130 Florida nursing homes get high ratings

U.S. News & World Report released its ninth annual Best Nursing Homes ratings on Tuesday, and 130 facilities in Florida, including a dozen in Central Florida, made the list.

U.S. News, a digital news and information company, evaluated the country’s more than 15,000 nursing homes nationwide and gave nearly 3,000 of them the Best Nursing Home designation.

There are 683 licensed nursing homes in Florida, according to the Florida Health Care Association, a trade group for longterm-care providers in the state. Of the 130 nursing homes in Florida that made the U.S. News list, 13 rated average, 27 were better than average and the rest were high-performing.

U.S. News also for the first time rated short-stay rehab services provided by nursing homes to patients who need intensive rehabilitation or care before they return home after a major procedure or accident. More than 2,000 nursing homes earned a high-performing rating, including 127 in Florida.

"Finding a nursing home that meets an individual's specific needs can be overwhelming,” said Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News, in a statement. “The Best Nursing Home ratings are designed to help potential residents and their families navigate this important decision.”

Wisconsin had the highest number of high-performing nursing homes and rehab centers, while Hawaii, Maine, Rhode Island and Wyoming had the highest proportion of Best Nursing Homes, according to U.S. News.

U.S. News also introduced a