The Highlands Nursing And Rehabilitation is certified as a Medicare and Medicaid facility and has been approved to provide these services since 1983-05-18. Medicare covers short-term skilled nursing care (typically up to 100 days after a qualifying hospital stay). Medicaid covers long-term care for residents who meet financial eligibility requirements. Contact the facility at (254) 752-0311 or your local Medicaid office to verify current eligibility.

The Highlands Nursing And Rehabilitation holds an overall CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) rating of 2 out of 5 stars. This is made up of three components: Health Inspection (2★), Staffing (2★), and Quality of Resident Care (4★). Our independent composite quality score — which uses the raw underlying CMS numbers to break ties between similarly-rated facilities — is 62.9/100, placing it #11109 of 14703 facilities nationally and #880 of 1177 in Texas. Star ratings are a useful starting point, but the composite score and individual sub-ratings give a more complete picture for families comparing facilities.

Each resident at The Highlands Nursing And Rehabilitation receives a reported average of 2 hours 44 minutes of total nurse staffing per day. This breaks down as: Registered Nurse (RN) coverage — 23 minutes; Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) — 32 minutes; Nurse Aide — 1 hour 49 minutes. On weekends, total nurse staffing is 2 hours 35 minutes per resident per day. The CMS Staffing Rating for this facility is 2 out of 5. The national average for total nursing hours is approximately 3.5 hrs/day. Total nursing staff turnover is 63.5%. Families are encouraged to ask about current staffing schedules during their facility visit.

In the current reporting period, the facility received 3 fine(s) totaling $241,937. 21 substantiated complaints were recorded across the 5-year period — families should request details from the facility or review CMS inspection findings. There were 1 Medicare payment denial(s) in the current period. In the most recent CMS reporting period, the facility received 3 fine(s) totaling $241,937, and 1 Medicare payment denial(s). Total penalties: 4. The Total Weighted Health Survey Score is 119.5 (lower scores are better). Full inspection history and complaint details are available at medicare.gov/care-compare.

Nationally, The Highlands Nursing And Rehabilitation ranks 11109th out of 14,703 facilities (composite score: 62.9/100), placing it in the bottom 25% nationwide. Within TX, it ranks 880th out of 1,177 nursing homes. In Waco, it ranks 5th out of 13 facilities. For 2026 staffing: total nurse hours rank #13,785 nationally and RN hours rank #11,248 nationally (#537 in TX). Our composite quality score of 62.9/100 weighs health inspections, quality of resident care, staffing hours, compliance record, and five-year performance trends — giving a more complete picture than CMS star ratings alone, which can place hundreds of facilities in the same 5-star bucket. To browse and compare all nursing homes in Waco, visit: https://nursinghomesnearme.org/texas/waco/