State inspectors conduct yearly health and safety inspections of nursing homes for compliance with Medicare and Medicaid regulations. A nursing home may also be inspected based on a complaint submitted by a resident (or other individual), or based on a facility's self-reported incident. Nursing homes are also inspected for compliance with infection control and prevention standards.

Higher staffing levels and lower staffing turnover in a nursing home may mean higher quality of care for residents. Hours worked by different types of staff are reported by nursing homes, and are used to calculate a ratio of staffing hours per resident per day and the staffing turnover rate. Hours per resident per day describe the average amount of time staff are available to spend with each resident each day. Staff turnover describes how many staff stop working at the facility within a given year.

COVID-19 vaccinations can be extremely effective at protecting nursing home residents from COVID-19. The information below shows the percent of residents and staff who are up to date with their vaccines, along with the state and national rates. Someone is up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines when they have received all doses recommended for them, when eligible. People are protected best from COVID-19 when they stay up to date with the recommended vaccines. When higher levels of residents and staff are up to date with their vaccines, the level of protection from COVID-19 increases for all residents, staff, and visitors.

Note: On January 1, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) changed the way it collects data to calculate the percent of staff who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination. It may take facilities some time to adapt to the new methodology. As a result, the reported percent of staff who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination should be viewed with caution over the next few weeks. Contact facilities directly for more information on their vaccination levels.

When a nursing home gets a serious health or fire safety citation, or fails to correct a citation for a long period of time, this can result in a penalty. A penalty can be a fine against the nursing home or a denied payment from Medicare. Medicare reports penalties at the federal level, but you can also search for penalties under state law.