Northbridge Health Care Center

Northbridge Health Care Center shares its grounds with Heritage Commons, so you'll find a rental retirement community nearby along with the skilled nursing care and health care services offered at Northbridge, and the place has 145 qualified beds, though on most days there are about 124 residents, and you'll see staff members, including nurses and C.N.A.s, helping folks with meals and bathing, and they have an average nurse staffing level of 3.53 nurse hours per resident each day, which is a little less than the state average, and even though they're a part of Athena Health Care Systems and have been managed by Athena Health Care Associates, Inc. since 1996, inspection reports have shown 31 total deficiencies, including significant issues with quality of life and care, specifically not always preventing accidents and sometimes lacking proper supervision, and there are infection-related deficiencies and concerns over meeting federal infection standards, and while the nurse turnover rate of 36.8% is lower than the state average, there've also been deficiencies about nurses and aides not always being competent in their roles. The center does offer a lot of services such as emergency services, behavioral health, hospice care, dementia care, massage and speech therapy, and short-term rehab in a state-of-the-art gym, with compassionate therapists and an interdisciplinary team working to help residents recover or maintain as much independence as possible, and they do make individualized care plans designed to support both physical and emotional well-being, and families can stay involved throughout the care process. There's a focus on safety, family support, and providing a nurturing environment, though, as inspection records show, there's room for improvement when it comes to accident prevention and infection control, and the application process looks at both medical and financial readiness. Northbridge has life enrichment programming, religious services, discharge planning, and a regular calendar of simple activities, with staff guiding residents through both daily needs and therapy. They're active on Facebook and support mental health parity, and they try to make the transition easier for families, offering tours every day and support services that go from rehabilitation to home care programs under Athena Care at Home.