Worst Nursing Homes in Pittsburg
Choosing a nursing home is one of the most important decisions a family can make for a vulnerable loved one. These facilities are responsible for every aspect of residents’ physical, emotional, and mental well-being.
Unfortunately, not all facilities meet the standards of care residents deserve. Residents face poorer health outcomes and even abuse in some of Pittsburgh’s worst nursing homes.
Worst Nursing Homes in Pittsburgh
Medicare’s Five-Star Quality Rating System offers a straightforward way for families to compare nursing home care quality. Each facility that receives Medicare funding is rated from one to five stars in several areas of performance.
There are four types of star ratings under this system, including an overall rating. The overall rating is a combined score that takes into account a facility’s performance across these three categories:
- Health inspection rating – Based on the results of recent state inspections and complaint investigations, this rating evaluates whether a facility complies with federal care and safety regulations.
- Staffing rating – Reflects the average number of care hours residents receive each day, along with the qualifications, experience, and turnover rates of the nursing staff.
- Quality measures rating – Assesses how well a facility performs on key care outcomes, such as managing pain, preventing infections, and ensuring proper nutrition.
A five-star rating indicates a significantly higher level of care than average. One star indicates a significantly lower level of care than average.
Nursing Homes With an Overall One Star in Pittsburgh
There are 28 nursing homes in Pittsburgh with an overall one-star Medicare rating:
- Baldwin Health Center
- Beaver Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
- Bridgeville Rehabilitation & Care Center
- Burgh Care Center
- Carnegie Park Post Acute
- Corner View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
- Cranberry Place
- Harmar Village Health & Rehab Center
- Harmony Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
- Heritage Care Center
- Highland Hills Post Acute
- Hillcrest Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center
- Ivy Park Post Acute
- Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Cheswick
- Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Irwin
- Monroeville Post Acute
- Platinum Ridge Center for Rehab & Healing
- Riverside Health & Rehab Center
- Seneca Place
- Spring Hill Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
- Squirrel Hill Wellness and Rehabilitation Center
- St. John Specialty Care Center
- Southwestern Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
- WeCare at Mount Lebanon Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
- WeCare at Murrysville Rehab and Nursing Center
- Wexford Healthcare Center
- Whitehall Borough Post Acute
- Woodhaven Health & Rehab Center
One Star for Health Inspections
Medicare’s health inspection rating evaluates a nursing home’s compliance with federal care and safety standards. These standards include infection control, medication administration, food handling, protection from abuse, and more. The rating may also reflect the quality of the overall nursing home environment, such as how staff and residents interact.
The rating is determined using data from the facility’s three most recent standard inspections and additional inspections from the last three years.
In Pittsburgh, 27 nursing homes have a one-star health inspection rating:
- Baldwin Health Center
- Beaver Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
- Bridgeville Rehabilitation & Care Center
- Burgh Care Center
- Carnegie Park Post Acute
- Corner View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
- Cranberry Place
- Harmar Village Health & Rehab Center
- Heritage Care Center
- Highland Hills Post Acute
- Hillcrest Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center
- Ivy Park Post Acute
- Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Irwin
- Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Washington
- Little Sisters of the Poor
- Monroeville Post Acute
- Platinum Ridge Center for Rehab & Healing
- Riverside Health & Rehab Center
- Rochester Residence and Care Center
- Seneca Place
- Southwestern Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
- Spring Hill Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
- Squirrel Hill Wellness and Rehabilitation Center
- St. John Specialty Care Center
- WeCare at Mt. Lebanon Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
- WeCare at Murrysville Rehab and Nursing Center
- Wexford Healthcare Center
One Star for Staffing
Medicare’s staffing rating evaluates if a nursing home maintains sufficient staff to provide quality care to its residents. This rating accounts for the daily average number of care hours given to each resident and the mix of healthcare professionals on staff, including Certified Nurse Aides and Registered Nurses.
The rate at which staff members leave also plays a role in determining the score. That’s because high staff turnover can lead to inconsistencies in care, poor communication, and a lack of familiarity with residents’ needs. When staff frequently leave, it becomes harder to maintain stable routines and build trusting relationships.
Staffing is not often a major problem among nursing homes in Pittsburgh. Still, the city has five facilities with a one-star staffing rating:
- Beaver Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
- Carnegie Park Post Acute
- Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at North Strabane
- Squirrel Hill Wellness and Rehabilitation Center
- Transitions Healthcare North Huntingdon
One Star for Quality Measures
Medicare’s quality measures rating assesses how well a nursing home performs in key areas of care. The rating is based on separate data sets for short-term residents recovering from acute illnesses or injuries and long-term residents requiring continuous care. It considers factors such as pain management, vaccination rates, prevention of unintended weight loss, and protection from abuse.
There are eight nursing homes in Pittsburgh with a one-star quality measures rating:
- Canterbury Place
- Harmar Village Health & Rehab Center
- Harmony Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center
- John J. Kane Regional Center-MC
- Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Cheswick
- St. John Specialty Care Center
- Whitehall Borough Post Acute
- Woodhaven Health & Rehab Center
Lawsuits Against Pittsburgh Nursing Homes
The following are some examples of legal actions taken against Pittsburgh facilities for nursing home neglect and abuse.
Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center
Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver, PA, has received three federal fines in the last three years, including over $89,000 in March 2024.
The facility faced federal enforcement actions for alleged healthcare fraud and falsification of records, resulting in restitution payments totaling $12.6 million. This fraud was to convince the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that the facility was following regulations when it actually was not. As a result, the facility had to pay $12.6 million in restitution fees.
Earlier, in 2020, a woman filed a class-action lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Health for allegedly failing to inspect long-term care facilities. The lawsuit alleged that this failure enabled Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center to experiment on her elderly father with dementia, who was a resident of the facility. Her father was allegedly administered hydroxychloroquine at the facility without proper consent.
Also in 2020, five current residents and 10 deceased residents’ families filed a lawsuit against Brighton for its alleged mishandling of COVID-19 outbreaks at the facility. According to the lawsuit, the facility was chronically understaffed, and nursing staff had to cut corners during the pandemic. It alleged that the facility lacked an infection control program, which allowed the virus to spread unchecked. Dozens of residents ultimately died of COVID-19 at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center that year.
Mt. Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center
WeCare at Mt. Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Pittsburgh has received five federal fines in the last three years, including over $234,000 in January 2023.
In December 2023, a federal jury convicted Mount Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center on four counts of making false statements related to healthcare benefits and obstructing a federal investigation, following evidence that the facility submitted falsified staffing records to the Pennsylvania Department of Health and CMS. It attempted to cover up substandard care practices and pass inspections by changing its records and lying to officials. It was ordered to pay over $2.7 million in restitution for these violations.
The facility has a history of other legal troubles, including 18 recent health citations. This is significantly higher than the state average of 10.4 health citations per facility.
Southwestern Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Within the last three years, Southwestern Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh has received two federal fines totaling nearly $68,000. It has also received 26 recent health citations, well above the state average of 10.4 citations.
In July 2021, plaintiffs filed a wrongful death lawsuit holding that a resident was killed while being transported from the facility to an outside appointment. The lawsuit alleged that staff members failed to properly anchor the victim’s wheelchair to the transport van’s floor while they loaded him into the vehicle. The van then drove at an unsafe speed, which caused the victim’s wheelchair to topple over and resulted in a fatal head injury.
How NursingHomesAbuse.org Can Help
The worst nursing homes in Pittsburgh often fail to meet essential care standards. When facilities fail to provide safe, respectful, and attentive care, families are left to deal with heartbreaking consequences. Vulnerable residents often suffer serious physical injury, psychological trauma, and even death when they don’t receive the quality nursing home care they deserve.
If your loved one has suffered abuse or neglect in a Pittsburgh nursing home, we’re here to help. You may have the right to seek compensation through a civil claim for the damages your loved one and your family have suffered as a result of the abuse. This could include funeral expenses, medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and more.
Our mission is to support your family with the legal help and resources needed to seek justice and accountability. We can connect you with a knowledgeable nursing home abuse lawyer. Reach out today for a free, confidential case evaluation and start exploring your rights and options.
- Last Modified July 14, 2025
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Dr. Patricia Shelton, MD
Education:
- University of Washington, Doctor of Medicine – MD. June 2008
- University of Washington, Bachelor of Science – BS, Jun 2003
Background:
Neuroscience and Medicine
Career:
- Dr. Shelton primarily writes content for health-related websites, but has also written test prep materials, white papers, published research articles, court documents, and more.
- Dr. Shelton teaches anatomy and physiology at the college level for the National Institutes of Health.
