Florida boasts a strong showing in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of top nursing homes, wit Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa-St. Petersburg — in the national top 20 for the number of highly rated facilities.
Across the state, 132 nursing homes earned high marks for short-term care, 153 for long-term care, and 89 excelled in both categories. Florida had 601 nursing homes in total, with 86 earning an overall five-star rating, according to the report released Thursday.
Only about 19% of nursing homes nationwide qualified as "high performing," with 1,064 facilities achieving top marks in either or both care types.
Top-performing facilities stand out for offering more hands-on care: residents receive on average 20% more staffing per day than the national average, while short-term rehab patients receive 80% more physical therapy time.
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Long-term residents in the highest-rated homes have a 15% lower hospitalization rate, and rehab patients are 33% less likely to visit the emergency room compared with the national average.
"Choosing a nursing facility, whether for post-acute rehabilitation or long-term care, is one of the most crucial health care decisions a family can make," said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News. Nursing homes, also called skilled nursing facilities, provide 24-hour care for residents who require assistance with daily activities and skilled nursing support.
U.S. News evaluated nearly 15,000 skilled nursing facilities on a range of quality measures, including staffing levels, hospital readmissions, medication management, physical rehabilitation and chronic disease care.
The following 20 metropolitan areas, listed in alphabetical order, have the greatest number of "Best Nursing Homes": Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dalla-Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, , Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon), Riverside-San Bernardino (California), San Diego, San Francisco-Oakland, Seattle, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Washington, D.C.
For methodology and to see top-rated facilities, visit U.S. News Best Nursing Homes.
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