There are 14,704 nursing facilities in the United States certified to serve Medicare and Medicaid patients. According to the Nursing Home Database, six of the 50 worst are in the commonwealth, and three of the ten worst-rated facilities in America operate in central Virginia.
Nursing Home Database used a proprietary algorithm and August data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to produce its assessment of the worst nursing homes in the United States. These homes are characterized by substandard staffing, resident care, and outcomes; regulatory violations; and overall poor performance.
That company’s list of the 50 worst in the country, based on data as of August 01, 2026, includes the following Virginia facilities, annotated with references in some cases to their ownership groups.
Rated No. 1 on 50 Worst List – Parham Health Care and Rehab Center – (MFA/LW) – Henrico
Parham has a solid lead over the nation’s second-worst facility, Salyersville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Salyersville, Kentucky.
Lakewood, New Jersey-based Medical Facilities of America/Lifeworks Rehab (MFA/LW) chain, formerly Virginia’s largest, sold Parham and four other facilities at the end of May this year. The buyer was Prestige Healthcare Administrative Services (Prestige) of Howell, NJ, just a few miles from Lakewood.
The East Parham Road facility’s new public name is Bridgewater Post-Acute, which is not yet listed in the VDH license files. The Henrico property record still shows MFA/LW ownership.
Rated No. 6 on 50 Worst List – Ashland Nursing and Rehabilitation (Avardis Health) – Ashland
Atlanta-based Avardis was awarded the Consulate Healthcare portfolio as the result of a highly complex federal bankruptcy case. Avardis took control on June 1, 2025. Avardis’s eleven facilities in Virginia still include two SFF Candidates, six facilities with abuse icons, and staffing remains well below average.
Rated No. 8 on 50 Worst List – Wonder City Rehabilitation and Nursing Center (Lifeworks/MFA) – Hopewell
This property was included in the end-of-May transfer to Prestige. The new name is Creekside Post Acute LLC. The property record still lists Lifeworks/MFA as the owner. However, Creekside is registered for a Virginia Department of Health license, and the name change was effective June 30.
Ranked No. 28 on 50 Worst List – Woodstock Valley Health and Rehabilitation (Avardis Health) – Woodstock
Ranked No. 42 on 50 Worst List – Seven Hills Rehabilitation and Nursing (Eastern Healthcare) – Lynchburg
No. 45 on 50 Worst List – Mountain Laurel Rehabilitation and Nursing (Eastern Healthcare) – Rural Retreat
Eastern Healthcare, based in Clifton, New Jersey, controls 18 nursing homes, all in Virginia.
Noteworthy
Skilled nursing facilities constitute the tier of the American health care system immediately below the hospitals with whom these facilities contract to transfer patients. Many are helpless upon admission. They depend on attending physicians and the nurses at their new residence for their dignity, their safety, and for regaining health to return home.
Long-term residents are in a nursing home rather than an assisted living facility or at home because they need more medical care than either can provide. For many, it is their last home.
James C. Sherlock is a retired United States Navy Captain and a combat veteran of Vietnam and the Middle East. He has been a published author on issues of healthcare and education in Virginia for nearly 20 years.
