Best Nursing Homes In NJ: 115 Ranked ‘High Performing’ By U.S. News

NEW JERSEY — U.S. News & World Report’s 2022-23 Best Nursing Homes ratings released Tuesday can help New Jersey residents and their families sort out issues such as weekend staffing, infections that can lead to hospitalization and other problems before deciding on a facility.

Among 353 nursing homes in New Jersey, 47 long-term and 68 short-term care facilities were ranked as "high performing."

The ratings also show nursing homes that fell short. Thirty-seven nursing homes in the state received "below average" ratings, scoring only 1 or 2 on a 5-point scale. Most, however, were "average" with scores of 3 or 4.

The following New Jersey nursing homes scored only 1 out of 5:

• Little Brook Nursing and Convalescent Home (Califon)
• Manahawkin Convalescent Center (Manahawkin)
• South Jersey Extended Care (Bridgeton)
• Sterling Manor (Maple Shade)

Several nursing homes around New Jersey have faced immense scrutiny for their handling of COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic, including the three state-run veterans homes. As of August, the state agreed to pay nearly $69 million to settle lawsuits from the families of deceased residents and staff, alleging that the state-run veteran's homes mishandled the virus in the early days of COVID. But U.S. News gave all three veterans homes a 3 out of 5. Read more: Lawsuits Pile On After NJ Agrees To $16M For Veteran's Home Deaths

The Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center — a nursing home in Andover which lost its license and received a court order to transfer the facility to the state — received a 2 out of 5. All eyes were on the facility after 17 bodies were discovered crammed into a makeshift morgue in April 2020 during the early portion of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Woodland didn't receive the lowest score, U.S. News says that the home "has a history of low quality care and is being closely monitored by Medicare.gov."

California led all states, with 206 nursing homes ranked as high performing in short-term care and 148 in long-term care. Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas also led other states with the highest number of high-performing ratings.

About 1.1 million people a year over age 85 live in America’s 1,500 nursing homes, known by a variety of names that include skilled nursing facilities and post- and sub-acute care facilities. U.S. News said its rankings are intended to guide families in helping to find a nursing home that excels in the type of care they need.

This is the first time in the 13 years U.S. News has been compiling the ratings that infection rates and the consistency of weekend nursing staffing were included in the quality of care issues people should consider before deciding on a nursing home.

The performance ratings are based on data retrieved from reports nursing homes are required to submit to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid data. Specifically:

• The ratings for both short-and long-term care take into account the consistency of registered nurse staffing, the use of antipsychotic drugs, and success in preventing emergency room and hospital visits.
• The long-term care rating also includes measures of whether a nursing home changed ownership and how well they were staffed on weekends.
• The short-term rehabilitation rating also includes measures of a nursing home’s success in preventing falls, preventing serious infections and making sure residents are able to return home.

More about the methodology is found on the U.S. News website.