Worst Nursing Homes in New Jersey

The right nursing home can bring joy and comfort to your loved one, but the wrong nursing home can leave a vulnerable senior with trauma and injuries that are sometimes fatal.

37Overall 1-Star Facilities
311-Star Health Inspections
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It is crucial to have the right information when choosing a nursing home for your loved one. Knowing which facilities are the worst-rated in New Jersey can help you make an informed decision, which will help you keep your loved one safe and well cared for.

Nursing Homes With an Overall One Star in New Jersey

Medicare’s Five-Star Quality Rating System assigns star ratings to all Medicare-funded facilities, with the goal of giving families a clear idea of the quality of care their loved ones might receive at each facility.

A five-star rating represents excellent care, and one star signals serious deficiencies. This overall score is based on a facility’s performance across three categories:

  • Health inspections: Health inspection ratings reflect adherence to federal health and safety standards.
  • Staffing: Staffing ratings measure the time staff members spend with residents and how consistent and skilled the staff is.
  • Quality measures: Quality measures reflect how effectively facilities manage resident care.

New Jersey is home to 37 nursing home facilities with an overall one-star Medicare rating:

One Star for Health Inspections

Medicare’s health inspection rating reflects how well a nursing home meets federal health and safety standards. These standards include areas such as staffing, medication management, protection from nursing home abuse, and food preparation.

State inspectors visit nursing homes at least once a year. They observe care practices, review records, and interview staff and residents. Inspectors issue a citation if a facility fails to meet standards. The rating is based on the facility’s three most recent health inspections and complaints from the last three years.

There are 31 nursing homes with a one-star rating for health inspections in New Jersey:

One Star for Staffing

Medicare’s staffing rating assesses whether a facility has sufficient staff members to meet the necessary levels of care for its residents. It’s based on two components: the number of hours of care provided by nursing staff per resident per day and the types of staff providing the care, such as registered nurses and certified nurse aides. Staff turnover also plays a role in the rating.

In New Jersey, there are 5 nursing homes with a one-star rating for staffing:

One Star for Quality Measures

Medicare’s quality measures rating evaluates how well a nursing home performs in key areas of resident care. It reflects aspects of health and well-being, such as whether residents are receiving necessary vaccinations, experiencing pain, or losing weight.

4 nursing home facilities in New Jersey have a one-star ranking for quality measures:

Get Legal Help

At Nursing Homes Abuse LLC, we partner with experienced nursing home abuse attorneys who can assist you and your loved ones to get the justice you deserve.

Mathew Shooshtary

Associate Attorney
The Sanders Law Firm

Jay Kenneth Margolis

Senior Partner
The Sanders Law Firm

Legal Issues

The following are some recent examples of nursing home lawsuits against New Jersey care facilities. This is just a snapshot of the many allegations facilities have faced for physical abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect.

Abigail House for Nursing & Rehabilitation

In May 2020, the family of a resident at Abigail House for Nursing & Rehabilitation in Camden filed a lawsuit against the facility for its alleged involvement in her death. The lawsuit claimed that the facility provided negligent care to the resident, which resulted in her drastic health decline, septic shock, and death.

Abigail House has also received 23 recent health citations—significantly higher than the state average of eight.

CareOne at Madison Avenue

In May 2024, a resident at CareOne at Madison Avenue in Morristown sued the facility after she fell twice while under its care. Her lawsuit alleged that the facility was negligent in responding to her falls and in hiring and supervising its staff.

Common Issues in Low-Rated Nursing Homes

New Jersey’s lowest-rated nursing homes often show consistent patterns that compromise residents’ safety and dignity. These patterns include understaffing, failure to provide individualized care, and inadequate infection control. If you notice these issues, it’s crucial to look out for potential mistreatment and report suspected nursing home abuse immediately.

Understaffing and Its Consequences

One of the clearest warning signs of a poorly run facility is a chronic staff shortage. Overburdened staff are more prone to making serious mistakes, such as administering the wrong dosage or failing to notice a health decline until it’s too late. In some cases, residents may go hours without assistance and suffer bedsores or preventable falls simply because there weren’t enough qualified staff available.

Failure To Develop Individualized Care Plans

A nursing home is not a one-size-fits-all operation. Each resident requires a unique care approach to provide the best possible outcomes. However, many New Jersey facilities lack individualized care plans. As a result, residents may receive unnecessary treatments in lieu of the treatments they really need.

Inadequate Infection Control Measures

Infections can move quickly through nursing homes. Facilities must identify outbreaks early and take measures to control them by performing testing, providing masks, and isolating infected residents. Unfortunately, many substandard facilities in New Jersey fall short in meeting these standards. This can cause many residents to suffer preventable illness or death.

Legal Support for Victims of Nursing Home Abuse

The worst nursing homes in New Jersey often fail to provide attentive, dignified care. This results in worse health outcomes and even preventable deaths for many residents. At Nursing Homes Abuse LLC, we’re committed to helping families hold negligent facilities accountable by providing quality legal help and resources. 

We can connect you with trusted nursing home abuse lawyers who focus specifically on these types of cases. If your loved one shows signs of nursing home abuse or neglect, contact us today for a free, confidential consultation about your rights and options.

If you or a loved one are facing abuse or neglect in a New Jersey nursing home, including nursing homes in Newark, we can help. Contact Nursing Homes Abuse LLC today to learn more about your legal rights and options. 

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Fact Checked

Our fact-checking process begins with a thorough review of all sources to ensure they are high quality. Then we cross-check the facts with original medical or scientific reports published by those sources, or we validate the facts with reputable news organizations, medical and scientific experts and other health experts. Each page includes all sources for full transparency.
Our fact-checking process begins with a thorough review of all sources to ensure they are high quality. Then we cross-check the facts with original medical or scientific reports published by those sources, or we validate the facts with reputable news organizations, medical and scientific experts and other health experts. Each page includes all sources for full transparency.