U.S. averages in all three of these categories, perhaps most notably in the measure of depression. For long-term residents showing signs of depression, the Maryland average is 4.8 percent, the national average 5.4 percent. These may not sound like very high numbers, but they're sky-high compared with Collington's zero percent. (If even one-tenth of one percent of Collington's long-termers were depressed, they would still be only one-fiftieth as likely to be depressed than the state and national averages.) While we're talking about perfect scores, we would note that Collington gave pneumonia shots to 100 percent of its long-term residents (and flu shots to 97.4 percent of them) - again, besting the Maryland and U.S. averages.
Collington was significantly better than the state and national averages in at least three other categories. Pressure ulcer (bed sore) incidence among its long-stay residents was less than half of the Maryland and national averages. Collington's long-termers were only one-third to one-fourth as likely as the state and U.S. averages to be on antipsychotic meds (and also less likely to be taking meds for anxiety). As for residents' reports of significant pain, only 0.7 of this facility's long-stay residents made such reports, versus the Maryland average of 6.4 percent and the U.S. average of 8.2 percent - rates nine to ten times higher than at Collington.
The Maryland and U.S. averages were better than Collinton's - although not by a lot - in three measured categories. Collington long-termers were slightly more likely to experience declines in mobility; and they were about twice as likely to have a urinary tract infection or be subject to ongoing catheterization. But even here, the facility's numbers were low: its urinary tract infection rate was 9.6 percent, catheterization rate 5.6 percent.
"The mission of Collington," says the facility's website, "is to maintain a secure, stimulating, supportive, and compassionate community of diverse, older people, within a health environment that fosters independence and dignity for all." Based on its great quality measures alone, Collington appears have gone far toward achieving its mission.
Prince George's County Nursing Home LawyerDo you have a possible nursing home lawsuit against this Prince George's County nursing home or any other elder care facility? Call our nursing home lawyers at Miller & Zois today at (800) 553-8082 or get a free no obligation case review. We can counsel you on how you can get justice and compensation you deserve for the losses you have suffered.
More InformationBeds in the nursing home that have been approved by the federal government to participate in Medicare or Medicaid.
Shows if the nursing home participates in the Medicare, Medicaid, or both.
| Star Rating Summary | ||
| Overall Rating | Much Above Average | |
| Health Inspection Medicare assigns the star rating based on a nursing home's weighted score from recent health inspections. More stars means fewer health risks | Above Average | |
| Staffing Medicare assigns the star rating based on the nursing home's staffing hours for Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practice Nurses (LPNs), Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs), and Nurse aides. More stars means a better level of staffing per nursing home resident | Much Above Average | |
| RN Staffing | Above Average | |
| Quality Measures Medicare assigns the star rating based on data from a select set of clinical data measures. More stars means better quality of care | Much Above Average |
| Description | Collington Episcopal Life Care | Maryland Average |
| Percent of short-stay residents who self-report moderate to severe pain Lower percentages are better. | 2.8% | 10.4% |
| Percentage of SNF residents with pressure ulcers that are new or worsened Lower percentages are better. | 0.9% | Not Available |
| Percent of short-stay residents assessed and given, appropriately, the seasonal influenza vaccine Higher percentages are better. | 93.7% | 85.3% |
| Percent of short-stay residents assessed and given, appropriately, the pneumococcal vaccine Higher percentages are better. | 98.4% | 84.0% |
| Percentage of short-stay residents who got antipsychotic medication for the first time Lower percentages are better. | 3.4% | 1.7% |
| Description | Collington Episcopal Life Care | Maryland Average |
| Percent of long-stay residents experiencing one or more falls with major injury Lower percentages are better. | 8.1% | 2.7% |
| Percent of long-stay residents with a urinary tract infection Lower percentages are better. | 0.8% | 2.5% |
| Percent of long-stay residents who self-report moderate to severe pain Lower percentages are better. | 1.2% | 5.4% |
| Percent of long-stay high-risk residents with pressure ulcers Lower percentages are better. | 12.3% | 8.8% |
| Percent of long-stay low-risk residents who lose control of their bowels or bladder Lower percentages are better. | 42.9% | 62.3% |
| Percent of long-stay residents who have or had a catheter inserted and left in their bladder Lower percentages are better. | 2.9% | 1.7% |
| Percent of long-stay residents who were physically restrained Lower percentages are better. | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents whose ability to move independently worsened Lower percentages are better. | 32.2% | 22.5% |
| Percent of long-stay residents whose need for help with daily activities has increased Lower percentages are better. | 20.2% | 18.0% |
| Percent of long-stay residents who lose too much weight Lower percentages are better. | 11.0% | 5.8% |
| Percent of long-stay residents who have depressive symptoms Lower percentages are better. | 0.0% | 3.9% |
| Percentage of long-stay residents who received an antianxiety or hypnotic medication Lower percentages are better. | 6.7% | 16.2% |
| Percent of long-stay residents assessed and given, appropriately, the seasonal influenza vaccine Higher percentages are better. | 93.8% | 96.7% |
| Percent of long-stay residents assessed and given, appropriately, the pneumococcal vaccine Higher percentages are better. | 100.0% | 94.1% |
| Percent of long-stay residents who received an antipsychotic medication Lower percentages are better. | 7.3% | 12.4% |
Date of standard health inspection:02/15/2018
Total number of health deficiencies:10
Average number of health deficiencies in Maryland:14.9