Best Assisted Living in Pennsylvania

Trillium Place is an 85-bed skilled nursing and personal care community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, offering rehabilitation, personal care, memory care, and skilled nursing services, and is part of a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) offering multiple levels of care. It is operated by Robert Bomberger under nonprofit ownership and accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay.

Trillium holds a 5-star CMS overall rating, with a Health Inspection score 42% above the Pennsylvania average — which is the main reason for its top-tier rating. Quality Measures also run 32% above the state benchmark. Staffing is the counterweight. Total nursing hours average 5 hours and 52 minutes per resident per day, ranking 15th out of 203 Pennsylvania facilities and running well above the state average. However, the CMS staffing sub-rating is 26% below the state figure due to case-mix adjustments.

Across six inspections since 2021, the facility averaged 2.8 deficiencies per year — 40% better than Pennsylvania’s 4.7 average. The facility has no fines, no immediate jeopardy findings, and no substantiated complaints. The two most recent renewal inspections cited routine environmental and medication-management issues; plans of correction were accepted and implemented.

The facility’s occupancy rate is 76%, in line with the Pennsylvania average of 78.7%, suggesting current availability. Volunteer programming is available on-site, and the CCRC designation means residents can move across care levels without leaving the campus.

Trillium Place is best suited for residents who need a clinical continuum — from short-term post-acute rehabilitation through long-term skilled nursing or memory care — within a nonprofit, person-centered setting in Lancaster County.

Overview of Landis Homes Retirement Community

Landis Homes Retirement Community is a 124-bed nonprofit continuing care community in Lititz, Pennsylvania, offering a full continuum of care — residential living, personal care, skilled nursing, and dementia care — alongside pastoral services, lifelong learning programs, and hospice and respite services. The facility is operated by Landis Communities on a 114-acre campus in Lancaster County.

CMS rates Landis Homes above the Pennsylvania average across all four rating categories. Nurse staffing averages 5 hours and 10 minutes per resident per day, about 13% above the state average of 4 hours and 35 minutes, placing the facility 31st out of 203 Pennsylvania nursing homes for adjusted staffing.

Across five inspection cycles since 2021, the facility averages 3.4 deficiencies per year — 28% below the Pennsylvania average of 4.7. The most recent inspection in February 2025 found no deficiencies. The 2024 renewal identified seven citations, including a failure to report a suspected abuse incident in a timely manner, a confidentiality lapse in resident records, and a supervision gap in the secured dementia unit. Plans of correction were accepted and implemented by November 2024. No fines or enforcement actions appear in the available record.

The secured 16-bed dementia care unit, CCRC designation, and on-site dining venues — Owl Hill Bistro, Gather, and Garden Cafe — support residents planning for longer-term living within one campus. An active resident council and church-affiliated nonprofit governance round out the community’s profile.

Landis Homes is best suited for older adults seeking a faith-based, campus-style continuum of care in Lancaster County, particularly those planning for memory care or end-of-life services within a single community.

Overview of Woodland Heights

Woodland Heights is a community in Little Rock, Arkansas, that offers assisted living, independent living, memory care, and respite care, operated by Phoenix Senior Living. Located at 8700 Carti Way in the Big Rock Township neighborhood, the three-story community offers studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments and is pet-friendly.

The community provides a full continuum of care from independent living through memory care, with 24-hour staffing. Woodland Heights is not currently listed as a CMS-certified Medicare or Medicaid provider, which limits payment options to private pay and long-term care insurance for most residents; Arkansas’s Living Choices Assisted Living Waiver is a potential Medicaid pathway for qualifying residents at Level II facilities.

Amenities include a fitness center, pool, billiards room, salon, library, and walking paths, a range that supports an active lifestyle for independent and assisted living residents. Memory care programming focuses on routine and purposeful engagement within a structured environment.

Woodland Heights is well-suited to active older adults seeking a full continuum of senior living in Little Rock, especially for families seeking memory care services with experienced, hands-on leadership.

Overview of Peter Becker Community

Operating in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, since 1963, Peter Becker Community is a 68-bed personal care and skilled nursing facility operated as a voluntary nonprofit organization by a church. The community provides personal care, memory care, skilled nursing, and rehabilitation services for residents in Montgomery County.

CMS rates the community 5 stars overall, with above-average marks across Health Inspection, Staffing, and Quality Measures. The facility holds a 5-star short-stay quality rating. Notably, only 14.7% of short-stay residents are rehospitalized after discharge, compared to a Pennsylvania average of 23.1%. No residents received a new antipsychotic medication during a short stay, compared to a state average of 1.5%.

Total nurse staffing averages 4 hours per resident per day, roughly 13% below the Pennsylvania average, though RN-specific staffing averages 43% above state benchmarks. Weekend RN staffing performs 55% above the state average, a meaningful distinction for families weighing clinical oversight.

Across eight inspections since 2021 under Pennsylvania’s personal care home licensing framework, the facility recorded 47 citations, which is 25% below the state average, with a one-time $3,000 federal fine. The September 2024 renewal inspection was significant, with 29 deficiencies covering medication management, staff training gaps, fire safety, and dementia unit staffing; a December 2024 monitoring visit confirmed full implementation of the corrective plan. Separately, two substantiated abuse-reporting failures in 2022 were addressed with staff re-education.

On campus, the community offers a chapel, a creative arts studio, fitness rooms, a pond-side labyrinth, and a secure 11-bed memory care unit. Occupancy is at 85%, above the Pennsylvania average of 78.7%.

With a payer mix weighted toward Medicare and private pay, and an average length of stay of 17 to 72 days, Peter Becker Community is best suited for residents seeking post-acute rehabilitation and short-term skilled nursing, with an additional track for those needing secure memory care.

Overview of Laurel View Village

Laurel View Village is a 107-bed nonprofit, faith-based Life Plan Community in Davidsville, Pennsylvania, operated by Allegheny Christian Ministries, Inc. The community offers residential living, personal care, skilled nursing, and memory care, including a 15-bed Secure Dementia Care Unit, to residents 55 and over in Somerset County. Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay are all accepted.

Across four inspections since 2021, the facility averaged 2 citations per year, 57% below the Pennsylvania average of 4.7. The two most recent renewal inspections tell a straightforward story: a clean record in 2022 and one deficiency in August 2024 involving a missing pre-admission medical evaluation for a dementia unit resident. The facility corrected the issue and was confirmed compliant. No fines, Immediate Jeopardy findings, or enforcement actions appear in the record.

CMS rates the facility 4 stars overall, with staffing the clear driver. Nurse staffing averages 4 hours and 58 minutes per resident per day, roughly 9% above the Pennsylvania average, ranking the facility 43rd among 203 state SNFs.

On-site services include a physician’s office, laboratory, and podiatry services, as well as a walking trail, swimming pools, and guest rooms for overnight stays. Respite care and rehabilitation services are available.

The facility’s occupancy rate is 52%, compared with a state average near 79%, indicating current availability across care levels.

Laurel View Village’s continuum, from independent residential living through secure dementia care, serves older adults seeking a planned progression of care on a single campus, with particular depth for residents who anticipate needing memory care.

Overview of Waverly Heights

Serving Montgomery County residents through personal care, memory support, skilled nursing and rehabilitation, home care, and care management, Waverly Heights operates as an 82-bed nonprofit Life Plan Community in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. Waverly Senior Services manages the community, which accepts Medicare and private pay.

Staffing is the facility’s defining strength. Nurse staffing averages 6 hours and 15 minutes per resident per day, placing Waverly Heights 9th out of 203 skilled nursing facilities statewide, a level of direct-care coverage that significantly exceeds the Pennsylvania norm.

Across six inspections from 2021 to 2024, the facility averaged 6 deficiencies per year, roughly 28% above the state average of 4.7. The most recent renewal, in October 2024, cited 8 deficiencies tied to medication management, record confidentiality, and documentation practices; all corrective plans were accepted and implemented by December 2024. A May 2023 renewal closed with zero citations. No fines, Immediate Jeopardy findings, or substantiated complaints appear in the inspection record.

The campus is built around an active, residential lifestyle. Outdoor amenities include a putting green, pool, dog park, and working greenhouse, along with bocce courts, a walking path, and an outdoor dining patio. Memory support and respite care are available on-site. The facility’s current occupancy rate is 70%, below Pennsylvania’s average of 78.7%, indicating near-term availability for families planning a transition.

Waverly Heights fits older adults and their families who are planning a long-term care continuum on a single campus, particularly those prioritizing high staffing ratios and a lifestyle-forward residential setting in the western Philadelphia suburbs.

Serving a clinically complex population in Washington, Pennsylvania, Transitions Healthcare Washington, PA is a 48-bed personal care home at 90 Humbert Lane, privately owned and operated by Jennifer Watson. Programs include behavioral and dementia care, stroke recovery, pulmonary care, peritoneal dialysis, comprehensive wound care, congestive heart failure management, and respite stays.

The facility carries a 2-star overall CMS rating. Staffing is the defining concern: total nursing hours average 2 hours and 42 minutes per resident per day, placing the home 202nd out of 203 Pennsylvania skilled nursing facilities and roughly 75% below the state average, a significant gap for residents requiring frequent clinical attention.

Across inspections over the past several years, the facility has recorded 13.4 deficiencies per year, approximately 185% above Pennsylvania’s average of 4.7. Complaint investigations have substantiated multiple instances of resident abuse, including verbal abuse by staff in October 2024 and misappropriation of resident property in early 2024. The facility implemented corrective actions following each finding, including staff terminations, resignations, and supervision plans. No fines or license suspensions appear in the available reports.

The most recent renewal inspection in September 2025 cited two minor deficiencies, both of which were corrected through education and audits.

The facility’s occupancy stands at 65%, well below the Pennsylvania average of 78.7%, indicating current availability. The resident census reflects a high proportion of individuals diagnosed with mental illness and residents receiving hospice care, consistent with the facility’s clinical program mix.

The facility serves adults in Washington County with complex behavioral, cognitive, or medically intensive needs who require a personal care setting with specialized program support.