Mercer Healthcare Center

Bluefield, WV • 3.67 HPRD • 112 residents • For Profit • Entity: Communicare HealthBluefield, WV • 3.67 HPRD • 112 residentsFor Profit • Communicare Health

Phoebe J
PBJ Takeaway: Mercer Healthcare Center
3.67 HPRD3.67 HPRD (3.34 Direct HPRD)112 residentsStaffing: ★★Overall: ★★

Mercer Healthcare Center reported 3.67 HPRD (≈ 6.5 residents per total staff) in Q3 2025. This level is around its case-mix (acuity) 3.85 HPRD and in the 68th percentile of nursing homes in West Virginia (3.55 HPRD).

Put another way… On a typical 30-bed floor at Mercer Healthcare Center you’d see about 4.6 staff, including 2.5 nurse aides. For the entire 112-resident facility, that’s about 17.1 total staff, including 9.5 nurse aides.

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Reported vs. Case-Mix (Acuity)

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

Reported HPRD (3.67) is 95.4% of case-mix (3.85).

Total Staffing: Mercer Healthcare Center
Total Staffing

Mercer Healthcare Center

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: Mercer Healthcare Center
RN Staffing

Mercer Healthcare Center

Census: Mercer Healthcare Center
Census

Mercer Healthcare Center

Contract Staff %: Mercer Healthcare Center
Contract Staff %

Mercer Healthcare Center

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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.