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Since 1976, Steve Levin has been dedicated to helping people injured by others’ negligence. He is one of the first attorneys in the U.S. to prosecute nursing homes for abuse and negligence. He’s also helped write new legislation that governs the operation of nursing homes, including the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. Moreover, Levin & Perconti has obtained the top three jury verdicts in nursing home negligence cases in Illinois.
Read Bio
Since 1976, Steve Levin has been dedicated to helping people injured by others’ negligence. He is one of the first attorneys in the U.S. to prosecute nursing homes for abuse and negligence. He’s also helped write new legislation that governs the operation of nursing homes, including the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. Moreover, Levin & Perconti has obtained the top three jury verdicts in nursing home negligence cases in Illinois.
Trusting a loved one to a nursing home is a difficult decision, and it’s natural to be suspicious of whether the facility will properly care for your family member. Thankfully, inspection and complaint histories for nursing home facilities are public through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Understanding how to request and review CMS inspection reports can help you determine whether a nursing home has care violations and protect your loved one from potential abuse or neglect.
How Can I Find a Nursing Home’s CMS Inspection Reports and Other Public Records?
One of the easiest ways to find and review CMS records is to use its Medicare Care Compare tool. Care Compare allows you to search for a specific nursing home and view its performance at a glance, including one- to five-star ratings issued by CMS based on health inspections, staffing benchmarks, and care quality issues. The website also includes links to recent inspection records at the facility.
Additionally, the news organization ProPublica provides a convenient, easy-to-use search tool for parsing CMS nursing home inspection reports and associated data on violations, fines, staff turnover, and more. You can also access various CMS databases on its website to view the raw information.
CMS relies on state survey agencies to inspect Medicare-certified nursing homes. Some, such as the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), also conduct investigations under state law and publish their own public records. You can find more information on your local State Survey Agency on CMS’s website.
Additional records from each nursing home may be available in some circumstances. An experienced nursing home abuse lawyer can explain what information you can pursue and help you request it.
How Should I Analyze a CMS Inspection Report?
Each nursing home inspection that identifies a deficiency leads to a CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies and Plan of Correction, a report explaining what investigators found and why it violates care and safety standards.
Here are a few of the key points to assess when viewing a CMS inspection report:
| What You May See | What It Tells You | What to Look For |
|---|---|---|
| Summary Statement of Deficiencies | A detailed explanation of a violation identified by inspectors and relevant information supporting it | Interviews with staff, administrators, and residents about what happened |
| ID Prefix Tag (A letter followed by four numbers) | Identifies which violation was found | A description of which regulation was violated at the top of the Summary Statement of Deficiencies. You can also search the CMS’s Citation Code Look-Up database to learn more |
| Level of Harm / Residents Affected | Details how severe the violation was, and how many residents it affected or could have affected | Violations labeled “Immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety” are the most serious |
Nursing homes are usually required to submit a plan of correction in response to CMS violations, but you may have to request these documents to view them instead of simply finding them online. An attorney can help you properly request and obtain correction plans and other nursing home records.
What Are Common Violations and Deficiencies Found in CMS Inspections?
Nursing homes tend to struggle more to comply with certain regulations than with others. CMS violations and deficiencies most commonly concern some of these issues:
- Injuries caused by preventable falls, inadequate supervision, or abuse by staff or other residents
- Failing to have, maintain, or comply with proper infection control policies
- Not ensuring patients’ care plans are properly followed
- Not providing enough staff to adequately supervise and care for residents
- Failing to prevent or treat pressure sores
- Incorrectly administering residents’ medications
- Not notifying a resident’s doctor or family members after an accident or a significant change in their health
What Should You Do if You Find Concerning CMS Violations?
If you’re disturbed by the contents of CMS inspection reports at a particular nursing home, it’s best to avoid trusting your loved one’s care to the facility if you haven’t already. If your loved one is residing at a home you’re concerned about, you should stay vigilant to help keep them safe from abuse and neglect.
During visits, observe your loved one’s quality of life and that of their fellow residents. Note if you see any questionable living conditions, concerning interactions with staff, or an apparent lack of attention paid to residents’ well-being.
If you suspect your loved one or others are currently suffering because of care and safety violations, save relevant inspection reports to create a record of the facility’s past conduct. A pattern of recurring deficiencies could indicate ongoing issues worth investigating further. An experienced nursing home abuse attorney can help you build a case and report unaddressed problems.
CMS Inspection Report FAQs
Are CMS Inspection Reports Public?
Yes, CMS maintains public databases of official surveys and complaint inspections conducted at all nursing home facilities that receive federal funding.
How Often Are Healthcare Facilities Inspected?
Standard inspections of Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes must occur at least once every 15 months, with a statewide average interval of 12 months or less. Additional inspections may occur in response to complaints, depending on the allegations and the state survey agency’s review.
How Far Back Can I Find CMS Inspection Reports?
CMS databases maintain inspection reports for three years.
What Does a CMS Deficiency Mean?
The CMS issues a deficiency to a nursing home when it finds a violation of its written care quality and safety standards. This means the facility failed to fully provide the type of treatment to which nursing home residents are legally entitled.
Concerned About Your Loved One? Let Us Help
Whether you’re not sure which facility is right for your family member, are frightened by what you’ve seen in a CMS report at the home they reside in, or need help finding inspection records to confirm a hunch, the trusted nursing home abuse lawyers at Levin & Perconti can assist you. Contact us online or call (312) 332-2872 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.
