Top 10 Best Nursing Homes in Kentucky

Compare the Best Nursing Homes in Kentucky

Every year, thousands of seniors, their families, and friends are faced with the difficult decision of choosing a skilled nursing facility, either because someone is recuperating after a hospital visit or for end-of-life care. This is usually an issue that arises suddenly, and the decision makers are not equipped with the right knowledge and information to make a good decision. Not knowing how to decide, they turn to others for recommendations. Word of mouth, along with geography, are constantly cited as the most important factors in choosing a skilled nursing facility. Choosing a facility with such limited information can lead to significant problems. Not all skilled nursing facilities are the same and the people that you trust to recommend a facility may not know enough about the facility and the alternatives to be a competent guide.

To help people who are facing this difficult situation, we have compiled a list of the best Kentucky skilled nursing facilities and the the worst skilled nursing facilities. (We have also compiled the best and worst nursing homes by city for most cities in the United States, links are shown at the bottom on this page.) The lists are based on data provided by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (“CMS”) and include information gathered from detailed annual inspections, monthly reporting, complaint histories, deficiency reports and much more.

To see a more detailed analysis of the performance on skilled nursing facilities in Kentucky, including staffing, COVID-19 infections, historical occupancy levels and recent trends, look at our detailed analysis page.

Best Nursing Homes in the Largest Kentucky Cities

All of the following nursing homes have been given a Weighted Health Inspection Score by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Every year, nursing homes in Kentucky go through an unannounced inspection performed by independent state examiners. These examiners look at factors such as cleanliness, hazards, and safety to perform the inspection. Points are given to nursing homes based on their deficiency in a certain category. Thus, a higher Weighted All Cycles Score means more problems and lower quality of care.

The list below ranks the homes with the best (lowest) weighted inspection scores. The score is shown next to the facility name.

Best Nursing Homes in Louisville, Kentucky

• Winston County Nursing Home (32)
• Louisville Healthcare LLC (45)
• Life Care Center of Blount County (59)
• Altercare of Louisville Ctr For Rehab and Nsg Care (64)
• Saint Joseph Care Center (92)
• Green Meadows Skilled Nursing and Rehab (109)
• Pruitthealth - Old Capitol (115.25)
• Louisville Gardens Care Center (157.75)

Best Nursing Homes in Lexington, Kentucky

• Brookhaven at Lexington (3)
• Lexington Manor Senior Care, LLC (20)
• Lexington Nursing Home, Inc. (25)
• Briarwood Community Living Center (25)
• Broadway Living Center (32)
• Cambridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (42)
• Lexington Post Acute (43.75)
• Care One at Lexington (61)
• Lexington Court Care Center (69)
• Kendal at Lexington (112)

Best Nursing Homes in Bowling Green, Kentucky

• Willows at Bowling Green The (12)
• Bowling Green Manor (48)
• Bowling Green Health and Rehabilitation Center (58)
• Wood Haven Health Care Senior Living and Rehab (70)
• Country View Nursing (470)

Best Nursing Homes in Elizabethtown, Kentucky

• Masonic Village at Elizabethtown (8)
• Essex Center For Rehabilitation and Healthcare (36)
• Elizabethtown Nursing and Rehabilitation (73)
• Emerald Nursing and Rehabilitation (131)

Best Nursing Homes in Owensboro, Kentucky

• Carmel Home (8)
• Chautauqua Health and Rehabilitation (141.25)

Best Skilled Nursing Homes in Other States

How We Compile Nursing Home Ratings in Kentucky

Every month, we rank all of the skilled nursing facilities in Kentucky. These rankings are based on data provided by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid measures ("CMS”), including the CMS 5-Star Rating System and the Health Inspection Scores. The list of the best Skilled Nursing Facilities in Kentucky is based on the weighted overall health inspection score which is a composite of CMS's three most recent skilled nursing home inspection scores weighted to give the most recent inspection more importance.

The CMS 5-Star Rating System rates skilled nursing facilities from one to five stars, with one star being the lowest and five stars being the highest. The rating system also rates Kentucky nursing homes across five different dimensions including overall rating, health inspection rating, quality measures rating, overall staffing rating, and RN staffing rating (RN is an acronym for Registered Nurse).