Best Nursing Homes In Pennsylvania: U.S. News Releases 2020 List

PENNSYLVANIA — As health care facilities continue to wage their battle against coronavirus amid an ongoing fall surge in Pennsylvania, more than 100 nursing homes in the state were recognized for their excellence.

A new ranking from U.S. News & World Report takes a look at the homes that provided outstanding care in the months leading up to the pandemic. Released on Tuesday, the 2020-21 Best Nursing Homes list rates more than 15,000 nursing facilities providing care to 1.3 million people in the United States.

This year’s list rated 692 facilities across Pennsylvania.

COVID-19 hit Pennsylvania nursing homes particularly hard, with a vast percentage of early cases and deaths from the virus occurring inside homes. The virus was largely eradicated from long term care facilities in the state over the summer, but 5,903 patients have died while 27,104 have been infected, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

To compile rankings, U.S. News analyzed public data available through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Researchers looked at statistics on care, health inspections and staffing amid COVID-19 outbreaks, flu and pneumonia vaccination rates, infection control violations and more.

A total of 116 Pennsylvania facilities were rated by U.S. News as "high performing" in the short stay category, while 99 in the state received that distinction for long term care.

A total of 40 Pennsylvania facilities were ranked "high performing" in both long term and short term care. They're listed below:

1. Providence Point Healthcare Residence, Pittsburgh
2. The Health Center at the Hill at Whitemarsh, Lafayette Hill
3. Ann's Choice, Warminster
4. Garden Spot Village, New Holland
5. Belle Reve Health Care Center, Milford
6. The Inn at Freedom Village, West Brandywine
7. Redstone Highlands Health Care, Greensburg
8. Longwood at Oakmont, Verona
9. Little Flower Manor, Darby
10. Landis Homes, Lititz
11. Willowbrooke Court Skilled Care Center at Brittany, Lansdale
12. Beaumont at Bryn Mawr, Bryn Mawr
13. Willowbrooke Court at Granite, Media
14. Paul's Run, Philadelphia
15. UPMC Heritage Place, Pittsburgh
16. Smith Health Care, Mountain Top
17. Waverly Heights, Gladwyne
18. Willowbrooke Court Skilled Care Center at Normandy Farms Estates, Blue Bell
19. Frederick Living - Cedarwood, Frederick
20. Peter Becker Community, Harleysville
21. Souderton Mennonite Homes, Souderton
22. Pickering Manor Home, Newtown
23. Masonic Village at Elizabethtown, Elizabethtown
24. Dock Terrace, Lansdale
25. Wesley Enhanced Living, Doylestown
26. Willowbrooke Court at Spring House, Lower Gwynedd
27. The Community at Rockhill, Sellersville
28. Willowbrooke Court Skilled Care Center at Lima Estates, Lima
29. Pennswood Village, Newtown
30. Messiah Lifeways at Messiah Village, Mechanicsburg
31. Crosslands, Kennett Square
32. Bethany Village Retirement Center, Mechanicsburg
33. Calvary Fellowship Homes, Lancaster
34. Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community, Quarryville
35. Brethren Village, Lancaster
36. William Hood Dunwoody Care Center, Newtown Square
37. Rydal Park of Philadelphia, Rydal
38. Chandler Hall Health Services, Newtown
39. Canterbury Place, Pittsburgh
40. Passavant Retirement and Health, Zelionople

Data used in this year’s rankings represented periods between 2017 and 2019. Rate of complaints was the only measure that used data from the first three months of 2020. More on the methodology used to compile this year’s list of best nursing homes can be found here.

Ratings range from high-performing to below average. Facilities were also assigned an overall rating on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest.

Nationally, out of more than 13,400 nursing homes rated for long-term care, 1,139 were designated as high-performing. More than 14,100 facilities received a short-term rating, of which 2,362 homes earned a high-performing rating.

This year, California has the highest number of the top-ranked nursing homes on the list. In all, 215 nursing homes in California received a high-performing rating in short-term rehabilitation, and 135 facilities were designated high-performing in long-term care.

Florida, Illinois and New Jersey follow California for the highest number of top-ranked nursing homes.

To assist families in gauging their best options for long- and short-term care, U.S. News this year also added a patient safety summary on each facility’s profile, which includes self-reported COVID-19 cases, safety measures taken and other related guidance concerning the pandemic.

In addition to this year’s rankings, U.S. News also published companion research focused on nursing home patient safety during COVID-19 and what to expect as nursing homes resume in-person visits.

View this year’s full list of U.S. News' Best Nursing Homes here.