360 Georgia Nursing Homes Make U.S. News ‘Best’ Ratings

GEORGIA — U.S. News & World Report's annual ratings of the best nursing homes in the country include 360 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. There were eight that received the highest rating overall, while 35 were rated the lowest overall.

"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 Georgia, eight nursing homes received the highest overall rating, 18 received a high-performing rating for short-term care and seven 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 Georgia nursing homes rated highest overall:

• Ansley Park Health and Rehabilitation, Newnan
• Candler Skilled Nursing Unit, Savannah
• Gracewood Nursing Facility, Gracewood
• Harrington Park Health and Rehabilitation, Augusta
• Marsh’s Edge, St. Simons Island
• Navicent Health Oconee, Milledgeville
• St. Joseph’s Transitional Care Unit, Savannah
• Salude — The Art of Recovery, Suwanee

These 29 nursing homes had the lowest rating and were deemed below average:

• Advanced Health and Rehabilitation of Twiggs County, Jeffersonville
• Blue Ridge Healthcare, Buchanan
• Bonterra Transitional Care & Rehabilitation, East Point
• Bostick Nursing Center, Milledgeville
• Calhoun Nursing Home, Edison
• Cedar Springs Health and Rehabilitation, Cedartown
• Cherry Blossom Health and Rehabilitation, Macon
• Chulio Hills Health and Rehabilitation, Rome
• Clinch Healthcare Center, Homerville
• Eastman Healthcare & Rehabilitation, Eastman
• Fairburn Health Care Center, Fairburn
• Folkston Park Care and Rehabilitation Center, Folkston
• Fort Valley Health and Rehabilitation, Fort Valley
• Fountain Blue Rehabilitation and Nursing, Macon
• Glenwood Healthcare, Glenwood
• Healthcare at College Park, College Park
• Heardmont Nursing Home, Elberton
• Heritage Inn of Barnesville Health and Rehabilitation, Barnesville
• Medical Management Health and Rehabilitation Center, Macon
• Miller Nursing Home, Colquitt
• Oceanside Health and Rehabilitation, Tybee Island
• Pinehill Nursing Center, Byromville
• Pleasant View Nursing Center, Pleasant View
• PruittHealth — Augusta Hills, Augusta
• PruittHealth, Greenville
• PruittHealth — Virginia Park, Atlanta
• Renaissance Center, Griffin
• Roberta Health and Rehabilitation, Roberta
• Roswell Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Roswell
• Signature Healthcare of Savannah, Savannah
• Southland Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, Doublin
• Tattnall Healthcare Center, Reidsville
• Westwood Nursing Center, Statesboro
• Willowwood Nursing Center, Flowery Branch
• Windermere Health and Rehabilitation Center, Augusta

"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