CareGrade™ OriginalWhy Nursing Home Search Is Different
Searching for a nursing home — also called a skilled nursing facility — is fundamentally different from searching for assisted living. Nursing homes provide around-the-clock medical care, rehabilitation, and support for residents with serious health needs. The stakes are higher, the regulatory oversight is stricter, and the clinical data available is far more detailed.
This is actually good news for families. It means you have real, public data to evaluate facilities — if you know where to look.
The Data That Actually Matters
When researching nursing homes, prioritize these publicly available metrics:
CMS Five-Star Rating
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rates every certified nursing home on health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. It's not perfect, but it's a starting point.
Staffing Hours Per Resident Per Day
This is one of the most predictive metrics of care quality. How many registered nurse hours does each resident receive? How many total nursing hours? Low staffing correlates strongly with poor outcomes.
Health Inspection History
How many deficiencies were found in the most recent inspection? Were any serious? A pattern of deficiencies is a serious red flag.
Complaint History
How many complaints have been filed, and how recently? This reveals the lived experience of residents and families.
Ownership and Turnover
High staff turnover — especially administrator turnover — signals instability. For-profit ownership is correlated with lower staffing in many studies.
How to Filter Nursing Homes on Android
A senior care app built for families will surface this clinical data directly on each facility's profile, rather than sending you to navigate government websites. On CareGrade for Android, nursing homes display CMS ratings, staffing hours, inspection history, and complaint data in a structured, comparable format.
Filter by:
- Location — Proximity to family matters for visitation
- Care type — Confirm the facility offers the level of skilled nursing you need
- CMS rating — Use it as a floor, not a ceiling
- Staffing adequacy — Look for above-average RN hours
Red Flags to Watch For
- Abuse warning icons — CMS flags facilities with verified abuse incidents
- Special focus status — Facilities flagged for particularly poor performance
- High turnover — Multiple administrator changes in a short period
- Recent serious deficiencies — Especially those causing harm
- Very low staffing — Below the national average for RN hours
Questions to Ask Before Choosing
- What is your RN-to-resident ratio on day, evening, and night shifts?
- How do you handle call lights — and what's the average response time?
- What is your most recent health inspection result, and can I see it?
- How do you manage residents with dementia in a skilled nursing setting?
- What is your staff turnover rate?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a CMS Five-Star rating enough? No. Use it as a starting point, but always look at staffing hours and inspection details.
How quickly do I need to decide? If the search follows a hospitalization, you may be under pressure — but resist choosing a facility solely out of urgency. Poor nursing home choices have serious consequences.
Find the right skilled nursing facility
Download CareGrade on Android to search nursing homes with CMS ratings, staffing data, inspection history, and complaint records — all in one place.