Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare

78 Birchwood Drive, Huntington Station, New York 11746

Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare is Huntington Station, New York. It has 195 certified beds that have been approved by the federal government to participate in Medicare and Medicaid. It has an average of 188.4 residents per day. Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare is not in a Continuing Care Retirement Community, and it is not in a hospital. It has a Resident Council to facilitate communications with the staff. The facility is a for profit corporation doing business under the legal business name of S and L Birchwood LLC.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gives each nursing home an overall rating* on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, with 5 stars being the highest rating and 1 star the lowest. The CMS also rates each nursing home in the categories of health inspections, staffing, and quality of resident care. The overall rating for Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare is “below average” or 2 stars.

Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare’s star rating for health inspections is 2 stars which is a “below average” rating. New York State inspectors regularly conduct full inspections of nursing homes for compliance with the federal Medicare and Medicaid regulations. In addition, at any time during the year a nursing home may also be inspected based on a complaint submitted by a resident, relative or other individual, or based on a facility’s self-reported incident.

The date of the most recent health inspection was February 6, 2018. In that report 3 health citations were noted. The average number of citations for New York is 4.8 and the average number of citations in the United States is 7.8. The following deficiencies from the inspection were noted in the statement of deficiencies:

• the facility did not ensure that residents who reside in the facility receive services with
  reasonable accommodation of their needs
• the facility did not ensure that medically-related social services to attain or maintain the highest practicable mental and psychosocial well-being of each resident were provided
• for at least one resident, the facility did not ensure that an antipsychotic medication was discontinued timely after the pharmacist's recommendation and agreement by the nurse practitioner

During the last 3 years, while there were no complaints that resulted in citations, there was 1 occasion in which there was a facility-reported incident that resulted in a citation.

For staffing, Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare received 1 star which is a “much below average” rating. The total number of licensed nurse staff hours per resident per day at Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare is 1 hour and 7 minutes, while the New York average is 1 hour and 31 minutes and the national average is 1 hour and 33 minutes. The registered nurse hours per resident per day at Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare is 22 minutes compared to 42 minutes for New York and 41 minutes for the United States. The licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/LVN) hours per resident per day at Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare is 45 minutes compared to 49 minutes for New York and 53 minutes for the United States.

Physical therapist hours are also measured. This measure shows the average time physical therapists spend providing care tor residents throughout the facility. However, not all nursing home residents require physical therapy. Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare provides 5 minutes of physical therapist staff hours per resident per day, which is consistent with the national average of 5 minutes, but lower than the New York average of 7 minutes.

Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare’s star rating for overall quality of resident care is 5 stars which is a “much above average” rating. Facilities are also rated on their quality of care for short-stay residents and long-stay residents.

Short-stay residents. Short-stay residents are those who spent 100 days or less in a nursing home, or residents covered under the Medicare Part A Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) benefit. Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare’s star rating for short-stay residents is 5 stars which is a “much above average” rating.

17.7% of Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare’s short-stay residents were re-hospitalized after a nursing home admission. The average for New York is 20.4% and national average is 22.6%. Antipsychotic medications can be used to treat certain mental health conditions. 1.4% of short-stay residents of Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare received antipsychotic medication for the first time, while the New York average is 1.5%. and the national average is 1.8%.

Pressure ulcers, also referred to as bed sores or pressure injuries, are injuries to skin and underlying tissue resulting from prolonged pressure on the skin, such as staying in one position for a long time. 1.1% of the skilled nursing facility residents at Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare had pressure ulcers that were new or worsened while residing at this facility. The national average is 1.6%.

Nursing facilities are also evaluated for their flu and pneumonia prevention measures. 95.3% of Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare’s short-stay residents received the needed flu shot for current flu season. This percentage is higher than both the New York and national averages which stand at 82.6% and 82.3%, respectively. As for the percentage of short-stay residents who needed and got a vaccine to prevent pneumonia, the percentage for Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare is 93.0%, while the average for New York is 79.3% and the average for the United States is 83.2%.

Long-stay residents. Long-stay residents are those who spent over 100 days in a nursing home. Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare’s rating for long-stay residents is 5 stars which is a “much above average” rating.

A part of a nursing home’s quality of resident care rating is the number of resident hospitalizations. For Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare, the number of hospitalizations per 1,000 long-stay resident days is 1.31, while the New York average is 1.55, and the national average is 1.75. As for the number of outpatient emergency department visits per 1,000 long-stay resident, for Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare the number is days is 0.73, while the New York average is 0.74, and the national average is 1.03.

The rating also takes into consideration specific medical issues experienced by residents. The percentage of long-stay residents at Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare experiencing one or more falls with major injury is 1.3, while the New York average is 2.9, and the national average is 3.4. The percentage of long-stay high-risk residents at Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare with pressure ulcers is 6.1%, compared to the New York average of 8.6% and the national average of 7.4%. The percentage of long-stay residents at Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare with a urinary tract infection is 0.8%, compared to the New York average of 2.4% and the national average of 2.8%. The percentage of long-stay residents at Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare who have or had a catheter inserted and left in their bladder is 1.1%, compared to the New York average of 1.6% and the national average of 2.2%.

As for factors related to mobility and pain, the rating examines the percentage of residents whose ability to move independently worsened. For Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare, 12.3% of long-stay residents’ ability to move independently worsened. The average for New York is 16.0% and the national average is 17.9%. The percentage of long-stay residents at Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare whose need for help with daily activities has increased is 9.7%, compared to the New York average of 13.3% and the national average of 14.8%. The percentage of long-stay residents Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare who report moderate to severe pain is 3.4%, compared to the New York average of 4.0% and the national average of 6.9%.

When a nursing home gets a serious citation or fails to correct a citation for a long period of time, that facility may be assessed a penalty. A penalty can be a fine against the facility or a denied payment from Medicare. Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare has not received a penalty from the federal government in the last 3 years.

The information about the performance of Apex Rehabilitation and Healthcare is from Medicare.gov and is based on past performance. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. Further, we recommend that you check the statistics yourself at Medicare.gov for both accuracy and updates. Choosing a nursing home is a very difficult decision, and we make no representation as to the quality of any of the facilities or their ratings on the site.