The Knolls

55 Grassland Road, Valhalla, New York 10595

The Knolls is located in Valhalla, New York. It has 20 certified beds that have been approved by the federal government to participate in Medicare and Medicaid, with an average of 12.8 residents per day. Hamlet Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center at Nesconset 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 not-for-profit corporation doing business under the legal business name of The Bethel Methodist Home.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) gives each nursing home an overall rating* on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, as well as star ratings in the categories of health inspections, staffing, and quality of resident care. The overall rating for The Knolls is “below average” or 2 stars.

The Knolls’ star rating for health inspections is 1 star which is a “much below 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 based on an incident self-reported by the facility.

The date of the most recent health inspection of The Knolls was July 3, 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. During the July 3^rd inspection, deficiencies noted included:

• the facility did not ensure that monitoring of fluid intake for a specific resident on fluid restriction was consistently done to prevent fluid overload
• the facility did not ensure that all drugs and biologicals used in the facility were labeled and stored in accordance with professional standards in one of the emergency boxes currently in use in the facility

However, 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 per day of licensed nurses, registered nurses, nurses aides, licensed practical/vocational nurses, and physical therapists. For staffing, The Knolls received 5 stars which is a “much above average” rating.

• The total number of licensed nurse staff hours per resident per day at The Knolls is 2 hour and 24 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 The Knolls is 2 hours 19 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 The Knolls is 5 minutes 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 12 minutes, while the New York average is 2 hours and 15 minutes and the national average is 2 hours and 19 minutes.
• The Knolls provides 17 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.

The Knolls’ 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. The Knolls’ star rating for short-stay residents is 5 stars which is a “much above average” rating.

22.4% of The Knolls’ 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. None of the short-stay residents of The Knolls 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. None of the skilled nursing facility residents at The Knolls 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. 81.5% of The Knolls’s short-stay residents received the needed flu shot for current flu season. This percentage is slightly lower 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 The Knolls is 96.8%, which is higher than the average for New York of 79.3% and the average for the United States of 83.2%.

Long-stay residents. Long-stay residents are those who spent over 100 days in a nursing home. The Knolls’ rating for long-stay residents is 5 stars which is a “much above average” rating. However, because of the small number of residents at The Knolls, data related to long-stay residents is limited.

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. The Knolls received a penalty of $24,056 on March 28, 2017.

The information about the performance of The Knolls 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.