Three Mercy Home Health locations have been named a Best Home Health Agency for 2026 by U.S. News & World Report. This recognition comes as part of U.S. News’ first-ever evaluation of home health providers, identifying the top-performing agencies in the United States.
Two Mercy Home Health locations in St. Louis (Des Peres and Landmark Parkway, now aligned under Mercy Home Health East) and Mercy Home Health in Fort Smith, Arkansas (now aligned under Mercy Home Health Arkansas) earned the “High Performing” designation – the highest level of recognition – for exceeding expectations in care quality and patient experience based on U.S. News’ methodology. In the first edition of Best Home Health, U.S. News evaluated more than 12,000 agencies. Just 17% were awarded the Best Home Health designation.
With more than 3 million patients turning to home health agencies each year, this debut analysis offers a much-needed, independent view of quality. By prioritizing patient outcomes and consumer experience for a predominantly senior population, these ratings provide clarity for families who, in consultation with their physicians, are making crucial care decisions for loved ones.
The Best Home Health methodology developed by U.S. News leverages two datasets from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Data on care quality measures, including timely initiation of care and outcomes such as potentially preventable hospitalizations, were combined with patient experience surveys to produce the ratings.
The ratings and underlying data for each agency, published on USNews.com, provide consumers with the trusted data and clarity they need to confidently choose, in consultation with their health care providers, the right care for a family member or themselves.
“Earning the Best Home Health distinction is a significant achievement, as it is reserved only for those agencies that satisfy U.S. News’ standards of care quality and patient experience,” said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News.
For more information on the inaugural Best Home Health ratings, visit U.S. News Health.
