226 Maryland Nursing Homes Make U.S. News ‘Best’ Ratings

MARYLAND — U.S. News & World Report's annual ratings of the best nursing homes in the country include 226 in Maryland. Just under 3,000 nursing homes in the country earned the designation of being a "U.S. News Best Nursing Home" for 2019-20.

Homes were given an overall rating, a rating for short-term rehabilitation care and a new rating this year 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. Patient outcomes — both positive and negative — are also a key part of the methodology.

In Maryland, 19 homes received the highest overall rating, 67 homes received a high-performing rating for short-term care and 13 homes received a high-performing rating for long-term care. There were three nursing homes identified as below average, which received the worst rating overall.

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 Maryland nursing homes with the highest overall rating:

• Brighton Garden Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda
• Charlestown, Catonsville
• Chestnut Green Health Center — Blakehurst, Towson
• Crescent Cities Center, Riverdale
• Deer's Head Center, Salisbury
• Garrett County Sub-Acute Unit, Oakland
• Ginger Cove, Annapolis
• Glen Meadows Retirement Community, Glen Arm
• Greater Baltimore Medical Center Sub-Acute Unit, Baltimore
• Hillhaven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Adelphi
• Manor Care Health Services, Wheaton
• Maplewood Park Place, Bethesda
• Maria Health Care Center, Baltimore
• Northwest Hospital Center Sub-Acute Unit, Randallstown
• Powerback Rehabilitation, Lutherville
• Riderwood Village, Silver Spring
• Sacred Heart Home, Hyattsville
• St. Joseph’s Nursing Home, Catonsville
• Transitional Care Services at Mercy Medical Center, Baltimore

"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.

Three Maryland nursing homes were given the lowest overall rating and were deemed below average:

• Brinton Woods Health & Rehabilitation Center, Pikesville
• Hagerstown Healthcare Center, Hagerstown
• Moran Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Westernport

See all Maryland 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.)