Top home health and hospice agencies in Pennsylvania, ranked by ChatGPT answers

Places ChatGPT showed

• AHN Healthcare at Home - Warrendale · 4.9★ · Home health care service
• AHN Healthcare at Home · 4.9★ · Home health care service
• St. Mary Home Care and Hospice · 4.8★ · Home health care service
• Amedisys Home Health Care · 4.7★ · Home health care service
• Holisticare Hospice · 4.7★ · Hospice
• Gentiva Hospice · 4.8★ · Hospice
• Gentiva Hospice · 5.0★ · Hospice
• St. Luke's Hospice · 4.0★ · Hospice

Yes. Pennsylvania has a large number of Medicare-certified agencies—about 416 home-health agencies and 180+ hospices—so the “best” choice depends heavily on the patient’s location and whether you need skilled home health, hospice, or both.

I’d start with the following shortlist.

Best overall choices in Pennsylvania

1\. AHN Healthcare at Home - Warrendale

★ 4.9 · Home health care service · Closed

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=AHN%20Healthcare%20at%20Home%20-%20Warrendale%2C200%20Allegheny%20Dr%20Ste%20201%2C%20Warrendale%2C%20PA%2015086%2C%20United%20States) [Website](https://www.ahn.org/services/healthcare-at-home?utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=business_profile&utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 888-599-7328)

Best for: Western Pennsylvania / Pittsburgh region; patients who want a large health-system-connected provider.

• Provides both skilled home health and hospice.
• Particularly attractive if the patient already receives care through Allegheny Health Network.
• Has a broad clinical infrastructure and can coordinate nursing, therapy, social work and other services.
• Another AHN location in Canonsburg also has very strong local reviews. AHN Healthcare at Home

2\. St. Mary Home Care and Hospice

★ 4.8 · Home health care service · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=St.%20Mary%20Home%20Care%20and%20Hospice%2C41%20University%20Dr%20%23103%2C%20Newtown%2C%20PA%2018940%2C%20United%20States) [Website](http://www.stmary-homecare.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 888-690-2551)

Best for: Bucks County / Northeast Philadelphia suburbs.

• Offers home health, hospice and palliative care.
• Good option when you want one organization that can potentially support a patient as needs change.
• Particularly worth considering for families looking for a more local provider rather than a large national chain.

3\. BAYADA

Best for: Broad geographic coverage and a combination of skilled home health and hospice.

Pennsylvania's Department of Health lists numerous BAYADA home-health locations throughout the state, as well as multiple BAYADA hospice locations.

BAYADA also maintains CHAP accreditation, which is an independent accreditation program specifically focused on home-based health care quality and standards.

This is one of my first choices when availability, geographic coverage and established infrastructure matter.

4\. Amedisys Home Health Care

★ 4.7 · Home health care service · Closed

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Amedisys%20Home%20Health%20Care%2C480%20New%20Holland%20Ave%20Suite%208101%2C%20Lancaster%2C%20PA%2017602%2C%20United%20States) [Website](https://locations.amedisys.com/pa/lancaster/home-health-2601/?utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=locallisting&utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 717-291-8396)

Best for: Skilled home health, particularly after hospitalization, surgery or rehabilitation.

Amedisys has multiple Pennsylvania locations, including Lancaster and Harrisburg, and provides nursing, PT, OT, speech therapy, social work and home-health aide services. Pennsylvania's Department of Health lists Amedisys among licensed Medicare home-health providers.

I would consider Amedisys especially for post-hospital recovery and rehabilitation at home.

5\. Holisticare Hospice

★ 4.7 · Hospice · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Holisticare%20Hospice%2C985%20Old%20Eagle%20School%20Rd%20Ste%20504%2C%20Wayne%2C%20PA%2019087%2C%20United%20States) [Website](http://www.holisticarehospice.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 855-995-0100)

Best for: Hospice in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Holisticare is a community-based hospice serving the Philadelphia-area region. It's worth putting on the shortlist if the primary need is hospice rather than conventional skilled home health.

6\. Gentiva Hospice

★ 4.8 · Hospice · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Gentiva%20Hospice%2C1210%20Northbrook%20Dr%20%23220%2C%20Trevose%2C%20PA%2019053%2C%20United%20States) [Website](https://www.gentivahs.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 215-322-5746)

Best for: Hospice in the Philadelphia suburbs and central/eastern PA.

Gentiva has several Pennsylvania locations and provides the interdisciplinary hospice model—nursing, aides, social work, spiritual support and related services. Its Trevose and Blue Bell locations are particularly relevant in the Philadelphia region. Gentiva Hospice

7\. St. Luke's Hospice

★ 4.0 · Hospice · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=St.%20Luke%27s%20Hospice%2C2455%20Black%20River%20Rd%2C%20Bethlehem%2C%20PA%2018015%2C%20United%20States) [Website](https://www.slhn.org/locations/stlukes-hospice?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 484-526-1100)

Best for: Lehigh Valley patients who want a health-system-affiliated hospice with inpatient backup.

A significant advantage is access to inpatient hospice care at the Brian D. Perin Hospice House when symptoms can't be adequately controlled at home. That can be an important differentiator for medically complex patients.

• * *

If I were narrowing it down

Situation	Agencies I'd investigate first
Pittsburgh / Western PA	AHN Healthcare at Home, local UPMC-affiliated options
Philadelphia suburbs	BAYADA, St. Mary Home Care & Hospice, Holisticare, Gentiva
Lehigh Valley	St. Luke's Hospice, BAYADA
Lancaster / South-Central PA	Amedisys, BAYADA
Statewide / need broad coverage	BAYADA, Amedisys, Gentiva
Hospice specifically	AHN, St. Luke's, Holisticare, Gentiva, BAYADA
Skilled home health after hospitalization	Amedisys, BAYADA, AHN

One important caveat

I would not choose based solely on Google ratings or a single CMS star rating. Medicare's Home Health Care Compare ratings are useful, but they measure particular clinical outcomes and processes; they don't necessarily tell you whether an agency has excellent staffing in your county or whether its nurses will be responsive to your particular patient. Medicare specifically recommends using quality data as part of the decision rather than as the sole criterion.

For hospice, CMS likewise provides quality measures and caregiver feedback, including willingness to recommend the hospice.

The biggest practical question is location. If you tell me the Pennsylvania city or ZIP code (e.g., Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Lancaster, Allentown, Harrisburg), I can narrow this to 5–10 of the best agencies actually serving that area, compare Medicare ratings, reviews, hospice/home-health services, and whether they accept Medicare/Medicaid.

Places ChatGPT showed

• St. Mary Home Care and Hospice · 4.8★ · Home health care service
• Holisticare Hospice · 4.7★ · Hospice
• Suncrest Hospice - Pittsburgh · 5.0★ · Hospice

If you mean Medicare-certified home health or hospice agencies that can help someone transition home after a hospital stay, I’d focus on agencies with strong clinical capabilities, reliable start-of-care, nursing + PT/OT availability, medication coordination, and good geographic coverage.

A key distinction: home health is generally for patients recovering from an illness, injury, surgery, or hospitalization and needing skilled clinical care. Hospice is for patients with a terminal illness who are choosing comfort-focused care rather than curative treatment.

My Pennsylvania short list

1\. UPMC at Home — strongest choice for much of Western/Central PA

This would be one of my first calls if the patient lives in western or central Pennsylvania. UPMC at Home provides skilled nursing, physical/occupational therapy, home medical equipment, respiratory therapy, pharmacy, supportive services and hospice, which is useful when a patient's needs are complicated after discharge. It serves a particularly large geographic area across western, north-central, northwest and central Pennsylvania.

Best for: medically complex patients, post-surgical recovery, CHF/COPD, wound care, medication management, rehab, or someone likely to need multiple types of home services.

2\. Allegheny Health Network Healthcare at Home — excellent Western PA option

AHN Healthcare at Home provides home health, hospice and palliative care, with home-based nursing and rehabilitation. Pennsylvania's Department of Health currently lists its home-health and hospice operations as licensed/certified facilities.

Best for: patients discharged from an AHN hospital, or families wanting a large health-system-based agency that can coordinate skilled home care and hospice/palliative services.

3\. Penn Medicine Home Health — strong Southeast PA choice

Penn Medicine Home Health provides skilled nursing and rehabilitative services at home for people recovering from illness or surgery and is accredited by The Joint Commission as well as Medicare-certified.

Best for: patients in the Philadelphia/suburban Philadelphia area, particularly those discharged from Penn hospitals or with complicated medical/surgical conditions.

4\. St. Mary Home Care & Hospice — particularly interesting for Bucks County

This is a more regional option that combines home health, hospice and palliative care. Its home-health program specifically supports recovery from illness, injury and surgery. St. Mary Home Care and Hospice

Best for: Bucks County/Greater Philadelphia families wanting a smaller, more regional organization rather than one of the huge health systems.

5\. Holisticare Hospice — hospice-focused option in Southeast PA

If the patient's discharge plan is actually hospice rather than rehabilitative home health, Holisticare is worth considering. It is a community-based hospice serving southeastern Pennsylvania. Holisticare Hospice

6\. Suncrest Hospice — hospice option around Pittsburgh

For a patient whose goals have shifted to comfort-focused care at home, Suncrest is another Pittsburgh-area hospice option. Suncrest Hospice - Pittsburgh

What I'd prioritize over online reviews

For a recent hospital discharge, I would actually rank these factors above Google ratings:

1. Can they start care within 24–48 hours?
2. Do they provide the specific skilled service needed? Nursing, wound care, IV medications, PT, OT, speech/swallow therapy, etc.
3. Do they accept the patient's Medicare Advantage/commercial plan?
4. Can they provide home health aides if needed?
5. How do they handle a deterioration at night or on weekends?
6. Do they coordinate with the patient's PCP and specialists?
7. Can they obtain equipment quickly? Walker, wheelchair, oxygen, hospital bed, commode, etc.
8. What is their readmission/ER performance and patient-experience rating on Medicare Care Compare?

Medicare's data are particularly useful because they measure things such as timeliness of care, improvement in mobility/self-care, medication management, potentially preventable hospitalizations and patient experience. For example, Medicare reports a Pennsylvania average of 95.9% for timely initiation of home-health care in its current data.

One important warning

Don't assume that an agency advertised as "home care" provides Medicare home health.

• Home health: skilled nursing/PT/OT/speech and related clinical services ordered by a physician and covered by Medicare when eligibility requirements are met.
• Home care/private-duty care: bathing, dressing, meals, companionship, supervision and other non-skilled assistance. Medicare generally does not cover long-term custodial care simply because someone needs help at home.
• Hospice: a different Medicare benefit for people who meet hospice eligibility requirements and elect comfort-focused end-of-life care.

If you tell me the Pennsylvania city or county where the patient will live after discharge, I can narrow this to the 3–5 best agencies actually serving that area, compare their Medicare quality ratings, services, hospice availability, reviews, and insurance acceptance, and tell you which one I'd call first.

Places ChatGPT showed

• Jefferson Health at Home by BAYADA - Philadelphia · 4.0★ · Home health care service
• Achilles Home Health · 5.0★ · Home health care service
• Prestige Home Care Agency · 4.9★ · Home health care service
• A-Team Home Care Philadelphia · 5.0★ · Home health care service
• TAHARA HEALTH · 5.0★ · Home health care service
• AHN Healthcare at Home - Warrendale · 4.9★ · Home health care service
• JAA Home Health Services · 5.0★ · Home health care service
• Anova Health Care System | Home Health Care in Carnegie | Hospice Care in Pennsylvania · 4.5★ · Home health care service
• VNC Skilled Home Health Agency · 5.0★ · Home health care service
• Landmark Home Health Care · 5.0★ · Home health care service
• Interim HealthCare of Pittsburgh · 5.0★ · Home health care service
• Amedisys Home Health Care · 4.8★ · Home health care service

Yes. Pennsylvania has hundreds of Medicare-certified home health agencies, and the state defines a home health agency as providing skilled nursing plus at least one therapeutic service such as physical therapy.

Some agencies that provide both skilled nursing and in-home physical therapy include:

Philadelphia / Southeast Pennsylvania

• Jefferson Health at Home by BAYADA - Philadelphia — skilled nursing and home PT; Medicare-certified.
• Achilles Home Health — nursing, PT, OT and speech therapy.
• Prestige Home Care Agency — skilled nursing and PT/OT/speech.
• A-Team Home Care Philadelphia — skilled nursing and therapy services, including PT.
• Tahara Health — skilled nursing, PT, OT and speech therapy.
• Penn Medicine Home Health Lancaster General Health — listed among Pennsylvania agencies providing nursing and physical therapy.

Pittsburgh / Western Pennsylvania

• AHN Healthcare at Home - Warrendale — skilled nursing and home PT/OT/speech.
• JAA Home Health Services — skilled nursing, PT, OT and speech therapy.
• Anova Health Care System — skilled nursing and PT/OT/speech at home.
• VNC Skilled Home Health Agency — skilled nursing, PT, OT and speech therapy.
• Landmark Home Health Care — Medicare-certified, with skilled nursing and PT.
• Interim HealthCare of Pittsburgh — skilled nursing and therapy, including PT.
• Amedisys Home Health Care — skilled nursing and physical therapy.

Other examples identified in statewide Medicare-provider data include All Care Home Care (Hazleton), Homeland Homehealth (Harrisburg), VNA Alliance (Meadville), Allied Services Home Health (Clarks Summit), WellSpan VNA Home Care (York), and Holy Redeemer Home Care (Philadelphia).

An important distinction

If you're looking for Medicare-covered skilled home health, rather than private-duty/home-care services, the agency generally needs to be Medicare-certified. Medicare can cover medically necessary intermittent skilled nursing and physical therapy at home when the eligibility requirements are met, including a qualifying skilled need and, generally, being homebound.

If you tell me the Pennsylvania city, ZIP code, or county where the patient lives, I can narrow this down to agencies that actually serve that address and compare them by Medicare certification, ratings, services, and contact information.

Worked for 12s

1. Searching the web
2. I’ll compare Pennsylvania agencies using measurable response-time evidence where available, and distinguish true post-discharge responsiveness from general quality ratings.
3. Searching the web
4. Searched 27 websites

Map data is currently unavailable Anova Health Care System | Home Health Care in Carnegie | Hospice Care in Pennsylvania 4.5Home health care serviceOpen Ascend Hospice 4.8Hospice Holisticare Hospice 4.7HospiceOpen

There is no reliable statewide public ranking of Pennsylvania agencies by actual referral-to-first-visit time. CMS publishes a “timely initiation of care” measure, but it is essentially whether care began within the required window—not the average number of minutes/hours an agency takes to respond.

Based on agencies that publicly state specific response-time commitments, these stand out:

Agency	PA area	Published response/start time	My take
Anova Health Care System	Western PA	15–20 min to acknowledge/accept referral; nurse assessment within 24–48 hrs	Fastest documented intake response I found
Ascend Hospice	Montgomery/North Wales area	Hospice provider; public materials emphasize coordinated admissions, but I did not find a quantified response guarantee	Worth calling for an urgent hospice discharge
A-Team Home Care	Philadelphia/Bucks and surrounding PA counties	Within 1 business hour; RN assessment 24–48 hrs	Very strong option for hospital discharge
Pathways Healthcare	PA, particularly eastern PA	Same-day response, often same hour; 24/7 live clinician; clinician can be dispatched for assessment	Strongest hospice-specific rapid-response claim I found
Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice	Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware counties	Nurse/therapist contacts patient within 48 hrs of discharge	Reliable health-system option, but not the fastest stated response
Holisticare Hospice	Southeastern PA	24/7 hospice availability; I did not find a specific published response-time guarantee	Good candidate to call for same-day hospice admission

Anova specifically says it typically acknowledges and accepts a referral within 15–20 minutes, followed by an initial nursing assessment within 24–48 hours after discharge.

A-Team says its intake coordinator acknowledges referrals within one business hour, with an RN assessment within 24–48 hours. It specifically markets this to hospital discharge planners and says it coordinates the assessment around the patient's first day home.

For hospice, Pathways is particularly notable: it advertises same-day, often same-hour referral response, a live clinician available 24/7, and same-day clinical follow-up for urgent referrals. It serves Pennsylvania and provides hospice there.

One important distinction

If by “respond fastest” you mean “how quickly will someone call the hospital back?”, Anova/Pathways/A-Team are among the strongest documented claims.

If you mean “how quickly will a clinician actually be at the patient's home after discharge?”, that's a different metric. CMS considers home-health care timely when it begins within two days of discharge when no specific start date is ordered.

For an urgent discharge, I'd ask each agency these four questions:

1. “If I send the complete referral now, when will you call me back?”
2. “Can you guarantee a same-day start of care?”
3. “Can the nurse see the patient the evening of discharge or on a weekend?”
4. “Do you have an admissions nurse assigned to this hospital/ZIP code?”

The fourth question can matter enormously: an agency may advertise 24/7 coverage but still take longer if the local branch is at capacity.

If you tell me the Pennsylvania ZIP code or hospital you're dealing with, I can narrow this to the 5–10 agencies serving that discharge area and compare their stated response times, Medicare/Medicaid participation, quality scores, weekend coverage, and hospice vs. home-health availability.

Places ChatGPT showed

• St. Luke's Hospice · 4.0★ · Hospice
• Humanitas Hospice · 5.0★ · Hospice
• Holisticare Hospice · 4.7★ · Hospice
• Premier Home Care · 4.9★ · Home help service agency
• Full Range Home Health · 5.0★ · Home health care service

If by Eastern Pennsylvania you mean roughly Philadelphia, the Main Line, Bucks/Montgomery/Chester/Delaware counties, the Lehigh Valley, Poconos, and northeast PA, I’d start with the agencies below.

I’m weighting Medicare/CMS quality data, Pennsylvania licensure, reputation, breadth of clinical services, and organizational track record more heavily than Google reviews. Pennsylvania requires home-health and hospice agencies to be licensed and conducts periodic unannounced surveys; Medicare-certified agencies also undergo federal oversight.

My strongest choices

1\. Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice

Best overall choice for southeastern PA

Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice is particularly compelling if the patient is in Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, or Philadelphia counties. It was named the top-ranked home health/hospice agency in southeastern Pennsylvania and #7 in Pennsylvania in Newsweek's 2026 rankings, which incorporated quality metrics, patient experience, peer recommendations, and accreditations.

Why I'd consider it: strong health-system integration, established clinical infrastructure, and both home health and hospice capabilities.

2\. BAYADA Home Health Care

Best large, established home-health option

BAYADA has a very substantial presence throughout eastern Pennsylvania and offers both skilled home health and hospice. Its size can be an advantage when you need nursing, PT/OT/speech therapy, aides, or hospice services and want an organization with substantial staffing infrastructure.

Pennsylvania's current licensing records list BAYADA Home Health Care as a Medicare-certified home-health provider in Berks County, for example.

3\. St. Luke's Hospice

Best choice in the Lehigh Valley

If you're in Bethlehem, Allentown, Easton, or surrounding Lehigh/Northampton County, St. Luke's is one I'd put near the top of the list.

A major advantage is its inpatient hospice capability at the Brian D. Perin Hospice House, in addition to home/facility hospice. The program uses an interdisciplinary team including physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, aides, and volunteers. St. Luke's Hospice

4\. Humanitas Hospice

A particularly interesting hospice option in Bucks/Montgomery/Philadelphia

Humanitas Hospice is based in Huntingdon Valley and serves a broad southeastern Pennsylvania area. Its public patient feedback is notably strong, and it emphasizes education and communication with families—two things I consider extremely important in hospice.

5\. Holisticare Hospice

Strong hospice choice on the Main Line

Holisticare Hospice is based in Wayne and serves southeastern Pennsylvania. It's a Medicare-certified, community-based hospice with an interdisciplinary model and a strong reputation for communication with families.

6\. Premier Home Care

Good home-health choice in the Philadelphia/Bucks area

Premier Home Care is a Medicare-certified agency serving Greater Philadelphia. It's worth considering particularly for post-hospitalization, post-surgical recovery, rehabilitation at home, and chronic-condition management.

7\. Full Range Home Health

Worth considering in Chester County / western suburbs

Full Range Home Health is a Medicare-certified, licensed agency based in Exton. Its focus is skilled home health, including nursing and rehabilitation therapies, making it a good candidate if the primary need is clinical home care rather than hospice.

• * *

If hospice is the main concern

I'd narrow the initial calls to:

1. Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice — southeastern PA
2. St. Luke's Hospice — Lehigh Valley
3. Humanitas Hospice — Bucks/Montgomery/Philadelphia
4. Holisticare Hospice — Main Line/western suburbs
5. BAYADA Hospice — broad eastern PA coverage
6. Gentiva Hospice — broad coverage and multiple eastern-PA offices

For example, current CMS records include BAYADA Hospice locations in Newtown Square and Harrisburg, as well as Gentiva-related hospice providers in Pennsylvania.

One important distinction

Be careful about the words “home care” vs. “home health.”

• Home health = skilled medical care at home: RN, PT, OT, speech therapy, wound care, medication management, etc. It generally requires a qualifying medical condition and physician/provider involvement.
• Home care = non-medical assistance such as bathing, dressing, meals, companionship, and household activities.
• Hospice = comfort-focused care for someone with a terminal/life-limiting illness, generally when the goal has shifted away from curative treatment. Pennsylvania describes hospice as interdisciplinary care focused on comfort, dignity, symptom control, and family support.

How I'd choose among them

Don't rely on star ratings alone. Medicare explicitly says its home-health star rating is based on seven measures, and the rating is intended as a general overview rather than a complete assessment.

When calling, I'd ask:

• How quickly can you start care?
• Will we have a consistent nurse/caregiver, or many different people?
• How frequently will an RN visit?
• Is there a 24/7 nurse available by phone?
• For hospice: How quickly can you come to the house when there's a crisis?
• Do you provide medications, oxygen, hospital beds and other equipment?
• Do you have an inpatient hospice option if symptoms can't be controlled at home?
• Which hospitals and physicians do you routinely coordinate with?
• Which counties and ZIP codes do you actually serve?
• Does the patient's insurance cover the services?

If you tell me the patient's ZIP code (or just the county) and whether you're looking for home health, hospice, or both, I can narrow this to the 3–5 strongest agencies that actually serve that area and compare their current Medicare quality ratings, reviews, services, and contact information.

Places ChatGPT showed

• Suncrest Hospice - Pittsburgh · 5.0★ · Hospice
• Amedisys Home Health Care · 4.8★ · Home health care service
• Gallagher Hospice, LLC · 4.5★ · Hospice
• Good Samaritan Hospice House In Wexford · 4.7★ · Hospice

If you mean Medicare-certified skilled home health and hospice—rather than private-duty companion care—there are several very strong choices in Western Pennsylvania. I would not pick solely on Google reviews; I’d weigh CMS quality data, geographic coverage, clinical depth, hospice capabilities, and local reputation.

My short list

1\. UPMC Home Healthcare / Family Hospice — best overall for breadth and clinical depth

UPMC is probably my first call for a complex medical situation, particularly if the patient already receives care within UPMC.

• UPMC Home Healthcare serves a very large portion of Western PA, including Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Lawrence, Mercer, Washington and Westmoreland counties, plus Erie/Venango and other regions.
• Services include skilled nursing, rehabilitation, equipment/respiratory care, pharmacy and hospice.
• Family Hospice, part of UPMC, has been serving Western Pennsylvania since 1980 and has hospice physicians with board certification in hospice and palliative medicine. It also operates a 12-bed inpatient hospice unit in Pittsburgh.
• The downside: UPMC's home-health quality rating isn't necessarily the highest among every individual local agency, so I wouldn't assume "biggest health system = best home-health agency." Current CMS-derived data show some UPMC locations around 3 stars.

Best for: medically complicated patients, post-hospital care, patients already in the UPMC system, and hospice requiring substantial medical expertise.

• * *

2\. Allegheny Health Network Healthcare@Home — best health-system alternative

AHN Healthcare@Home is the other major health-system option I'd put near the top.

• It offers home health, hospice, palliative care, infusion therapy, and medical equipment through one program.
• Its home-health program includes skilled nursing, wound/ostomy, cardiac and orthopedic nursing, PT/OT/speech therapy, telemonitoring and social work.
• Its hospice program covers a particularly broad Western PA footprint—Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, Washington and Westmoreland counties—with 24/7 on-call support.
• Pennsylvania's Department of Health found AHN Healthcare at Home Hospice & Palliative Care in compliance following an unannounced December 2025 survey.

Best for: patients affiliated with AHN, complicated chronic illness, hospice plus palliative-care needs, and families wanting a large clinical organization.

• * *

3\. Advanced Home Health & Hospice — best independent home-health/hospice option to investigate

★ 5.0 · Hospice · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Advanced%20Home%20Health%20%26%20Hospice%2C300%20Penn%20Center%20Blvd%20Building%203%2C%20Suite%20120%2C%20Pittsburgh%2C%20PA%2015235%2C%20United%20States) [Website](https://suncrestcare.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 878-302-1136)

This one stands out to me because it is local/family-owned, while still offering both skilled home health and hospice.

• Its current CMS-derived home-health quality-of-patient-care rating is 4 stars, above the local comparison median of 3.5.
• It provides both home health and hospice, with nursing, rehabilitation and care-management services.
• It accepts Medicare and a broad range of commercial insurers, although individual plans and service areas need to be confirmed.
• It emphasizes 24/7 support and care coordination.

Best for: someone who wants a smaller, more personal organization without giving up skilled nursing, therapy and hospice capabilities.

• * *

4\. Amedisys Home Health Care — particularly strong home-health choice in the south/southwest

★ 4.8 · Home health care service · Closed

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Amedisys%20Home%20Health%20Care%2C100%20Stoops%20Dr%2C%20Monongahela%2C%20PA%2015063%2C%20United%20States) [Website](https://locations.amedisys.com/pa/monongahela/home-health-2616/?utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=locallisting&utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 724-483-4183)

Amedisys deserves serious consideration for skilled home health, particularly around Washington/Monongahela/Uniontown and surrounding areas.

• Its Uniontown-area agency currently has a 4.5-star CMS-derived quality-of-patient-care rating, versus a 3-star median among overlapping local agencies.
• Amedisys reports a national average of 4.2 stars for home-health quality of patient care.
• The Monongahela and Washington offices currently have very strong local review scores as well. Amedisys Home Health Care
• Amedisys also operates hospice services in Western PA.

Best for: post-hospital skilled nursing/physical therapy and other home-health needs, particularly in southwestern PA.

• * *

Hospice-specific standouts

If you're asking specifically about hospice, I'd broaden the list.

Family Hospice / UPMC

My choice when clinical complexity is the primary concern. It has extensive Western PA coverage, board-certified hospice physicians, inpatient hospice capability and decades of experience.

Gallagher Hospice

A very interesting independent Pittsburgh-area option. Gallagher provides nursing, pain/symptom management, aides, equipment, emotional/spiritual support and bereavement services. It also offers all four Medicare hospice levels of care.

Gallagher Hospice, LLC

★ 4.5 · Hospice · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Gallagher%20Hospice%2C%20LLC%2C1370%20Washington%20Pike%2C%20Bridgeville%2C%20PA%2015017%2C%20United%20States) [Website](http://www.gallagherhospice.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 412-279-4255)

Good Samaritan Hospice / Concordia

I'd put Concordia's hospice programs on the short list, especially in the Butler/northern Pittsburgh/Westmoreland areas. Concordia operates multiple home-health and hospice programs, including Good Samaritan Hospice and Concordia Hospice of Washington.

Good Samaritan Hospice House In Wexford

★ 4.7 · Hospice · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Good%20Samaritan%20Hospice%20House%20In%20Wexford%2C146%20Neely%20School%20Rd%2C%20Wexford%2C%20PA%2015090%2C%20United%20States) [Website](https://concordialm.org/community_services/good-samaritan-hospice/?utm_medium=GSHWexford&utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 724-940-9120)

AHN Healthcare@Home Hospice

Another top-tier choice, particularly if the patient already has AHN physicians or specialists. Its hospice program has broad county coverage and 24/7 on-call support.

• * *

How I'd rank them

Provider	Home Health	Hospice	My take
UPMC Home Healthcare / Family Hospice	★★★★	★★★★★	Best overall clinical depth
AHN Healthcare@Home	★★★★	★★★★★	Excellent health-system option
Advanced Home Health & Hospice	★★★★★	★★★★	Excellent independent option
Amedisys	★★★★★	★★★★	Particularly strong for skilled home health
Concordia / Good Samaritan	★★★★	★★★★	Excellent nonprofit/faith-based option
Gallagher Hospice	—	★★★★★	Strong independent hospice choice

One important distinction: "home health" is not the same thing as non-medical home care. Medicare-certified home health generally means intermittent skilled nursing/therapy ordered by a physician; it isn't designed to provide someone who stays in the home 24/7 for bathing, meals and supervision. AHN, UPMC and the other agencies above can also have different private-duty or supportive-care arrangements.

If this is for a particular patient

I can make this much more useful by narrowing it to the 3–5 best agencies that actually serve the patient's ZIP code, and compare CMS ratings, hospice ratings, ownership (nonprofit vs. for-profit), hospital affiliations, services, and insurance acceptance.

If you give me the ZIP code or county and whether you need home health, hospice, or both, I'll narrow it down.

Yes. I checked the latest Medicare/CMS data available in 2026. One important distinction: home health agencies have an overall CMS “Quality of Patient Care” star rating, while hospice agencies are not given the same overall 1–5 quality star rating. Hospice comparisons instead rely on CMS quality measures and the family caregiver survey.

Highest-rated home health agencies in Pennsylvania

There are currently 9 Pennsylvania home health agencies with a 5-star CMS Quality of Patient Care rating.

Agency	Location	Medicare quality rating
WellSpan VNA Home Care	York	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
CenterWell Home Health	Lancaster	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
VNA Alliance	Meadville	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Home Health Care Professionals	Olyphant	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Care Plus Home Health Services, Inc.	Washington	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Premier Home Care Inc.	Huntingdon Valley	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Medi Home Health Agency	State College	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Revolutionary Home Health Inc.	Quakertown	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Homeland Homehealth	Harrisburg	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

These ratings reflect CMS measures such as timely initiation of care, improvement in mobility and daily activities, breathing improvement, and other outcomes—not simply patient reviews.

My standouts

If I were narrowing the list based on Medicare quality rating plus the available outcome data, I'd start with:

• WellSpan VNA Home Care — York: 5 stars.
• VNA Alliance — Meadville: 5 stars.
• Home Health Care Professionals — Olyphant: 5 stars.
• Care Plus Home Health Services — Washington: 5 stars.
• Homeland Homehealth — Harrisburg: 5 stars.

Agency	Location	Medicare quality rating
WellSpan VNA Home Care	York	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
CenterWell Home Health	Lancaster	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
VNA Alliance	Meadville	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Home Health Care Professionals	Olyphant	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Care Plus Home Health Services, Inc.	Washington	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Premier Home Care Inc.	Huntingdon Valley	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Medi Home Health Agency	State College	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Revolutionary Home Health Inc.	Quakertown	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Homeland Homehealth	Harrisburg	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The 5-star designation is meaningful, but I'd also check the individual measures and patient-survey rating before choosing. CMS specifically cautions that the overall star rating is only a summary of selected measures.

What about hospice?

This is a little different. Medicare does not currently give hospice agencies a comparable overall 5-star quality rating. Instead, Medicare's Hospice Care Compare data includes quality-of-care measures and the CAHPS Hospice Family Caregiver Survey, including whether families would recommend the hospice. CMS refreshed those data in August 2026.

A current CMS-data-based Pennsylvania comparison identifies these among the highest 5-star family-caregiver-rated hospices:

• Visiting Nurses Association of Venango County Hospice — Franklin: 5 stars; 98% would recommend.
• Commonwealth Hospice of Berwick — Forty Fort: 5 stars; 96% would recommend.
• Hospice of Warren County — Warren: 5 stars; 96% would recommend.
• Hospice of Crawford County — Meadville: 5 stars; 95% would recommend.
• WellSpan Hospice Services — Lewisburg: 5 stars; 95% would recommend.
• Bridges Hospice — Monroeville: 5 stars; 94% would recommend.
• Traditional Hospice — Dunmore: 5 stars; 94% would recommend.
• Family Pillars Hospice — Bethlehem: 5 stars; 94% would recommend.
• Gentiva II — Altoona: 5 stars; 93% would recommend.
• Hospice of the Sacred Heart — Moosic: 5 stars; 93% would recommend.

Those hospice figures are family-experience ratings, not an overall CMS quality star score, so I wouldn't directly compare a hospice's 5 stars with a home-health agency's 5 stars.

One important caveat

The best agency depends heavily on where in Pennsylvania the patient lives. Medicare-certified agencies don't necessarily serve every ZIP code, and an agency's availability, specialty services, response time, and experience with the patient's particular condition can matter as much as its rating.

If you give me the Pennsylvania ZIP code or city/county, I can narrow this down to the 5–10 highest-rated home health and hospice agencies that actually serve that area, including their Medicare ratings, patient/family satisfaction, and any notable quality issues.

Places ChatGPT showed

• Anova Health Care System | Home Health Care in Carnegie | Hospice Care in Pennsylvania · 4.5★ · Home health care service
• Revolutionary Home Health and Hospice · 4.2★ · Association / Organization
• St. Mary Home Care and Hospice · 4.8★ · Home health care service
• Holisticare Hospice · 4.7★ · Hospice
• Humanitas Hospice · 5.0★ · Hospice
• Wellness Hospice and Palliative Care · 4.9★ · Hospice

Yes. If by “trusted” you mean locally/family owned, established in Pennsylvania, well regarded by families, and credible with hospital/SNF discharge planners, I’d put the following agencies on the shortlist.

I’m treating “family-owned/local” separately from “nonprofit/community-based,” because both can be attractive alternatives to national chains. Pennsylvania has more than 380 Medicare-certified home-health agencies and roughly 170–180 hospices, so this is intentionally a curated list rather than a directory.

Strongest local/family-owned candidates

1\. Anova Health Care System — Western Pennsylvania

★ 4.5 · Home health care service · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Anova%20Health%20Care%20System%20%7C%20Home%20Health%20Care%20in%20Carnegie%20%7C%20Hospice%20Care%20in%20Pennsylvania%2C101%20W%20Main%20St%20Ste%20301%2C%20Carnegie%2C%20PA%2015106%2C%20United%20States) [Website](http://www.anovahomehealth.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 888-266-8211)

Best overall fit if you want home health + hospice under one locally owned organization.

• * *

2\. Revolutionary Home Health and Hospice — Eastern Pennsylvania

Best eastern-PA counterpart to Anova.

• Explicitly family-owned and operated, Pittsburgh/Western-PA based.
• Offers home health, hospice, palliative care and in-home care, allowing patients to remain with the same organization as needs change.
• Advertises 24/7 responsive on-call management and close coordination with physicians/facilities—particularly relevant to discharge planners.
• Its Carnegie location currently has a 4.5/5 rating from 31 reviews, with additional Western PA locations. Anova Health Care System
• The company says it has been operating as a family-owned provider in Southwest PA for more than 20 years.

My take: Probably the clearest match to your exact “family-owned + local + home health/hospice + discharge-planner friendly” criteria.

• * *

2\. Revolutionary Home Health and Hospice — Eastern Pennsylvania

★ 4.2 · Association / Organization · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Revolutionary%20Home%20Health%20and%20Hospice%2C1541%20N%20West%20End%20Blvd%2C%20Quakertown%2C%20PA%2018951%2C%20United%20States) [Website](https://www.revolutionary.cc/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 484-244-4827)

Best eastern-PA counterpart to Anova.

• Describes itself as a locally owned business, with offices in Quakertown, Eynon and Oreland and service across 17 eastern Pennsylvania counties.
• Provides both home health and hospice, plus home-care services.
• Offers same-day appointments and says it operates 24/7.
• Medicare-derived data show particularly strong clinical home-health performance: its Quakertown agency is listed at 5/5 for quality of patient care, with 99%+ timely starts and strong improvement measures.
• Patient-survey data are somewhat more mixed than the clinical measures, with 78% saying they would recommend the agency versus 81% statewide in the cited dataset.

My take: A very interesting referral partner in eastern PA, particularly where responsiveness and local ownership matter.

• * *

3\. St. Mary Home Care and Hospice — Bucks County / Greater Philadelphia

★ 4.8 · Home health care service · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=St.%20Mary%20Home%20Care%20and%20Hospice%2C41%20University%20Dr%20%23103%2C%20Newtown%2C%20PA%2018940%2C%20United%20States) [Website](http://www.stmary-homecare.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 888-690-2551)

Worth investigating for the Bucks/Philadelphia market.

• Based in Newtown and provides home health, hospice, palliative care and bereavement support.
• Current public business data show 4.8/5 from 56 reviews. St. Mary Home Care and Hospice
• Its service area encompasses Bucks County and portions of the Greater Philadelphia region.

Caveat: I would verify its current ownership structure directly before putting it in a “family-owned” category. I found strong local/family reputation signals but not enough authoritative ownership documentation to label it definitively family-owned.

• * *

Local, non-corporate hospice organizations I'd also consider

These aren't necessarily family-owned businesses, but they are potentially excellent local alternatives to national hospice chains.

4\. Holisticare Hospice — Wayne / Southeast Pennsylvania

★ 4.7 · Hospice · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Holisticare%20Hospice%2C985%20Old%20Eagle%20School%20Rd%20Ste%20504%2C%20Wayne%2C%20PA%2019087%2C%20United%20States) [Website](http://www.holisticarehospice.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 855-995-0100)

A community-based hospice headquartered in Wayne, serving southeastern Pennsylvania. It has a 4.7/5 rating from 68 reviews in current business data. Holisticare Hospice

Its model includes an interdisciplinary team with nurses, social workers, chaplain/spiritual care, counselors and volunteers—important capabilities for complex hospice referrals.

Good fit: Philadelphia Main Line, Montgomery, Chester and surrounding counties.

• * *

5\. Humanitas Hospice — Huntingdon Valley

★ 5.0 · Hospice · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Humanitas%20Hospice%2C1051%20County%20Line%20Rd%20Unit%20104%2C%20Huntingdon%20Valley%2C%20PA%2019006%2C%20United%20States) [Website](http://humanitashospice.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 215-302-9955)

A community-based hospice serving patients at home, assisted living and skilled-nursing settings. Its stated service footprint includes Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, Berks and Lehigh counties.

It currently shows 5.0/5 from 24 reviews. Humanitas Hospice

Good fit: Eastern Pennsylvania discharge planners who need a relatively broad service footprint without automatically defaulting to a national chain.

• * *

6\. Wellness Hospice and Palliative Care — Montgomery County

★ 4.9 · Hospice · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Wellness%20Hospice%20and%20Palliative%20Care%2C1427%20Horsham%20Rd%2C%20North%20Wales%2C%20PA%2019454%2C%20United%20States) [Website](https://whpcare.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 215-550-1938)

North Wales-based hospice with a current 4.9/5 rating from 16 reviews. Wellness Hospice and Palliative Care

One caution: Pennsylvania inspection records indicate deficiencies cited in an earlier 2026 survey were subsequently corrected. Wellness Hospice and Palliative Care

So I'd consider it, but I'd specifically ask for its current survey status, response times and referral/start-of-care metrics before recommending it to a facility.

• * *

7\. Bridges Hospice — Monroeville / Pittsburgh area

★ 4.2 · Association / Organization · Open

[Directions](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Revolutionary%20Home%20Health%20and%20Hospice%2C1541%20N%20West%20End%20Blvd%2C%20Quakertown%2C%20PA%2018951%2C%20United%20States) [Website](https://www.revolutionary.cc/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) [Call](tel:+1 484-244-4827)

This one particularly caught my attention.

Bridges was founded by two local nurses with more than 20 years of hospice experience specifically to get away from the corporate model. The organization describes itself as local and non-corporate.

It also has a distinctive Bridge Program, providing additional visits—often 2–4 visits per day—to patients entering the final phase of dying.

Most importantly, its CMS-derived family survey results are strong: 5/5 family rating, 94% recommendation and 97.58 process score in the current Pennsylvania comparison.

My take: One of the more compelling hospice-only local organizations for the Pittsburgh area.

• * *

Local nonprofit standouts

8\. Hospice of Warren County

A particularly good example of a genuinely community-rooted organization: it has served Warren County since 1979 and describes itself as the county's only nonprofit hospice.

Its current CMS-derived family data show 5/5, 96% recommending it, and a 98.94 process score.

Good fit: Warren County/northwestern PA rather than statewide referrals.

• * *

9\. Visiting Nurses Association of Venango County — Franklin

Another longstanding community organization with both home health and hospice. Pennsylvania's facility directory currently lists both as open.

Its hospice ranks exceptionally well on family experience: 5/5, 98% recommendation and 95.36 process score.

Important ownership nuance: It was once very community/VNA oriented, but current CMS ownership records show UPMC Community Provider Services/UPMC ownership, so I would not classify it as independently locally owned today.

• * *

A family-owned healthcare group with home health + hospice

10\. Family Home Health / Three Rivers Hospice — Western PA

This is an interesting one because it has a family-owned healthcare-company lineage, but it isn't an independent mom-and-pop agency today.

Quality Life Services is family owned; its history says the Tack family moved into third-generation ownership in 2007 and that the organization acquired Family Home Health and Three Rivers Hospice in 2017.

Pennsylvania regulatory filings confirm that Family Home Health provides both home health and hospice services.

So I'd classify it as family-owned parent organization / locally rooted, rather than independently owned home-health agency.

• * *

How I'd rank them for your specific question

Agency	Local/family ownership	Home Health	Hospice	Family experience signal	My take
Anova	Family-owned	✓	✓	Strong	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Revolutionary	Locally owned	✓	✓	Good + strong clinical measures	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bridges Hospice	Local/non-corporate	—	✓	5/5; 94% recommend	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hospice of Warren County	Local nonprofit	—	✓	5/5; 96% recommend	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Holisticare	Community-based	—	✓	4.7/5 public reviews	⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Humanitas	Community-based	—	✓	5.0/5 public reviews	⭐⭐⭐⭐½
St. Mary	Verify ownership	✓	✓	4.8/5 public reviews	⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Wellness Hospice	Local	—	✓	4.9/5 public reviews	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Family Home Health/Three Rivers	Family-owned parent	✓	✓	Worth evaluating	⭐⭐⭐⭐

One important caveat

I wouldn't equate Google reviews with clinical quality. For discharge-planner purposes, I'd weight:

1. CMS quality/family survey results
2. Timeliness of start of care
3. Hospital readmission/acute-care performance
4. Hospice response time for urgent referrals
5. Weekend/after-hours responsiveness
6. Ability to accept difficult payer/service-area referrals
7. DME/medication coordination
8. Communication back to the referring hospital/SNF
9. Staff stability
10. Actual ownership and whether the local leadership can make decisions

Pennsylvania requires home-health and hospice agencies to be licensed, and Medicare-certified agencies are subject to federal certification surveys and quality reporting.

If you're evaluating these as potential referral partners for a hospital, SNF, assisted-living community, or physician practice, I can go one step further and build a Pennsylvania-wide shortlist of ~15 independently/family-owned agencies, ranked by CMS quality, family satisfaction, ownership, service area, responsiveness, and reputation with discharge planners. That would be much more useful than a generic “best agencies” list.