U.S. News Releases 2027 Best Nursing Homes Ratings, Highlighting Staffing and Quality of Care
Evaluation of nearly 14,700 facilities finds top-rated nursing homes have fewer hospital readmissions and ER visits, higher staffing levels and more physical therapy
U.S. News & World Report has evaluated 14,669 nursing homes nationwide for its 2027 Best Nursing Homes ratings, highlighting differences in staffing, clinical outcomes and quality of care across the industry.
The ratings assess facilities in two categories: short-term rehabilitation for patients recovering after hospitalization and long-term care for residents who need ongoing medical supervision and daily assistance.
The 2027 evaluation uses publicly available data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), examining 17 quality measures for each category.
Measures include direct-care and weekend nurse staffing, staff retention, physical therapy availability, health deficiencies, antipsychotic medication use, hospitalizations, emergency department visits and residents’ ability to perform daily activities.
Key Findings
U.S. News identified several performance differences between top-rated nursing homes and national averages:
- 19% fewer emergency room visits: Patients in top-performing facilities for short-term rehabilitation experienced fewer ER visits than the national average.
- 21% fewer hospital readmissions: Residents in top-rated long-term care facilities had fewer hospital readmissions compared with other nursing homes.
- 19% higher staffing levels: Best Nursing Homes provided more total staffing per resident per day than the national average.
- Twice as much physical therapy: Top-performing skilled nursing facilities offered two times the physical therapy per resident per day compared with the national average.
Implications for Healthcare Leaders
The findings reinforce the importance of staffing levels, clinical resources and measurable patient outcomes in nursing home performance.
For healthcare executives and post-acute care leaders, the results also underscore the role skilled nursing facilities play in care transitions, rehabilitation and reducing avoidable hospital utilization.
With nearly 15,000 nursing homes serving more than 1.2 million Americans on any given day, facility performance remains an important consideration for hospitals, health systems, patients and families evaluating post-acute and long-term care options.
