Sierra Post Acute

Lakewood, CO • 3.38 HPRD • 86 residents • For Profit • Entity: PACS GroupLakewood, CO • 3.38 HPRD • 86 residentsFor Profit • PACS Group

Phoebe J
PBJ Takeaway: Sierra Post Acute
Abuse3.38 HPRD3.38 HPRD (3.19 Direct HPRD)86 residentsStaffing: ★★★★Overall: ★★

Sierra Post Acute reported 3.38 HPRD (≈ 7.1 residents per total staff) in Q3 2025. This level is above its case-mix (acuity) 2.97 HPRD and in the 44th percentile of nursing homes in Colorado (3.60 HPRD).

Put another way… On a typical 30-bed floor at Sierra Post Acute you’d see about 4.2 staff, including 2.6 nurse aides. For the entire 86-resident facility, that’s about 12.1 total staff, including 7.3 nurse aides.

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Reported vs. Case-Mix (Acuity)

Case-mix is a CMS metric based on resident acuity.

Reported HPRD (3.38) is 113.7% of case-mix (2.97).

Total Staffing: Sierra Post Acute
Total Staffing

Sierra Post Acute

Direct staff excludes Admin/DON. State minimums via MACPAC (2022) may reflect calculated HPRD equivalents. Direct staff excludes Admin/DON. State minimums via MACPAC may reflect calculated HPRD equivalents.

RN Staffing: Sierra Post Acute
RN Staffing

Sierra Post Acute

Census: Sierra Post Acute
Census

Sierra Post Acute

Contract Staff %: Sierra Post Acute
Contract Staff %

Sierra Post Acute

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Methodology

This dashboard uses CMS Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data (2017–2025), along with other public datasets (Provider Information, Affiliated Entity). State staffing standards via MACPAC (2022).

Metrics

  • Hours Per Resident Day (HPRD): Total staff hours ÷ average residents. Example: 350 hours for 100 residents = 3.5 HPRD.
  • Direct Care (excl. Admin, DON): Hours per resident day for direct care staff only (RN, LPN, CNA, NAtrn, MedAide), excluding administrative and supervisory roles.
  • Contract Staff %: Share of hours provided by contract staff.
  • Census: Average number of residents during the period.

Note: Some states set minimums (e.g., NJ, CA, NY at 3.5 HPRD); a federal 3.48 minimum was recently overturned (2025). A 2001 federal study linked 4.1 HPRD to better outcomes in that study. Staffing needs vary by resident acuity (case-mix), day, and shift. Estimates on PBJ Takeaway assume roughly 60% of staff are CNAs.

Data transparency

The PBJ Dashboard pulls directly from CMS data and is carefully vetted for accuracy. Still, sometimes a bug sneaks into the jelly. That could mean: a systemic CMS data reporting issue (e.g., Q2 2017 contract staffing, missing data in 2020 due to COVID) or there could be a coding error on our part. If you spot something that looks off, please let me know via the contact form so I can set things right.