VA Nursing Homes Make 2023 U.S. News ‘Best’ List

VIRGINIA — Twenty-three Virginia nursing homes received a five — the highest possible rating — this year in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rating.

The rankings service rated more than 15,000 nursing homes in the country based on patient and resident outcomes, such as infection rates; staffing levels; reliance on antipsychotic drugs; health inspection results, and other quality indicators.

Here are the nursing homes that received an overall rating of five for 2024 in Virginia:

• Goodwin House Alexandria
• Westminster-Canterbury of Lynchburg
• Rappahannock Westminster Cante
• Wythe County Community Hospital Extended Care Unit
• Goodwin House Bailey's Crossroads
• Clinch Valley Medical Center
• Beth Sholom Home of Eastern Virginia
• Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge
• Colonnades Health Care Center
• The Jefferson
• The Fountains at Washington House
• Greenspring Village
• Bridgewater Home
• Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
• Mountain View Regional Medical Center
• Francis N. Sanders Nursing Home
• Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community Complete Living Care
• Harbor's Edge
• Windsormeade of Williamsburg
• The Glebe
• The Village at Orchard Ridge
• Ashby Ponds
• Mountain View Nursing Home

The authors found that nearly one in five of the evaluated nursing homes were recognized as “Best Nursing Homes” in “Short-Term Rehabilitation,” “Long-Term Care,” or both. More than 1,800 cities and towns had at least one “Best Nursing Home.”

In Virginia, 49 nursing homes were recognized as “high performing” for short stays, and 27 received the recognition for long stays.

High-Performing for Short Stays

• Goodwin House Alexandria
• Westminster-Canterbury of Lynchburg
• Wythe County Community Hospital Extended Care Unit
• Goodwin House Bailey's Crossroads
• Clinch Valley Medical Center
• Beth Sholom Home of Eastern Virginia
• Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge
• Colonnades Health Care Center
• The Jefferson
• The Fountains at Washington House
• Greenspring Village
• Bridgewater Home
• Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
• Mountain View Regional Medical Center
• Francis N. Sanders Nursing Home
• Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community Complete Living Care
• Harbor's Edge
• Windsormeade of Williamsburg
• The Glebe
• The Village at Orchard Ridge
• Ashby Ponds
• Richfield Health Center - Salem
• Lake Taylor Hospital
• Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay
• Shenandoah Valley Westminster - Canterbury
• Dulles Health & Rehabilitation Center
• The Haven at Brandermill Woods
• Woodhaven Hall at Williamsburg
• Brian Center Health and Rehabilitation - Fincastle
• Loudoun Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
• Beth Sholom Home of Virginia
• Johnson Center - Falcons Landing
• The Virginian
• Seaside Health Center at Atlantic Shores
• Dogwood Village of Orange County Health and Rehabilitation
• Lake Prince Woods
• The Convalescent Center at Patriots Colony
• The Laurels of Charlottesville
• Summit Health & Rehabilitation Center - Lynchburg
• Sunnyside Presbyterian Retirement Community
• The Chesapeake
• Lakewood Manor
• The Wybe and Marietje Kroontje Health Care Center
• Arleigh Burke Pavilion
• Albemarle Health and Rehabilitation Center
• Friendship Health and Rehabilitation Center - South
• Lake Manassas Health & Rehabilitation Center
• Richfield Health Center - Roanoke
• Bayside Health & Rehabilitation Center

High-Performing for Long Stays

• Goodwin House Alexandria
• Westminster-Canterbury of Lynchburg
• Rappahannock Westminster Cante
• Goodwin House Bailey's Crossroads
• Beth Sholom Home of Eastern Virginia
• Greenspring Village
• Bridgewater Home
• Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
• Francis N. Sanders Nursing Home
• Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community Complete Living Care
• The Glebe
• Ashby Ponds
• Mountain View Nursing Home
• Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay
• Fairfax Rehabilitation Center
• Autumn Care of Altavista
• Franklin Health and Rehabilitation Center - Rocky Mount
• Brian Center
• Heritage Hall Leesburg
• Shenandoah Nursing Home
• Bowling Green Health & Rehabilitation Center
• Our Lady of Hope Health Center
• Monroe Health & Rehab Center
• Northampton Convalescent and Rehabilitation Center
• The Newport Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
• Sitter and Barfoot Veterans Care Center
• Abington Health Care

More than 1.4 million people live in Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes across the nation, Dr. Michael Tehrani, a geriatric physician and founder and CEO of MedWell Medical in Long Beach, California, told U.S. News last month. Most people who use long-term care service are at least 65 years old, with 83 percent of nursing home residents being in that older age bracket. Residents typically have a chronic condition — such as arthritis, heart disease, diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease — that requires ongoing care.

The U.S. News authors said the latest data showed that fewer than 5 percent of evaluated nursing homes met both existing staffing requirements and newly proposed staffing requirements by the Biden administration.

More than 2,500 cities and towns have at least one nursing home rated as “below average.” Furthermore, over 400 nursing homes consistently failed to have a registered nurse available for at least eight hours a day, seven days a week — as required by federal regulators — and only 701 met both existing requirements and more stringent staffing requirements recently proposed by the Biden administration, the report found.

Nursing homes that met both staffing standards are 54 times more likely to be rated a “Best Nursing Home” by U.S. News than those that consistently failed to meet the current standard, the U.S. News said in a news release. Additionally, 445 nursing homes that received 4 or 5 stars from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services were rated 1 or 2 out of 5 by U.S. News.

Methodology

U.S. News evaluated nursing homes using various quality measures from CMS. This includes data on resident care, safety, outcomes and other aspects of quality. Short- and long-term ratings include data on nurse staffing, use of antipsychotic drugs and success in preventing emergency room and hospital visits.

The long-term care rating also included measures of whether a home changed ownership and how well they were staffed on weekends.

“U.S. News’ Best Nursing Homes ratings give patients, senior residents, their families and caregivers an objective assessment of quality, to help them choose the facility that best fits their individual needs,” Daniel Lara Agudelo, health data analyst at U.S. News, said in a statement. “Nursing homes that have earned the recognition of U.S. News have a track record of achieving better outcomes for patients and residents, and maximizing the amount of care they receive from nurses and other staff.”