U.S. News Names Best Nursing Homes for 2020-21

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in health care rankings, today released the 2020-21 Best Nursing Homes. As nursing homes and facilities across the nation cope with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. News remains committed to providing data-driven information and guidance to help patients, families and caregivers understand their long-term and short-term care options. This year, to accompany the new ratings, nursing home profile pages were updated to include a patient safety summary that reflects COVID-19 data alongside other measurements of safety and related advice on choosing a home or facility amidst the pandemic.

"U.S. News strives to provide access to information that allows consumers to make educated decisions on all types of care," said Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News. "Updating the profiles to include a patient safety summary that highlights COVID-19 data paired with other measures of care arms families, caregivers and patients with the information needed to make a decision that keeps safety at the highest priority."  

The 11th year of the U.S. News Best Nursing Homes combines comprehensive information about care, health inspections and staffing with COVID-19 outbreaks, flu and pneumonia vaccination rates, and infection control violations listed on the patient safety summary. Individuals can easily conduct customized research for a highly rated nursing home by location, size, Medicare and Medicaid coverage and Alzheimer's care.

In addition to helping families find the best nursing home for their loved one, U.S. News published pieces on nursing home patient safety during COVID-19 and what to expect as nursing homes resume in-person visits. These pieces join new Hospital Hero profiles featuring a nursing home activities director easing pandemic-related isolation and a public policy expert calling for nursing home employees' wages and benefits to reflect the current dangerous nature of their jobs.

This year, California has the highest number on the list, with 215 nursing homes that received a High Performing Rating in Short-Term Rehabilitation and 135 designated as High Performing in Long-Term Care, followed by Florida, Illinois and New Jersey. Hawaii, Maine and Alaska have the highest proportion of Best Nursing Homes with at least half of all Medicare or Medicaid certified nursing homes in these states receiving a High-Performing designation in either Short-Term Rehabilitation or Long-Term Care, or both. The Best Nursing Homes reflect U.S. News' analysis of data collected and published by the federal government using a methodology defined by U.S. News that evaluates factors that U.S. News has determined most impact patient and resident care, safety and outcomes.

The Best Nursing Home finder features ratings on both long-term and short-term care. The Long-Term Care Rating aims to provide prospective residents who need help with daily activities, and their families, with analysis and information regarding the quality of care provided by nursing homes. The rating includes data on staffing, success in preventing ER visits and pneumonia vaccination rates, among other metrics. Out of 13,433 nursing homes that received a Long-Term Care Rating, 1,139 were designated as High-Performing. The short-term rating incorporates measures of quality including consistency of registered nurse staffing, use of antipsychotic drugs and success in preventing falls. For 2020-21, 14,126 facilities received a Short-Term Rating, while only 2,362 homes earned a High-Performing Rating.

All measures in both ratings were developed from publicly available data from CMS as of August 2020. All but one of the measures which assessed complaints reflect data collected before the coronavirus pandemic. For more information about this year's updates and new ratings, please refer to the methodology. U.S. News also profiles Assisted Living Communities, which in many cases provide services that overlap with traditional nursing homes.

For the full list, visit the Nursing Home Finder and use #BestNursingHomes on Facebook and Twitter.

About U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. A digital news and information company focused on Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars and News USNews.com provides consumer advice, rankings and analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all stages of life. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

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SOURCE U.S. News & World Report