Last verified: October 2026
What is a nursing home in Pennsylvania?
A nursing home provides 24-hour licensed nursing care, licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and, for nearly all homes, certified by CMS for Medicare and Medicaid; it serves both short-term rehabilitation patients after a hospital stay and long-term residents who need nursing every day.
Our seven counties have 111 CMS-certified nursing homes with 14,010 certified beds.
Does Medicare pay for a nursing home?
Medicare Part A can pay for a short skilled nursing stay after a qualifying inpatient hospital admission when daily skilled care is needed, but it does not pay for long-term custodial care; long-term stays are paid privately, by long-term care insurance, or by Medical Assistance once a resident qualifies.
Pennsylvania's 2026 Medical Assistance limits for long-term care are on the nursing home Medicaid page.
What does a nursing home cost in Pennsylvania?
CareScout's 2025 survey puts Pennsylvania's median at $143,445 a year (about $11,954 a month) for a semi-private room and $164,250 a year (about $13,688 a month) for a private room, both above the national medians of $114,975 and $129,575.
CareScout publishes no Pittsburgh-specific figure.
How do you choose a nursing home near Pittsburgh?
Shortlist by CMS overall rating, then read the health-inspection results, staffing hours per resident, turnover and any fines on Care Compare or our facility pages, and visit at a shift change.
Our nursing home directory sorts every home by CMS rating, beds and county.
Which are the largest nursing homes in the Pittsburgh region?
By certified beds on CMS's list, the largest nursing homes in the seven counties are Friendship Rehab and Health in Beaver (589 beds, CMS overall 1 of 5); Westmoreland Manor in Greensburg (408 beds, CMS overall 2 of 5); John J Kane Regional Center-Sc in Pittsburgh (311 beds, CMS overall 4 of 5).
Size says little about quality. Several of the region's highest-rated homes are under 100 beds.
How many Pittsburgh-area nursing homes have high CMS ratings?
Of the 109 rated nursing homes in the seven counties, 19 have 4 or 5 stars and 48 have 1 star, per CMS data processed October 1, 2026; high-rated beds can fill quickly, so have two or three alternatives ready at discharge.
A nursing home: what it is and is not
| It is | It is not | |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing | 24-hour licensed nursing | help-on-call |
| Regulator | PA Department of Health | DHS personal care licensing |
| Medicare | short skilled stays after a hospital admission | long-term custodial care |
| Ratings | CMS Five-Star | unrated |
