Life Care Center of Athens

Athens, TN • 3.52 HPRD • 91 residents • For Profit • Entity: Life Care Centers of AmericaAthens, TN • 3.52 HPRD • 91 residentsFor Profit • Life Care Centers of America

Phoebe J
PBJ Takeaway: Life Care Center of Athens
3.52 HPRD3.52 HPRD (3.29 Direct HPRD)91 residentsStaffing: ★★★★Overall: ★★★★★

Life Care Center of Athens reported 3.52 HPRD (≈ 6.8 residents per total staff) in Q3 2025. This level is below its case-mix (acuity) 3.76 HPRD and in the 31st percentile of nursing homes in Tennessee (3.79 HPRD).

Put another way… On a typical 30-bed floor at Life Care Center of Athens you’d see about 4.4 staff, including 2.5 nurse aides. For the entire 91-resident facility, that’s about 13.4 total staff, including 7.7 nurse aides.

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Reported vs. Case-Mix (Acuity)

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

Reported HPRD (3.52) is 93.7% of case-mix (3.76).

Total Staffing: Life Care Center of Athens
Total Staffing

Life Care Center of Athens

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: Life Care Center of Athens
RN Staffing

Life Care Center of Athens

Census: Life Care Center of Athens
Census

Life Care Center of Athens

Contract Staff %: Life Care Center of Athens
Contract Staff %

Life Care Center of Athens

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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.