Only 18% of nursing homes in the U.S. were rated as high performing in both short-term rehabilitation and long-term care, according to a Nov. 10 U.S. News & World Report ranking.
U.S. News evaluated 14,669 nursing homes using publicly available CMS data. To calculate composite scores, quality metrics were evaluated across structural inputs, such as direct and weekend nurse staffing level; process indicators, such as antipsychotic drug administration and health deficiencies; and clinical outcomes, including hospitalizations and ED visits. Based on score, short-term rehabilitation and long-term care facilities were assigned to one of three performance tiers: High performing, as expected and evaluated. Only nursing homes designated as high performing in at least short-term rehab or long-term care were recognized on the best nursing home list. Due to differences in the U.S. News methodology and CMS star ratings methodology, ratings may not align with CMS stars.
Among nursing homes, 1,018, or 18%, were high performing in both short-term rehab and long-term care. Another 1,615 facilities earned high performing in one of those categories, but not both. Among facilities, 62% rated as expected, and the bottom 20% rated as evaluated.
Patients at top-performing nursing homes had 19% fewer emergency department visits than the national average and had 21% fewer hospital readmissions. The top-performing nursing homes also provided 19% more total staffing per resident per day compared to the national average.
California had the most high performing nursing homes with 293, followed by Florida with 191 and Pennsylvania with 170.
New York City had the most high performing nursing homes at 185, followed by Philadelphia with 79 and Los Angeles with 71.
Here are the states with the total number of high performing nursing homes:
Alabama: 19
Alaska: 5
Arizona: 46
Arkansas: 13
California: 293
Colorado: 51
Connecticut: 34
Delaware: 14
District of Columbia: 6
Florida: 191
Georgia: 31
Hawaii: 24
Idaho: 22
Illinois: 85
Indiana: 95
Iowa: 52
Kansas: 52
Kentucky: 42
Louisiana: 5
Maine: 18
Maryland: 60
Massachusetts: 66
Michigan: 83
Minnesota: 83
Mississippi: 12
Missouri: 31
Montana: 10
Nebraska: 37
Nevada: 18
New Hampshire: 16
New Jersey: 88
New Mexico: 8
New York: 154
North Carolina: 78
North Dakota: 19
Ohio: 101
Oklahoma: 10
Oregon: 38
Pennsylvania: 170
Rhode Island: 12
South Carolina: 31
South Dakota: 11
Tennessee: 52
Texas: 74
Utah: 38
Vermont: 5
Virginia: 63
Washington: 66
West Virginia: 8
Wisconsin: 87
Wyoming: 5
