7 Nursing Homes In Rhode Island Among Nation’s Best: U.S. News

RHODE ISLAND — Seven nursing homes in Rhode Island 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 nursing homes evaluated made the ranking, U.S. News said in a news release.

There are 74 ranked nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities in Rhode Island. Of these, seven received an overall rating of 5 out of 5. They are:

• Cherry Hill Manor, Johnston
• Briarcliffe Manor, Johnston
• Grandview Center, Cumberland
• Hattie Ide Chaffee Home, East Providence
• Linn Health and Rehabilitation, East Providence
• Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Providence
• Tockwotton on the Waterfront, East Providence.

In Rhode Island, 74 nursing homes were evaluated, and of those, seven ranked "high performing" for short-term care, and six did for long-term care.

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.

Have a news tip? Email jimmy.bentley@patch.com.