U.S. nursing home inspection records
Understand any U.S. nursing home’s official CMS record
We explain the official CMS data behind every Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home: star ratings, deficiencies, penalties, and staffing, and how to read them, report a concern, and weigh what care costs. We are an independent data publisher, not a law firm and not a placement agency.
Facility record pages are coming soon.
Start here
Plain-English guides to the public CMS data, built to help you read the record and know what to do next.
What Nursing Home Record is (and is not)
Nursing Home Record is an independent data publisher. We are not a law firm, not a placement agency, and not affiliated with any nursing home. We republish official CMS nursing home inspection records, as published, with the source and date.
- Independent data publisher
- Not a law firm
- Not a placement agency
- Not affiliated with any facility
Warning signs families notice
What families often notice first
None of these prove a facility did anything wrong, and many have ordinary medical explanations. They tell you what to look at, ask about, and write down.
Unexplained bruising or injuries
Bruises, cuts, burns, or fractures in patterns, or in places that are hard to injure by accident.
What to watch for →Sudden weight loss or dehydration
Clothes hanging loose, dry lips, dark urine, or new confusion. It can turn serious quickly in older adults.
What to watch for →Bedsores (pressure ulcers)
Reddened skin that does not fade, or open wounds. Largely preventable with regular repositioning.
What to watch for →Overmedication or sedation
A relative who is newly drowsy, slurring, or hard to rouse at your usual visit times.
What to watch for →Falls the facility can’t explain
Repeated falls, or an injury with no clear account of how it happened. Ask what changed.
What to watch for →Poor hygiene or unchanged linens
Unwashed hair or body, soiled clothing or bedding, long nails, or strong lingering odors.
What to watch for →Staff that can’t answer questions
Call lights that ring unanswered, high turnover, or no one who can tell you the plan of care.
What to watch for →Fear or withdrawal around staff
Someone who flinches from a particular person, stops making eye contact, or goes quiet and fearful.
What to watch for →How it works
Three steps, no cost to you
Understand the record
Learn what the CMS star ratings, staffing hours, deficiencies, and penalties actually measure, and what they do and do not tell you.
Know the warning signs
See what families notice first during visits, what each sign can indicate, and what to write down before you raise it.
Know your options
Learn how to report a concern to the agencies that oversee nursing homes, and how the cost of care is paid.
Every guide is free to read and sourced to the public CMS data.
Where the numbers come from
Public data, reproduced as published
Row counts published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the CMS release dated 2026-08-01. Each figure links to the dataset it is counted from.
Every number on this site comes from the public CMS provider-data files, which CMS refreshes monthly. We don’t rate facilities ourselves and we don’t accept payment from any facility. Our methodology page lists every dataset we use, with its CMS dataset id and a link to the source.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Is Nursing Home Record a law firm or a placement agency?
No. Nursing Home Record is an independent data publisher. We are not a law firm, not a placement agency, and not affiliated with any nursing home. We publish official CMS inspection records. We do not give legal advice and we do not place residents in facilities.
Where does the data come from and how current is it?
Every figure on this site comes from the public provider-data files published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS refreshes those files monthly, and the release we currently publish is the one CMS dated 2026-08-01. We reproduce the records as published, show the CMS “data as of” date, and link back to the source. Our methodology page explains exactly which datasets we use and how we handle them.
What do the star ratings mean?
CMS assigns each certified nursing home a rating from one to five stars under its Five-Star Quality Rating System, built from three parts: a health inspection rating, a staffing rating, and a quality measures rating. Our guide to the star ratings explains how the parts combine and what each one does and does not capture.
What does it cost to use this site?
Nothing. The guides and the records are free to read. We plan to add an attorney-connection service; when it launches, independent attorneys will pay us for an introduction to a family who requests one, and families will never pay us. Reading the data costs you nothing.
How do I report suspected neglect?
Several agencies take nursing home complaints, including the state survey agency, the long-term care ombudsman, and Adult Protective Services. Our guide to reporting explains who each one is, what they handle, and what to write down before you contact them.
What if something you publish is out of date or wrong?
We reproduce CMS records as published, so the source of any figure is the CMS dataset. If you believe something we publish is out of date or misattributed, our corrections page explains how to reach us and how we handle correction and takedown requests.
How do I use CMS data to judge a nursing home?
Read the ratings alongside your own visits. Star ratings, staffing hours, inspection citations, and penalties give you reference points, but a rating is a snapshot of the periods CMS measured and does not capture everything that matters to a given resident. Our guide to the star ratings explains what each part does and does not tell you.
Guides
Read the data with context
What nursing home care costs, and how it is paid
What drives the price and how Medicare, Medicaid, and private pay fit together.
GuideAccountabilitySigns of neglect to watch for
Observable signs during visits, what each can indicate, and what to do next.
GuideAccountabilityHow to report abuse or neglect
The agencies that take complaints, what each handles, and what to gather first.
GuideRead the data with context
Read the record with context.
Understand what the official CMS star ratings, staffing, and inspection findings actually measure, and what to do if you suspect a resident has been harmed.
Nursing Home Record is an independent data publisher. Not a law firm. Not a placement agency.
What the record shows
The ratings. CMS star ratings for the facility overall, plus health inspection, staffing, and quality measures.
The findings. Inspection citations, penalties, and reported staffing hours, reproduced as CMS published them.
The ownership. Who owns and operates the facility, and any chain it belongs to.
Every figure comes from the public CMS dataset. We do not rate facilities ourselves and we take no payment from any facility.