Allegheny County Nursing Homes Get Low Scores

December 2008

The unveiling of a new five-star nursing home rating system has revealed poor rankings for a number of facilities in Allegheny County. Sixty-four area nursing homes were evaluated, and four received the highest rating while 16 scored in the lowest category.

The four assisted living facilities that earned the highest five-star rating were:

• Concordia at Rebecca Residence
• Covenant at South Hills
• Longwood at Oakmont
• John J. Kane Regional Center in Scott

The 16 homes that earned only one star were:

• Baldwin Health Center
• Canterbury Place
• The Cedars of Monroeville
• The Commons at South Hills
• Consulate Health Care of Cheswick
• Forbes Road Nursing & Rehabilitation
• Harmar Village Care Center
• Heartland Health Care Center
• Riverside Care Center
• Shadyside Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
• Skyvue Terrace
• Southwestern Nursing Center
• Sycamore Creek Nursing Center
• UPMC Heritage Place
• Village at Pennwood
• Willows of Presbyterian Seniorcare

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services used inspection surveys, quality measures, and staffing levels to rate the country's 15,800 nursing homes. The five-star ratings are designed to give consumers a way to quickly compare quality when choosing a nursing home. The ratings have received criticism from the nursing home industry for using evaluation data that was incomplete or distorted.