106 Massachusetts Nursing Homes Make U.S. News ‘Best’ Ratings

U.S. News & World Report’s annual ratings of the best nursing homes in the country include 106 in Massachusetts. 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 in stuff like health-related and personal care."

The overall ratings for nursing homes in 2019-20 are based exclusively on the short-term and long-term care ratings, Adams said.

A strong emphasis was placed on staffing in methodology to compile the "U.S. News Best Nursing Home" ranking 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 that the publication measured the percentage of days a nursing home met the federal standards for registered nurse staffing. In addition to having sufficient staff overall, the publication wanted to make sure nursing homes are still meeting some threshold on their less well-staffed days.

Patient outcomes — both positive and negative — are also a key part of the methodology.

In Massachusetts, 38 homes received the highest overall rating of five, 97 homes received a high-performing rating for short-term care and 37 homes received a high-performing rating for long-term care.

Here are all the Massachusetts nursing homes rated as "high-performing" overall:

• Spaulding Nursing & Therapy Center — Brighton
• Soldiers Home in Massachusetts, Chelse
• Wingate at Sharon
• Jewish Healthcare Center, Worcester
• Elizabeth Seton, Wellesley
• Alliance Health at Abbott, Lynn
• Brookhaven at Lexington
• Neville Center at Fresh Pond for Nursing & Rehabilitation, Cambridge
• Marian Manor — Boston
• Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center — Boston
• Aberjona Nursing Center, Winchester
• Chelsea Jewish Nursing Home
• Jeanne Jugan Residence — Somerville
• Jeffrey & Susan Brudnick Center for Living, Peabody
• Prescott House, North Andover
• Bethany Skilled Nursing Facility, Framingham
• German Center for Extended Care, Boston
• Hannah B. G. Shaw Home for the Aged, Middleboro
• Beaumont at University Campus, Worcester
• Overlook Masonic Health Center, Charlton
• Campion Health Center, Weston
• The Elmhurst Healthcare, Melrose
• Pleasant Bay Nursing & Rehabilitation, Brewster
• Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing, Springfield
• Emerson Rehabilitation & Transitional Care Unit, West Concord
• The Meadows, North Andover
• Mary’s Meadow at Providence Place, Holyoke
• Lasell House, Newton
• Recuperative Services Unit — Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, Boston
• Berkshire Health Care Center, Sandisfield
• Linden Ponds, Hingham
• Newbridge on the Charles Skilled Nursing Facility, Dedham
• Leonard Florence Center for Living, Chelsea
• Daniels House Nursing Home, Reading
• D’Youville Center for Advanced Therapy, Lowell
• Whittier Westborough Transitional Care Unit
• Benchmark Senior Living at The Commons in Lincoln Skilled Nursing Facility
• Whittier Bradford Transitional Care Unit, Bradford

>>>See U.S. News’ nursing home finder.

"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.

U.S. News used data collected and published by the federal government to develop the nursing home ratings. (Read more about the methodology.)