Table of Contents
Health and Safety Measures
While we all have endured the significant disruptions to daily living that COVID-19 has brought us, nursing homes have been uniquely affected during the pandemic. Between enacting infection control policies like never before seen, to the high toll the virus has demonstrated that it takes from the aging population, COVID-19 and infection prevention have come into narrow focus in today’s nursing home landscape. When we discuss health and safety in relation to nursing homes, we therefore can not begin the discussion anywhere but with the information surrounding nursing homes and COVID-19.
Through the pandemic thus far, Texas has seen a staggering 10% mortality rate of the elderly residing in nursing home facilities. While a majority of these deaths occurred during the early days of the pandemic, evolving infection control policies and procedures put forth by nursing homes around the country began stemming the flow of infection rates within the facilities. Evaluating these policies and procedures is an important factor when looking at the safety of the facility as a whole. We looked at the COVID-19 numbers by facility, but also at other infection prevention measures overall, to determine what we consider a safe facility. As the State of Texas gathers infection control measures on a rolling basis, we will be able to break down the numbers by facility for you, so you can ensure you or your loved ones are admitted into a safe and sound facility, dedicated to the preservation of your health.
Nursing Homes in Fort Worth, TX
The Fort Worth area of the Dallas metro complex is home to historical sites, museums and entertainment around every corner. If museums are a point of interest for you, an outing with your family to the local area museums is a must. With venues like the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Texas Civil War Museum and more, exploring the history and culture of Fort Worth and Texas as a whole is just around the corner.
An area of Fort Worth that is definitely worth checking out is the Fort Worth Stockyards. A uniquely rustic area of the Fort Worth region, the Stockyards are home to a flying museum, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and even daily cattle drives to give you a taste of true Texas history. Outings to this down home atmosphere is a must when getting yourself out and about for a day trip.
Healthcare in the Fort Worth region is top-tier all around, with the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area consisting of the Baylor and Texas Health hospital systems and associated therapy and outpatient clinics. Nursing homes in Fort Worth alone are numerous, with 31 just within the city limits. As your care needs escalate, nursing home care becomes the most advanced level of day to day hands-on care you can be given. Skilled nursing services can oversee a large amount of care tasks such as tube feeding, trach care and management of advanced wounds. Complicated medical diagnoses like diabetes, advanced hypertension, and dementia are also indications to seek nursing home care.
Trinity Terrace
Located in the affluent Eastchase subdivision of Fort Worth lies Trinity Terrace. Nearby attractions include the Fort Worth Water Gardens, Harmon Field Park and the sprawling Trinity Park, a robust location filled with trails, playgrounds and water features that are sure to bring joy to any day trips you and your loved ones may like to plan. Sundance Square is a nearby treat that includes many local shopping and dining options for your nights out with loved ones.
The grounds at Trinity Terrace are very modern, including high-rise living spaces and exceptional amenities on site. The entire River Tower of Trinity Terrace is devoted to their assisted living healthcare program, while other towers are dedicated to longer-term high-level care. Appointed with one-bedroom apartments with upscale finishings, the long term care residents are treated to private living quarters while still being afforded the help with day to day tasks like bathing, grooming and medication management that they need by trained caregivers around the clock.
Trinity Terrace saw only COVID-19 cases throughout the beginning of the pandemic, both between staff and residents of the facility. They have only had one of those reported during the most recent reporting period between July and August 2021. This would indicate a superior infection control plan was implemented early in the pandemic, ensuring that the residents were safeguarded from the general public during the initial peak of COVID-19.
The infection control measures continue to be exemplary, with 91.4% of the residents vaccinated against influenza in the last year. There were no citations against the infection control policy in the facility as well, indicating an overall impressive infection control program even pre-dating the pandemic. The safety measures go beyond the infection control program, with the facility also garnering a 100% fall prevention rating, meaning that during the reporting period, there were no reportable falls (any loss of balance from standing without assistance to intervene). This indicates a superior staff-to-patient ratio that allows staff to adequately intervene before a catastrophic fall could take place.
The annual report for Trinity Terrace was surveyed in August of 2019 by the state of Texas. There were five citations overall, with three occurring in the life safety designation of oversight. These areas of deficiency were noted in the handling of oxygen supplies, fire codes and occupancy code violations. The other two citations were in the health code designations, and were in relation to call light response and system setup. Each area of deficiency was corrected to the satisfaction of the state.
Estimated starting costs for Trinity Terrace nursing home care begin around $7,800/month. Overall nursing home rates hover around that area, with pricing being highly dependent on your personal level of needs and medical complexity. Typically, the more medically complex a person is, say with tube feedings, IV administrations or in-depth wound care, the higher the monthly rates will be in nursing home assistance and care. Both Medicare and Medicaid have programs aimed at helping reduce these costs.
Downtown Health and Rehabilitation Center
Situated in the picturesque Eastchase neighborhood is also the Downtown Health and Rehabilitation Center. Minutes from Trinity Park, Downtown Health and Rehabilitation Center is also centrally located to venture out and see the sights at the Fort Worth Botanical Research Institute, the Fort Worth Water Gardens and the Fort Worth Convention Center, which is always boasting a new show for your daily outing entertainment.
The grounds at Downtown Health and Rehabilitation Center provide a truly urban atmosphere to keep you feeling youthful and vibrant. The spacious wings have private and semi-private rooms available, and on-site services like physical therapy and occupational therapy to help you maintain your strength and stamina. The amenities offered at Downtown Health and Rehabilitation Center include Wi-Fi, basic cable, an on-site salon for hair care services, laundry, housekeeping and daily activity schedules to maintain your day.
Downtown Health and Rehab totalled 134 COVID-19 confirmed cases between staff and residents throughout the entirety of the pandemic. Given the large amount of nursing home cases that saw COVID-19 enter their facilities early in the pandemic, that number is not very surprising. Their most recent numbers however show no new cases between July and August of this year, which would indicate their infection control protocols have been successful at keeping out the infection in the months following the peak in Texas. The facility has only a 74% vaccination rate against influenza, which is the lowest on our list, but the infection control policy overall did not get any citations during the latest survey period.
Fall prevention was 100% in this facility, indicating an emphasis on safety and safe staffing ratios within the facility. It is a difficult feat to prevent 100% of falls, especially in the larger-sized nursing home settings. With falls making up a large majority of significant injuries to the aging population, keeping the safety and security of the residents in their facility is clearly a priority to Downtown Health and Rehab.
In their most recent state survey in October of 2020, Downtown Health and Rehab were issued ten areas of improvement from the state oversight. There were no citations garnered in the health code, meaning that all healthcare related concerns were met to the satisfaction of the state from the very first evaluation onward. Each of the areas of concern were in the life safety code designation, in relation to environmental concerns. There were concerns with the emergency planning, fire codes, oxygen storage and lighting codes. Each of these environmental concerns were addressed and corrected to the satisfaction of the state.
The average starting costs at Downtown Health and Rehab begin at $6,480/month for a shared room accommodation. These rates are lower than the monthly average at comparable nursing home facilities in the area, and are subject to increase with increase in healthcare oversight needed, larger or more private accommodations, and services utilized such as physical or occupational therapies.
Estates Healthcare and Rehabilitation
Steps away from Hallmark Park lies Estates Healthcare and Rehabilitation. Located off of purple heart trail and tucked between the Hamlet and Willow Creek subdivisions, Estates Healthcare and Rehab is located in south Fort Worth, and is settled in a more suburban landscape than other options on our listing. A quieter setting all around, Estates Healthcare and Rehab is settled nearby schools and multiple around the corner shops and take out joints to make you feel like you’ve settled back in the neighborhood.
Estates Healthcare and Rehabilitation offers multiple levels of complex medical care to provide you with the exact expertise that your care needs. Whether your care needs are complex medical specialties that require in-depth nursing care, like with IV administrations or complex wounds, or you simply need a higher level of care with your day to day activities than an assisted living community can offer, Estates Healthcare and Rehab offers the appropriate tier for you. There are also memory care services and even hospice services should your ever become in need of them.
Estates Healthcare and Rehabilitation has had a total of 53 COVID-19 cases between staff and residents throughout the pandemic. Two of these positive cases were confirmed during the July-August of 2021 reporting period, and the website for Estates Healthcare and Rehab states there are currently cases as of September 1, 2021 for both staff and residents. The facility does not have citations in their infection control policies and procedures, and the overall flu vaccination rate is 82.5% in the building, indicating an emphasis on infection prevention. It is likely a spike seen with these COVID-19 cases with the new variants floating around, and not an overall indication of the facility's ability to manage the infections. Estates Healthcare and Rehab also boasts a 100% fall prevention rating, indicating a high emphasis placed on safety measures within the facility overall.
In the most recent survey of Estates Healthcare and Rehab, there were five citations given out by the state. Three of these citations were in relation to health code violations, and were given for food administration and health plans followed. The two other citations were in the life safety category, and were in relation to fire and building code oversights. Each of these areas were improved upon within a short timeframe and to the satisfaction of the state.
The starting costs for a shared room at Estates Healthcare and Rehab is estimated around $3,200 a month, which is a bare bones figure that does not include rates and premiums for the level of healthcare needed. The private room base rate starts at an estimated $6,265 a month, and again does not reflect the a la carte services and increases in care needs that will incur additional monthly fee levels.
Garden Terrace at Fort Worth
Tucked near the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in the Bellaire Park North neighborhood lies Garden Terrace at Fort Worth, a nursing home and rehabilitation center in the southwest of Fort Worth’s metro area. Situated a short drive from Pecan Valley Park, Pecan Valley Golf Course and the sprawling Benbrook lake, the neighborhood surrounding Garden Terrace is one that is sure to suit your day outing needs as well as delight your visiting family and friends with water sports and day outings in the fresh nature areas surrounding you.
The grounds at Garden Terrace offer beautiful scenery that rivals the surrounding nature parks. With exceptional landscaping and exquisite building designs, Garden Terrace is a luxury nursing home to settle down in. The staff at Garden Terrace boast specialized training in dementia care, and the specialty of the nursing home in this facility is in providing memory care services to the aging population that may need a bit more reminding for daily tasks than others. There are also skilled nurses on staff 24 hours a day, and they provide a slew of services including medication management, advanced wound care, tube feedings and IV administrations. There are also skilled therapies on site, especially speech and cognitive therapies for the protection of memory function and prevention of further cognitive decline.
Garden Terrace had a total of 56 COVID-19 confirmed positive cases throughout the course of the pandemic, with none coming in the July-August reporting period in 2021. They have an 89.8% flu vaccination rate at Garden Terrace as well, and no reported citations in infection control policies and procedures. This indicates a solid comprehension of important infection control basics, and a thorough implementation of these fundamentals with a highly functional prevention and protection plan in place for infection control policies. Fall prevention is also an area of importance within Garden Terrace. With a 99.1% fall prevention rating, Garden Terrace demonstrates a keen understanding of safety requirements and an emphasis of proper staff to patient ratios to ensure the safety oversight of all of their residents.
Garden Terrace was surveyed in November of 2020 by the state of Texas. During this evaluation, there were seven areas of improvement deemed worthy of citation by the state. Two of these citations were in the health code category. These were citations in relation to proper medication passing procedures and documentation that was needed but lacking in certain areas. The remaining five citations were earned in the life safety category, and were in relation to fire drill requirements, lighting insufficiencies and building code infractions. Each of these areas were improved upon and found to be satisfactory during the state’s re-survey return trip.
Garden Terrace’s expertise in memory care provision does come with a heftier price tag than some of the other options on our list. While this is an advanced area of specialized care that other facilities provide as well, the costs to provide that care at other locations is not as up-front as Garden Terrace’s rates, given that they are a la carte expenses elsewhere but anticipated services already on the forefront at Garden Terrace. The estimated daily rates at Garden Terrace begin at $364/day for the specialized care provided, which totals to around $10,900 per month. This may seem like a large figure, but given that it includes all healthcare provision that other nursing home facilities provide, while also including memory care specialization as part of their base care services, the fee schedule is likely similar to other nursing homes in the area providing the same level of care.
Overall, each of these properties have distinct features that set them apart from the rest, and are certain to meet your nursing home needs as you settle into beautiful Fort Worth.
Recent Articles
