Best Nursing Homes in Ithaca, NY

Overview of Cayuga Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

Cayuga Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Cayuga facility, provides exceptional personal care for its residents in a nurturing environment. Expect nothing but elegance and professionalism at the assisted living home. The vibrant community performs nothing less than extraordinary service offered by its professional and compassionate staff. Residents are guaranteed to enjoy their stay at the charming retirement home.

The Cayuga Nursing facility specializes in short-term rehabilitation, long-term skilled nursing, and memory care services. Seniors are encouraged to maintain independence and individuality by staying active and engaged with social, recreational, and stimulating activities. Specialized nursing care services are stroke recovery, IV therapy, respiratory services, wound care, and diabetes care.

Overview of Beechtree Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing

Beechtree Center is a distinguished 120-bed skilled nursing residence and rehabilitation center located in downtown Ithaca, New York. Providing 24-hour skilled nursing care, this community ensures a secure and engaging environment where each resident is treated with utmost dignity and respect. Beechtree Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing takes pride in consistently delivering the highest level of customer satisfaction. The center addresses physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs, striving to create a home-like environment that cares for everyone.
Beechtree embraces the concept of Person-Centered Care, prioritizing the importance of quality of life alongside quality of care. Their devoted staff partners closely with residents and their families, aiming to achieve and maintain the highest quality of life for every individual. From waking up early to choosing the timing of showers or baths, Beechtree endeavors to accommodate individual preferences, allowing residents and staff to make decisions collaboratively. The center also offers restaurant-style dining, serving freshly prepared food, adding to the overall comfort and home-like atmosphere that they provide for seniors.

Overview of Kendal at Ithaca

Under the company name Kendal at Ithaca, Inc., Kendal at Ithaca is a skilled nursing home at 2230 North Triphammer Road in Ithaca. The facility operated by owner Gregory Sommers welcomes Medicare and private pay, offering families a direct route to coverage for short-term rehabilitation and ongoing nursing care. With 48 beds operating at 88 percent occupancy, the home has steady demand. The average stay length of 181 days reflects its mix of post-acute rehabilitation residents and those needing longer-term nursing care.

Clinically, total daily nursing care averages 5 hours and 32 minutes per resident, spread out across registered nurses, nurse aides, and LPNs and LVNs. That level of staffing bolsters residents recovering from surgery, acute illness, or hospitalization, as well as those with active chronic care needs. Rehabilitation services and enhanced assisted living are within the facility’s nursing care framework. The community is deeply integrated into Ithaca’s walkable neighborhoods. The location, with a Walk Score of 91, offers easy foot access to retail, restaurants, and services, making it easy for residents to get out and for family members to visit without parking or long drives worries. Plus, public transportation connections are readily available. The community is known for its unique lifestyle amenities, including a woodshop, dog park, TV studio, winemaking program, clay tennis courts, and aviaries, adding texture and engagement to daily life well beyond standard nursing care.

With a specific focus on electrical systems, egress illumination, and hazard containment, state inspections address building and life safety code compliance. Kendal at Ithaca works to address and correct any identified concerns. When touring, residents and families can inquire about how such safety areas are handled.

Overview of Oak Hill Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center

Operated by Oak Hill Operating Company, LLC, Oak Hill Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center is a 60-bed skilled nursing facility in Ithaca, New York. The center offers short-term rehabilitation, including cardiac and orthopedic programs, as well as long-term care, memory care, and respite services. It accepts Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay.

CMS rates the facility 2 stars overall, driven primarily by its Health Inspection record, which runs 36.3% below the New York state average. Across eight inspections over the past seven years, the facility averaged 9 deficiencies per year, compared with a state average of 5.1.

The most recent inspection, in March 2025, identified 22 Level 2 citations spanning food sanitation, infection control, refuse disposal, and life safety code issues; all were corrected by May 2025. No fines, Immediate Jeopardy findings, or substantiated complaints appear in the record. Complaint investigations were not substantiated in available reports.

The facility stands out in Staffing. Nurse hours average 5 hours and 16 minutes per resident per day, ranking Oak Hill 11th out of 388 New York SNFs and 48% above the state average. Quality Measures perform around state norms.

Residents have access to amenities including semi-private suites, a courtyard, and a patio. The facility’s programs are cardiac and orthopedic rehabilitation.

Oak Hill fits residents seeking short-term post-acute rehabilitation in Tompkins County, particularly those for whom high direct-care staffing is a priority and who can weigh that against a health inspection record that has been consistently cited but consistently corrected.