287 Virginia Nursing Homes Make U.S. News ‘Best’ Ratings

VIRGINIA — U.S. News & World Report's annual ratings of the best nursing homes in the country include 287 in Virginia. Just under 3,000 nursing homes in the country earned the "U.S. News Best Nursing Home" designation for 2019-20.

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 Virginia, 26 nursing homes received the highest overall rating of five, 51 received a high-performing rating for short-term care and 20 received a high-performing rating for long-term care.

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 Virginia nursing homes rated highest overall:

• Augusta Medical Center Skilled CA, Fishersville
• Bridgewater Home, Bridgewater
• Bon Secours DePaul Transitional Care Center, Norfolk
• Clinch Valley Medical Center, Richlands
• Colonnades Health Care Center, Charlottesville
• The Convalescent Center at Patriots Colony, Williamsburg
• Fairfax Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Fairfax
• Francis N. Sanders Nursing Home, Gloucester
• Goodwin House Alexandria, Alexandria
• Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads, Falls Church
• Harbor’s Edge, Norfolk
• Hiram W. Davis Medical Center, Petersburg
• The Jefferson, Arlington
• Johnson Center — Falcons Landing, Sterling
• Mountain View Nursing Home, Aroda
• Rappahannock Westminster Canterbury, Irvington
• Riverside Healthy Living Community — Smithfield, Smithfield
• Shenandoah Valley Westminster — Canterbury, Winchester
• Snyder Nursing Home, Salem
• Summit Square, Waynesboro
• The Village at Orchard Ridge, Winchester
• Virginia Home, Richmond
• Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community Complete Living Care, Harrisonburg
• Westminster – Canterbury of Lynchburg, Lynchburg
• Westminster – Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Beach
• Windsormeade of Williamsburg, Williamsburg

"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.

These received the worst rating overall and were deemed below average:

• Ashland Nursing and Rehabilitation, Ashland
• Battlefield Park Healthcare Center, Petersburg
• Brookside Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, Warrenton
• Curis at Harrisonburg Transitional Care & Rehabilitation Center, Harrisonburg
• Envoy at The Village, Fork Union
• Envoy of Westover Hills, Richmond
• Envoy of Williamsburg, Williamsburg
• Galax Health and Rehabilitation, Galax
• Greenbriar Regional Medical Center, Chesapeake
• Heritage Hall Grundy, Grundy
• Martinsville Health and Rehabilitation, Martinsville
• Portsmouth Health and Rehabilitation, Portsmouth

See all Virginia nursing homes and how they were rated in 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.)