METRO ATLANTA — Eight nursing homes in or near metro Atlanta are among the nation’s best, according to a new ranking released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report that sheds light on a nationwide nursing home staffing shortage.

• Ansley Park Health and Rehabilitation, Newnan, high-performing short-term rehab, long-term care rating not available
• Lenbrook, Atlanta, high-performing short-term rehab and long-term care
• Pebblebrook Health Center at Park Springs, Stone Mountain, high-performing short-term rehab and long-term care
• Pruitthealth – Laurel Park, Stockbridge, high-performing short-term rehab, long-term care rating not available
• Salude – The Art of Recovery, Suwanee, high-performing short-term rehab, long-term care rating not available
• The Oaks – Carrollton Skilled Nursing, Carrollton, high-performing short-term rehab, long-term care rating not available
• The William Breman Jewish Home, Atlanta, high-performing short-term rehab and long-term care
• Wellstar Paulding Nursing Center, Dallas, high-performing short-term rehab and long-term care

U.S. News ranked 105 of the nursing homes in metro Atlanta. Of those selected for the 2025 “best” list by U.S. News, 89 were ranked for long-term care, 104 for short-term care and 88 for both.

In Georgia, 357 nursing homes were evaluated and 335 made the 2025 “best” list. Of those, 285 were ranked for long-term care, 324 for short-term care and 274 for both.

U.S. News said 1,637 U.S. cities (out of 5,147) and 715 U.S. counties (out of 1,687) have at least one nursing home on the list.

“These facilities set the standard for quality care and should be commended for their commitment to improving the lives of their residents,” Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News, said in a news release.

Overall, the evaluation found that more than half of U.S. nursing homes don’t comply with federal regulations requiring at least eight registered nurse staffing hours every day. Among those that did not comply, the average nursing home had 15 days of inadequate staffing, according to the report.

“Staffing levels continue to be a major challenge for U.S. nursing homes,” Harder said.

The short-term rehabilitation facilities that were ranked have an average of 50 percent more nursing care per resident than facilities ranked below average in short-term rehab. The top long-term facilities have double the staff retention rate of nursing homes when compared to underperforming nursing homes, Harder said.

Among other findings:

• The best nursing homes for short-term rehabilitation discharge an average of 50 percent more patients to a residence (rather than a long-term care setting) compared to facilities rated as below average.
• The best nursing homes for long-term care preserve residents’ self-reliance longer: residents are on average 50 percent less likely to lose the ability to perform self-care activities, such as feeding and washing themselves, compared to residents at facilities rated as below average.
• The best nursing homes for long-term care give residents antipsychotic medications 46 percent less of the time compared to facilities rated as below average.
• Residents at the best long-term care facilities are more than 60 percent less likely to require emergency department care compared to residents at facilities rated as below average.

Metro areas with the most nursing homes on the “best” list (in alphabetical order) are Boston, Chicago, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco-Oakland and Washington, D.C.

To calculate the Best Nursing Homes ratings, U.S. News evaluated each nursing home’s performance using a variety of quality measures obtained from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service. Among factors considered are resident care, safety, outcomes and other aspects of quality — including data on nurse staffing levels, consistency and retention, as well as use of antipsychotic drugs and success in preventing ER visits.

On Tuesday evening, the Atlanta Hawks will be in Boston to face off against the Celtics.

For the game, the Hawks will be without their best player, as All-Star point guard Trae Young has been ruled out.

Young is averaging 23.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 11.5 assists and 1.3 steals per contest while shooting 39.0% from the field and 33.3% from the three-point range in 11 games.

Via The Hawks: “An @emoryhealthcare injury report for tomorrow’s game at Boston:

Bogdan Bogdanovic (right hamstring tendinopathy): Out

Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder subluxation): Out

De’Andre Hunter (personal family reasons): Out

Vit Krejci (right adductor strain): Out

Trae Young (right Achilles tendinitis): Out

Cody Zeller (not with team): Out”

The Hawks are 4-7 in their first 11 games after most recently losing to the Chicago Bulls by a score of 125-113.

Young finished with 14 points, three rebounds and 16 assists while shooting 6/16 from the field and 2/6 from the three-point range in 38 minutes of playing time.

Following the Celtics, the Hawks will play their next game on Friday evening when they return home to host Kyle Kuzma and the Washington Wizards.

Via Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks: “For those asking:

– No more specifics on Trae Young

– He was on the injury report with right Achilles inflammation almost exactly a year ago. For one game. And then he played.

– In his absence, it is all hands on deck. Jalen as lead initiator. Lots of Dyson and Keaton. Etc etc”

As for the Celtics, they are 9-2 in their first 11 games.

The Athletics have traded shortstop Nick Allen to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for right-hander Jared Johnson. This isn’t a terribly surprising move, given that Allen had seen his playing time in Oakland dwindle, along with being out of options heading into the 2025 campaign. That would mean that the A’s couldn’t just stash him in the minors like they did this past season without subjecting him to waivers.

Allen was the A’s Opening Day shortstop in 2024, and was playing regularly up until the end of April. He was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in early May, and hit well with the Aviators, batting .345 with a .431 OBP in 81 games. Allen is a talented defender at short, but was even tried out a touch in center to see if it would stick, giving him a little more value to the club. That test did not pan out.

He was called back up to Oakland in August and started seven games over the final month of the season. Three of those starts came at third base. Cumulatively for the year, Allen hit .175 with a .216 OBP and a 33 wRC+ in 41 big league games.

Besides underperformance with the bat, the other reason Allen was seen as expendable is that the A’s have last year’s top draft pick, Jacob Wilson, already in the bigs and he is going to be the team’s starting shortstop for the foreseeable future. They also have Darell Hernaiz and Max Muncy in that shortstop mix, though they’re now presumed options long-term at third base with Wilson at short.

As for the A’s return, they get another pitcher from Atlanta, which has not worked out so well in recent trades with the Braves. Royber Salinas, part of the Sean Murphy trade, was recently claimed off waivers by Atlanta. Kyle Muller, also part of that deal, has elected free agency. Freddy Tarnok is also no longer with the A’s.

That all said, Joey Estes (Matt Olson deal) has shown flashes of being an effective starter, tossing a Maddux on July 3, and Ryan Cusick should be in the mix for his MLB debut at some point in 2025.

Johnson, 23, was ranked as Atlanta’s No. 20 prospect over at FanGraphs. He spent all of the 2024 season in High-A, holding a 2.60 ERA (3.50 FIP) across 52 innings out of the bullpen. As we see quite often with A’s pitcher acquisitions, Johnson’s walk rate is a little inflated at 11.7%, but his strikeout rate of 26.4% is solid.

He’ll presumably begin the year either in Lansing for the A’s in 2025, with the intention to just get a look at him for a few weeks before ultimately promoting him to Double-A, or he’ll just head to Midland right out of the gate.

Johnson is Rule 5 eligible, though he isn’t necessarily likely to end up on the A’s 40-man roster. There are ways to protect him in the Draft by placing him on a higher level’s roster that should keep him safe from other teams in the minor-league portion of the draft. Overall, it’s an interesting pickup for the Athletics, and to get something for Allen is likely a win, given that he had been squeezed from the A’s roster.