3 Allied Services Facilities Earn U.S. News & World Report Best Nursing Homes Awards

3 skilled-nursing facilities operated by Allied Services Integrated Health System are among the 13% of facilities nationwide that were recently recognized as a Best Nursing Home for 2021-22 by U.S. News & World Report.  As nursing homes and facilities across the country continue to grapple with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. News remains at the forefront of providing data-driven information and guidance to help residents, families, and caregivers understand their long- and short-term care options. 

Allied Services currently provides short- and long-term rehabilitation to more than 2100 patients each year at its 5 skilled nursing and transitional rehab facilities in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.  

The following homes earned Best Nursing Homes status by achieving ratings of “High Performing,” the highest possible rating, for Short-Term Rehabilitation and/or Long-Term Care: 

• Allied Services Scranton Transitional Rehab Unit: Short-Term Rehabilitation 

• Allied Services Wilkes-Barre Transitional Rehab Unit: Short-Term Rehabilitation 

• Allied Services Center City Skilled Nursing: Long-Term Care 

U.S. News gives the designation of Best Nursing Home only to those homes that satisfy U.S. News’s assessment of the appropriate use of key services and consistent performance in quality measures.  

This is the 5th consecutive year that the Allied Services Transitional Rehab Units have received the survey’s top rating of “High Performing” for Short-Stay Rehabilitation, earning them the title of “Best Nursing Homes.” The Short-Stay Rehabilitation rating was introduced in 2018 to provide patients with a clearer view of the quality of care provided by nursing homes to short-stay patients in need of intensive rehabilitation or nursing services before they return home after a surgery, stroke, accident or illness. 

“As a non-profit health system, we have made it a priority to give patients in our region access to the very best in clinical expertise and advanced rehab technology” commented Karen Kearney, MSW, Vice President, Inpatient Rehabilitation. “This carries through to our Transitional Rehab Units where patients receive nationally-acclaimed short-term rehabilitation under the direction of our Nursing Home Administrators, Chris Minich and Chris Fazzini.” 

A third Allied Services facility received recognition from US News. Allied Services Center City Skilled Nursing Center is the only facility in Northeast Pennsylvania to receive the survey’s top rating of “High Performing” for Long-Term Care. 

“This past year has been challenging for our patients, residents, staff and their families” reflected James Cooney, NHA, Vice President Skilled Nursing for Allied Services. “These awards are welcome recognition for the commitment to quality care that our staff exemplifies.  We are proud of the care that staff at all of our skilled nursing facilities provide, around-the-clock, 365 days a year.” 

Now in its 12th year, the U.S. News Best Nursing Homes ratings and profiles offer comprehensive information about quality of care, COVID-19 vaccination requirements for residents and staff, flu and pneumonia vaccination rates, and infection control violations listed on the resident safety summary. Individuals can easily conduct customized research for a highly rated nursing home by location, size, and Medicare and Medicaid coverage. 

This year’s methodology includes an emphasis on homes meeting certain standards of patient safety, which could limit a home’s ability to achieve a ‘High-Performing’ rating. These standards include a minimum threshold for the staff COVID-19 vaccination rate, overuse of antipsychotic drugs, and frequent visits to the emergency department, among other criteria. Homes that have below a 75% COVID-19 staff vaccination rate are not considered a leading facility. A significant percentage of Short-Term Rehabilitation and Long-Term Care programs that would otherwise have qualified as ‘High-Performing’ were downgraded at the time of publication. 

The ratings include data on staffing, success in preventing ER visits, and pneumonia vaccination rates among other metrics. Out of 13,175 nursing homes that received a Long-Term Care Rating, 1,063 were designated as High-Performing. The Short-Term Care Rating incorporates measures of quality including consistency of registered nurse staffing, use of antipsychotic drugs, and success in preventing falls. For 2021-22, 13,500 facilities received a Short-Term Rating, while only 1,651 homes earned a High-Performing Rating.