Philadelphia is home to six of the worst nursing homes in the U.S.

Senators Casey and Toomey release a report that shows the facilities listed as candidates in the Special Focus Facilities program

Sen. Bob Casey and Sen. Pat Toomey released a federal report on Monday that reveals the 400 worst nursing homes in the U.S. Sixteen of the candidates listed on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Special Focus Facilities program were in Pa., six were located in the Philadelphia-area. Seen here is Cheltenham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia.
Source/Google Street View

Sen. Bob Casey and Sen. Pat Toomey released a federal report on Monday that reveals the worst nursing homes in the U.S.

This previously unseen report lists 400 facilities that are candidate for the Special Focus Facilities program monitored by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Pennsylvania has 16 nursing facilities on the list, including six located in the Philadelphia-area. New Jersey has nine facilities on the list, with three in South Jersey, and Delaware has five on the list, including two in Wilmington. 

When a nursing home is chosen for the SFF list, it shows facility fails to meet the standards and protections afforded to patients through Medicare and Medicaid programs. Some of these nursing homes have residents who have been subjected to abuse and neglect, and the facilities overall have poor quality ratings. 

The report's release is significant because the names of facilities being considered for the SFF program are not usually released to the public. Only participating facilities are named as part of the CMS program. 

Of the 400 candidates, 88 are chosen to be participants.

Participants receive extra inspections of at least once every six months, face potential closures if poor conditions persist or become dire enough, and are subject to more frequent enforcement actions.

There are 15,700 nursing homes nationwide, 2.5% of facilities in the U.S. made the candidate list and .6% make the participants list. 

Sen. Casey and Sen. Toomey were inspired to take action on the nursing home problem in Pennsylvania, when PennLive investigated nursing home care in 2016, and again in 2018. The senators received the CMS list for candidates in May and released their assessment of the report on Monday. 

The Philadelphia-area nursing homes on the candidate list include the following:

Cathedral Village, 600 E. Cathedral Road, Philadelphia
• Cheltenham Nursing and Rehab Center, 600 W. Cheltenham Ave., Philadelphia
• Willow Terrace, 1 Penn Blvd., Philadelphia
• Conner-Williams Nursing Home, 105 Morton Ave., Ridley Park, Delaware County
• Garden Spring Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 1113 N. Easton Road, Willow Grove, Montgomery County
• Chestnut Hill Lodge Health and Rehab Center, 8833 Stenton Ave., Wyndmoor, Montgomery County.

The South Jersey nursing homes on the list are:

• Sterling Manor, 794 Forklanding Road, Maple Shade, Burlington County
• Care One at Evesham, 870 E. Route 70, Marlton, Burlington County
• Riverfront Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, 5105 N. Park Drive, Pennsauken, Camden County. 

The following are the facilities in Wilmington SFF candidate list:

• Kentmere Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, 1900 Lovering Ave.
• Brandywine Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 505 Greenbank Road


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