696 Florida Nursing Homes Make U.S. News ‘Best’ Ratings

FLORIDA — U.S. News & World Report's annual ratings of the best nursing homes in the country include 696 in Florida. Just under 3,000 nursing homes in the country earned the "U.S. News Best Nursing Home" designation for 2019-20.

Nursing homes were given an overall rating, a rating for short-term rehabilitation care and a new rating that evaluates long-term care.

"This year, we introduced a long-term care rating," Zach Adams, a senior health data analyst at U.S. News, told Patch. "This is for people who need ongoing daily assistance."

A strong emphasis was placed on staffing in methodology to compile the "U.S. News Best Nursing Home" rankings for 2019-20. Adams said staffing levels are strongly associated with quality and safety.

"We think everyone deserves to get the right amount of time and attention," Adams said, explaining U.S. News measured the percentage of days a nursing home met the federal standards for registered nurse staffing. In addition, patient outcomes — both positive and negative — are part of the methodology.

In Florida, 51 nursing homes received the highest overall rating, 141 received a high-performing rating for short-term care and 64 received a high-performing rating for long-term care. There were seven nursing homes that received the worst rating. The overall ratings for nursing homes in 2019-20 are based exclusively on the short-term and long-term care ratings, Adams said.

Here are all the Florida nursing homes rated highest overall:

• Barrington Terrace, Boynton Beach
• Bentley Care Center, Naples
• Brighton Gardens, Tampa
• Canterbury Towers, Tampa
• The Chateau at Moorings Park, Naples
• Club Health and Rehabilitation Center at The Villa, The Villages
• The Court at Palm Aire, Pompano Beach
• Covenant Village Care Center, Plantation
• Florida Hospital North Pinellas, Tarpon Springs
• The Floridean Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Miami
• Forum at Deer Creek, Deerfield Beach
• Freedom Pointe at The Villages Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center Skilled Nursing, The Villages
• The Gardens of Port St. Lucie, Port Saint Lucie
• Glenridge on Palmer Ranch, Sarasota
• Harbours Edge, Delray Beach
• Harborchase, Naples
• HealthPark Care Center, Fort Myers
• John Knox Village, Pompano Beach
• The Joseph L. Morse Health Center, West Palm Beach
• Jupiter Medical Center Pavilion, Jupiter
• Kindred Hospital South Florida Hollywood, Hollywood
• Lee Memorial Hospital Skilled Nursing Unit, Fort Myers
• Lisenby on Lake Caroline, Panama City
• Mayflower Healthcare Center, Winter Park
• Moosehaven, Orange Park
• The Nursing Center at La Posada, Palm Beach Gardens
• Nuvista Living at Wellington Green, Wellington
• Olive Branch Health and Rehabilitation Center, Pensacola
• Palace at Kendall Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Miami
• Park Summit, Coral Springs
• The Pavilion for Health Care, Penney Farms
• Plymouth Harbor, Sarasota
• Premier Place at The Glenview, Naples
• River Garden Hebrew Home for the Aged, Jacksonville
• Shell Point Nursing Pavilion, Fort Myers
• Skytop View Rehabilitation Center, Clermont
• Solaris Healthcare, Coconut Creek
• St. Mark Village, Palm Harbor
• St. Vincent’s Medical Center Southside, Jacksonville
• Steward Sebastian River Medical Center, Sebastian
• Sunnyside Nursing Home, Sarasota
• Sylvan Health Center, Clearwater
• Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Extended Care, Tallahassee
• Vi at Lakeside Village, Lantana
• Villa Maria West Skilled Nursing Facility, Hialeah Gardens
• Village on the Green, Longwood
• The Villages Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Lady Lake
• Westminster Baldwin Park, Orlando
• Westminster Point Pleasant, Bradenton
• Westminster, St. Augustine
• Westminster Suncoast, St. Petersburg

These seven nursing homes had the lowest rating and were deemed below average:

• Bay Tree Center, Palm Harbor
• Egret Cove Center, St. Petersburg
• Highland Pines Rehabilitation Center, Clearwater
• Oakhurst Center, Ocala
• San Jose Health and Rehabilitation Center, Jacksonville
• Sea Breeze Health Care, Panama City
• University East Rehabilitation Center, DeLand

"Our ratings are really a starting point that we think should be used in conjunction with other sources," Adams said, stressing that the ratings aren’t a replacement for site visits.

But for those who don’t have the time and resources to conduct such an in-depth search, Adams said U.S. News wants to offer people a really rich set of information that’s both easy to use, understandable and applicable to their situation.

See the U.S. News’ nursing home finder.

U.S. News used data collected and published by the federal government to develop the nursing home ratings. (Read more about the methodology.)

— By Feroze Dhanoa and Elizabeth Janney