
America's Best
Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021
Every year millions of Americans over the age of 18 will sustain musculoskeletal injuries that last longer than three months. About a million people nationwide will undergo surgery to replace a knee or hip joint.
Physical therapy can significantly affect both the time and quality of recovery. Finding reliable rehabilitation, though, can be a challenge. That's why Newsweek has again partnered with global market research firm Statista Inc. to rank the country's Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers.
We are proud to have expanded the project this year. A few key notes: The facilities awarded are certified Medicare and/or Medicaid Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRF).
Awards are on a state basis. This year, we included 25 U.S. states in total (+5 states from last year). The total number of awardees varies per state due to different numbers of total facilities in each state. In general, we awarded the top 20 percent IRFs per state. We checked that none of the awarded facilities are currently closed due to COVID-19.
We also expanded our methodology and included two official measures: CARF accreditations and Model Systems. An improved database allowed us to award 230 facilities in total this year, up from a last year's 140. We hope you find this listing helpful.

- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - AL
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - AZ
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - AR
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - CA
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - CO
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - FL
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - GA
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - IL
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - IN
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - KS
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - KY
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - LA
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - MI
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - MO
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - NY
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - NC
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - OH
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - OK
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - PA
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - SC
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - TN
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - TX
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - VA
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - WA
- Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 - WI
If your facility was listed in the ranking, click here to learn more about the licensing options.
METHODOLOGYAmerica's Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers 2021 highlights the nation's top inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) based on quality of care, quality of service, quality of follow-up care and accommodation and amenities. Facilities in the 25 states with the highest number of inpatient rehabilitation facilities, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), were included in this study.
Scope of Facilities Included in the Survey
Inpatient physical rehabilitation centers are included; centers offering outpatient physical rehabilitation services only were excluded. The physical rehabilitation centers were identified according to the definition of Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) by CMS. IRFs are freestanding rehabilitation hospitals and rehabilitation units in acute care hospitals. CMS collects patient assessment data only on Medicare Part A fee-for-service patients.
On average, the top 20 percent of facilities were awarded per state (230 nationwide). This number is based on the number of facilities within the specific state that meet the aforementioned requirements and varies among the individual states. For states where ranking the top 20 percent of facilities would result in fewer than five facilities, the top five facilities were awarded, resulting in a maximum share of 27 percent per state. Texas had the most physical rehabilitation centers awarded with 28; Wisconsin is represented with five physical rehabilitation centers.
Scoring Model
To rank the facilities, a score was calculated for each inpatient rehabilitation facility. The total score is based on several subscores: the reputation score, the KPI data score and possible bonuses from CARF accreditations and Model System awards, described below.
Calculation of Reputation Score
The reputation score is based on two subscores, for recommendations and for quality (as perceived by survey participants). In cooperation with Newsweek, Statista invited thousands of medical experts (physicians, therapists, medical doctors, administration and staff working in physical rehabilitation facilities) to an online survey. Additionally, experts from all over the U.S. were able to participate in a survey of the "Best Physical Rehabilitation Centers by State" on newsweek.com. All data was collected by Newsweek and Statista during the survey period from May to July 2021. A score was assigned to each physical rehabilitation center based on the number of weighted recommendations. Recommendations constitute 80 percent of the overall reputation score.
Calculation of Quality Score
Participants were asked to rank different criteria influencing the quality of rehabilitation facilities, differentiating among:
→ Quality of Care (e.g., treatments/therapies, consultation with doctor/ therapist)
→ Quality of Service (e.g., meals, leisure activities)
→ Quality of Follow-up Care (e.g., outpatient therapies)
→ Accommodation and Amenities (e.g., size of room, quality of furnishing)
Based on the reported importance of each quality dimension, a quality score was assigned using the following weights:
60% Quality of Care
20% Quality of Follow-up Care
10% Quality of Service
10% Accommodation and Amenities
The Quality Score contributes 20 percent toward the overall recommendation score, as noted above.
KPI Data Score
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes KPI data for physical rehabilitation centers.
Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Compare data is based on the most recently released dataset, downloaded May 18, 2021. Further information about the CMS Inpatient Rehabilitation dataset is available at: https://data. cms.gov/provider-data/sites/default/files/ data_dictionaries/IRF-Data Dictionary.pdf
Model Systems
The Model Systems are funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). Model Systems are specialized programs of care and available in the areas of spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and burn injury (Burn). Facilities receive a 5 percent bonus if they have one or more model system designations awarded by NIDILRR.
CARF
The acronym CARF stands for Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. A provider is required to commit to quality improvement, focus on the unique needs of each person the provider serves, and monitor service outcomes. Facilities receive a 5 percent bonus if they have an accreditation for rehabilitation programs by CARF.
Overall Rating and State Rank
The overall rating is the weighted average of the reputation score, the KPI data score, the Model System score and the CARF score. The weight for the reputation score is 45 percent, the CMS based KPI data score is weighted equally with 45 percent. The Model System score and the CARF score are weighted equally with 5 percent toward the total score of each facility. Subsequently facilities were ranked within their respective state based on their total score achieved.
Disclaimer
The ranking is composed exclusively of physical rehabilitation centers that are eligible regarding the above mentioned scope. The information provided in this ranking should be considered together with other information about physical rehabilitation centers or, if possible, accompanied by a visit to the facility. The quality of physical rehabilitation centers that are not included in the list is not disputed.
You can download the full methodology here.