Lehigh Valley Nursing Homes by the Numbers: CMS Stars, Staffing and Turnover

The landscape

CMS's Provider Data Catalog (data as of October 1, 2026) lists 30 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes in Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties, with 5,127 certified beds. They range from small units inside continuing care campuses to two county-scale homes with more than 600 beds each.

The three largest by certified beds are Northampton County-Gracedale (688), Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehabilitation (670), Phoebe Allentown Health Care Center (343).

How the stars break down

Of the 30 rated homes, 11 carry five stars, 7 four, 7 three, 2 two and 3 one. Several five-star homes are the health care centers of continuing care retirement communities, which tend to be smaller and admit many of their own residents.

The overall rating combines three parts: health inspections, which carry the most weight, staffing, and quality measures. A home can be strong on one and weak on another, so open the component ratings before deciding.

Staffing hours

CMS publishes payroll-based staffing hours. The median Lehigh Valley home reports 3.62 total nurse staffing hours per resident per day, of which about 0.61 are registered nurse hours. Homes above the median are not automatically better, but very low registered nurse hours deserve a question.

Staffing also varies by unit. A rehab unit taking hospital discharges every day usually runs heavier staffing than a long-term care floor.

Turnover

Nursing staff turnover, the share of nursing staff who left over a year, has a local median of 39.7%. High turnover means residents see unfamiliar faces and knowledge about each person walks out the door. Ask the administrator how long the director of nursing and the unit managers have been in place.

CMS also reports how many administrators have left recently. Frequent changes at the top often show up later in inspection results.

Inspections and fines

The median home had 6 health deficiencies at its most recent standard inspection. Department of Health surveyors conduct these inspections for CMS; complaint deficiencies are counted separately. CMS also lists federal fines over three years; most local homes show none, while a few show significant amounts.

Our nursing home pages show each home's deficiencies, fines, staffing and turnover against the Lehigh Valley median, with CMS's data date.

Short-stay rehab versus long-term care

Most nursing home admissions in the Lehigh Valley begin as short-term rehab after a stay at Lehigh Valley Hospital, St. Luke's or another hospital. CMS publishes separate short-stay and long-stay quality ratings, and a home can be strong at one and average at the other. Use the short-stay rating for a rehab decision and the long-stay rating if your parent may stay.

Ask the admissions office what share of residents are short-stay and what share long-term, and which unit your parent would be placed on.

Continuing care campuses

Several of the highest-rated homes are health care centers inside continuing care retirement communities. They often admit their own independent and personal care residents first, and may have limited beds for outside admissions or may not accept Medical Assistance for new residents.

If one of these homes appeals to you, ask early whether it accepts community admissions and on what terms.

County-run and large homes

The region's two largest nursing homes each have more than 600 certified beds. Large homes can offer specialized units and long experience with Medical Assistance residents; their ratings and staffing figures deserve the same scrutiny as any other home's.

Fines and special focus status

CMS lists federal fines and payment denials for each home over the past three years. Most Lehigh Valley homes show none, while a few show fines in the tens of thousands of dollars or more. A large fine usually follows a serious deficiency, so read the inspection report behind it.

CMS also flags homes with persistent problems as Special Focus Facilities or candidates. Our nursing home pages show that status whenever CMS reports it, along with the abuse icon if CMS displays one.

Using the numbers well

Use CMS's data to narrow a list to three or four homes, not to pick one. Then visit, ideally twice, and ask about the specific unit your parent would live on. Ask whether the home accepts Medical Assistance through Community HealthChoices for long-term stays, since a resident who arrives for Medicare rehab may need to stay.

And remember that a nursing home's star rating and a personal care home's DHS inspection count measure entirely different things.