Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF

51 N Rt 9W, West Haverstraw, New York 10993

Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF is located in West Haverstraw, New York. It has 25 certified beds that have been approved by the federal government to participate in Medicare and Medicaid, with an average of 19.4 residents per day. Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF is not in a Continuing Care Retirement Community and is within a hospital. It does not have a resident or family council to facilitate communications with the staff. The facility is government owned.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gives each nursing home an overall rating* on a scale of 1 to 5 stars: 5 stars = much above average, 4 stars = above average, 3 stars = average, 2 stars = below average, 1 star = much below average. The CMS also assigns star ratings in the categories of health inspections, staffing, and quality of resident care. The overall rating for Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF is “much above average” or 5 stars.

Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF’s star rating for health inspections is 4 stars which is an “above average” rating. New York State inspectors regularly conduct full inspections of nursing homes for compliance with 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 or other individual or based on an incident self-reported by the facility.

The date of the most recent health inspection of Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF was February 9, 2018. In that report 2 health citations were noted, which is below both the New York average number of citations of 4.8 and the national average number of 7.8. Problems that inspectors discovered include:

• The facility did not ensure that residents or the residents' representatives were
  given timely written notification of the transfer and the reasons for the move in a
  language and manner they understood. Specifically, there was no documented evidence in the records of 2 residents.
• The facility did not ensure that for one of the residents, that the attending physician acted upon or addressed the pharmacy consultant's recommendation regarding the resident's medications and document what actions were taken to address it.

In addition, during the last 3 years, there were no complaints that resulted in citations, and there were no facility-reported incidents that resulted in citations.

According to the CMS, higher staffing levels may mean higher quality of care for residents. Thus, the CMS reviews the staffing levels. Specifically, it looks at the number of hours per resident of licensed nurses, registered nurses, nurses aides, licensed practical/vocational nurses, and physical therapists. For staffing, Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF received a 5-star rating. The majority of its staffing levels are higher than both the New York and national averages.

• The total number of licensed nurse staff hours per resident per day at Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF is 3 hour and 42 minutes, which is significantly higher that the New York average of 1 hour and 31 minutes and the national average of 1 hour and 33 minutes.
• The registered nurse hours per resident per day at Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF is 3 hours and 41 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 Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF is 1 minute compared to 49 minutes for New York and 53 minutes for the United States.
• The nurses aid hours per resident per day is 3 hours and 2 minutes, while the New York average is 2 hours and 15 minutes and the national average is 2 hours and 19 minutes.
• Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF provides 0 minutes of physical therapist staff hours per resident per day, compared to the New York average is 7 minutes and the national average is 5 minutes. However, not all nursing home residents require physical therapy.

Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF’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. Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF’s star rating for short-stay residents is also 5 stars. However, not enough data is available to provide a rating for 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 benefit.

In determining a nursing home’s rating for short-stay residents, the CMS reviews records related to residents’ visits to hospitals.

• 25.5% of Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF’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%.
• As for outpatient emergency department visits, for Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF, the percentage of short-stay residents who have had an outpatient emergency department visit is 4.9%, while the New York average is 8.8% and the national average is 10.7%.
• 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. In some, but not all instances, pressure ulcers can be indicative of negligent care. 1.4% of the skilled nursing facility residents at Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF had pressure ulcers that were new or worsened while residing at this facility. The national average is 1.6%.
• As for residents who report moderate to severe pain, for Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF, the percentage is 1.0, which is lower that the New York average of 8.1% and the national average of 12.3%.
• Nursing facilities are also evaluated for their flu and pneumonia prevention measures. 100% of Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF’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. Note that nursing homes are required to provide flu shots each year. However, residents are not required to get flu shots. Any resident has the right to refuse if he or she does not want a shot, has already received the shot, or the flu shot is medically contraindicated.
• As for the percentage of short-stay residents who needed and got a vaccine to prevent pneumonia, the percentage for Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF is 100%, while the average for New York is 79.3% and the average for the United States is 83.2%.

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. Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF has not received a penalty from the federal government in the last 3 years.

The information about the performance of Helen Hayes Hospital RHCF 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.