42 Nursing Homes In Chicago Area Among Nation’s Best: U.S. News

CHICAGO — Forty-two nursing homes in the Chicago area are among the nation’s best, according to a new ranking released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report that sheds light on a nationwide nursing home staffing shortage.

The 2025 Best Nursing Homes report ranks facilities that offer short- or long-term care or assisted living services. Fewer than 20 percent of the nearly 15,000 nursing homes evaluated nationwide made the ranking, U.S. News said in a news release.

There are 370 nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities in the Chicago area. This metro area includes Aurora, Evanston, Joliet and Naperville. Of these, 45 received an overall rating of 5 out of 5. They are:

• Alden Des Plaines Rehabilitation & Health Care, Des Plaines
• Alden Estates of Evanston, Evanston
• Alden Estates of Skokie, Skokie
• Avantara Libertyville, Libertyville
• Avondale Estates of Elgin, Elgin
• Batavia Rehabilitation & Health Care Center, Batavia
• Beacon Hill - Lombard, Lombard
• Brandel Health and Rehab, Northbrook
• Burgess Square Healthcare Center, Westmont
• Citadel at St. Benedict, Niles
• Community First Medical Center, Chicago
• Eden Vista Burr Ridge, Burr Ridge
• Eden Vista Prospect Heights, Prospect Heights
• Fair Oaks Health Care Center, Crystal Lake
• Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, Melrose Park
• Healthbridge of Arlington Heights, Arlington Heights
• Lake Forest Place, Lake Forest
• Little Sisters of the Poor, Chicago
• Little Sisters of the Poor Palatine, Palatine
• Mercy Circle, Chicago
• Mercy Harvard Hospital Care Center, Harvard
• Monarch Landing, Naperville
• Montgomery Place, Chicago
• Oak Trace, Downers Grove
• Park Place Christian Community, Elmhurst
• Prairieview at the Garlands, Barrington
• Sedgebrook, Lincolnshire
• Selfhelp Home of Chicago, Chicago
• St. Joseph Village of Chicago, Chicago
• The Admiral at the Lake, Chicago
• The Care, Chicago
• The Mather, Evanston
• The Oaks Healthcare Center, Bartlett
• The Village at Victory Lakes, Lindenhurst
• Thrive of Fox Valley, Aurora
• Thrive of Lisle, Lisle
• Warren Barr Oak Lawn, Oak Lawn
• Westminster Place, Evanston
• West Suburban Hospital Medical Center, Oak Park
• Whitehall of Deerfield Healthcare, Deerfield
• Wyndemere, Wheaton

The ranking includes three hospitals outside the Chicago area in Wisconsin and Indiana.

U.S. News evaluated 366 nursing homes in the Chicago area. Of those selected for the 2025 “best” list, 58 were labeled high performing for short stay, 36 were high performing for long stay, and 23 were high performing in both.

In Illinois, 661 nursing homes were evaluated. Of those selected for the 2025 “best” list, 67 were labeled high performing for short stay, 56 were high performing for long stay, and 28 were high performing in both.

U.S. News said 1,637 U.S. cities (out of 5,147) and 715 U.S. counties (out of 1,687) have at least one nursing home on the list.

“These facilities set the standard for quality care and should be commended for their commitment to improving the lives of their residents,” Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News, said in a news release.

Overall, the evaluation found that more than half of U.S. nursing homes don’t comply with federal regulations requiring at least eight registered nurse staffing hours every day. Among those that did not comply, the average nursing home had 15 days of inadequate staffing, according to the report.

“Staffing levels continue to be a major challenge for U.S. nursing homes,” Harder said.

The short-term rehabilitation facilities that were ranked have an average of 50 percent more nursing care per resident than facilities ranked below average in short-term rehab. The top long-term facilities have double the staff retention rate of nursing homes when compared to underperforming nursing homes, Harder said.

Among other findings:

• The best nursing homes for short-term rehabilitation discharge an average of 50 percent more patients to a residence (rather than a long-term care setting) compared to facilities rated as below average.
• The best nursing homes for long-term care preserve residents’ self-reliance longer: residents are on average 50 percent less likely to lose the ability to perform self-care activities, such as feeding and washing themselves, compared to residents at facilities rated as below average.
• The best nursing homes for long-term care give residents antipsychotic medications 46 percent less of the time compared to facilities rated as below average.
• Residents at the best long-term care facilities are more than 60 percent less likely to require emergency department care compared to residents at facilities rated as below average.

Metro areas with the most nursing homes on the “best” list (in alphabetical order) are Boston, Chicago, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco-Oakland and Washington, D.C.

To calculate the Best Nursing Homes ratings, U.S. News evaluated each nursing home’s performance using a variety of quality measures obtained from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service. Among factors considered are resident care, safety, outcomes and other aspects of quality — including data on nurse staffing levels, consistency and retention, as well as use of antipsychotic drugs and success in preventing ER visits.