Tampa Republic

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Whispering Oaks stood out as the second largest nursing home in Hillsborough County, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Data shows that the nursing center had a total of 236 beds available, 104 more than the average in Hillsborough County as of the fourth quarter of 2023. They aided an average of 225.8 residents during that period.

Whispering Oaks had an overall rating of 1 from the CMS, which lags behind the average of 3.1 recorded for nursing homes in Florida.

During the quarter, The Bristol Care Center stood out as the largest nursing home in Hillsborough County, with 266 beds available. Solaris Healthcare Plant City came in third place, with 180 beds available.

As of the fourth quarter of 2023, Whispering Oaks has already spent a total of $57,437 in one fine and suffered one penalty.

In total, there were six non-profit nursing homes in Hillsborough County, Florida.

According to US Census data, in 2020, nearly 1 in 6 Americans were aged 65 years or older. Since 1920, the older population skyrocketed from 4.9 million to 55.8 million, reflecting a growth rate of roughly 1,000%, five times higher than the average growth for the overall U.S. population.

A 2021 study suggests that nearly half of this age group, roughly 28 million individuals, may require long-term services and support. Additionally, the study projects that over a third of them may eventually need nursing home care.

“Living a long life is something that many of us want and could get,” said Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, an insurance education group. “But when we live a long life, the chances of us needing long-term care increase exponentially. But when you need that type of care, there are limited options.”

Rank	Nursing Home	Overall Rating
1	The Bristol Care Center	1
2	Whispering Oaks	1
3	Solaris Healthcare Plant City	3
4	Tampa Lakes Health and Rehabilitation Center	3
5	Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center of Tampa	1
6	Concordia Village of Tampa	1
7	Gandy FL Opco, LLC	2
8	Habana Health Care Center	1
9	Hawthorne Center for Rehabilitation and Healing of	1
10	Sun Terrace Health Care Center	4
11	Excel Care Center	2
11	Community Convalescent Center	4
11	Brandon Health and Rehabilitation Center	2
11	Carrollwood Care Center	1
11	Palm Garden of Tampa	3
11	Fletcher Health and Rehabilitation Center	1
11	Fairway Oaks Center	5
11	Luxe at Lutz Rehabilitation Center	2
11	Northdale Rehabilitation Center	3
11	Central Park Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center	2
11	Woodbridge Care Center	4
22	Bayshore Pointe Nursing and Rehabilitation Center	2
23	Plaza West	5
24	The Home Association	4
25	Palm Garden of Sun City	5
26	Ybor City Center for Rehabilitation and Healing	5
27	Canterbury Towers, Inc.	5
28	St. Andrew Post-Acute Rehabilitation Center	3