Before You Choose a Nursing Home Check the Reports

compiled for ProPublica by by Ruth Talbot, Lena V. Groeger and Charles Ornstein, November 2023

ProPublica has compiled a searchable database of nursing home ratings called Nursing Home Inspect. The database uses data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Information on deficiencies comes from a home’s last three inspection cycles, or roughly three years in total. COVID-19 data comes from the most recent CMS report and is self-reported by nursing homes. The database is searchable by home name, report keyword, state, or county.

The ratings range from A to L, with L being the most severe deficiencies.

Nursing homes receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding are subject to inspections to determine whether they are meeting resident care requirements. A nursing home’s failure to meet any care requirement is called a deficiency. An inspection report contains one or more deficiencies.

Each deficiency is given a letter rating of A through L based on its severity and scope. Severity is the level of harm caused by the deficiency, and scope is how widespread that harm was. Deficiencies L, K and J are the most serious and indicate immediate jeopardy to resident health and safety, meaning residents affected are at risk of serious injury, harm, impairment or death.

>>Perform a search of the database