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Note To Nursing Homes

  • If the information about your nursing home is incorrect or has changed, please contact your State Survey Agency to have it updated.
  • If you are a Medicare or Medicaid-certified nursing home, but are not listed in this database, please contact your State Survey Agency to have them correct your information in CMS's Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting (OSCAR).

The phone number for the State Survey Agency in your area can be found in the Helpful Contacts section of this website.


The information in this database comes from two sources:

  1. CMS's Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting (OSCAR) database
  2. National database known as the Minimum Data Set (MDS) Repository

Collecting and Updating Nursing Home Data


Data Sources and Collection

The data on this website describe nursing home characteristics, inspection results, nursing home staffing information, and quality measures.


The data come from two sources:

  1. CMS's Online Survey, Certification, and Reporting (OSCAR) database - Includes the nursing home characteristics and health deficiencies issued during the three most recent state inspections and recent complaint investigations.
  2. Nursing Home inspections ensure that the nursing home residents receive quality care and services in a safe and comfortable environment according to rules established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). State Survey Agencies inspect nursing homes.
  3. The inspections occur at least once during a 15-month period, or any time in between when the state receives a complaint. Complaints may be reported and nursing homes inspected outside of the 9-15 month survey cycle.
  4. Inspections about a complaint that result in a health deficiency citation are reported to CMS and included on this website. Sometimes inspectors find a deficiency that the nursing home already identified and corrected before the inspection was done. These prior deficiencies may be included in this website.
  5. The State Survey Agencies are then responsible for entering survey information into the OSCAR database and updating it as needed. Every attempt is made to assure the information is accurate and up-to-date; however, it should be interpreted carefully and used along with information from the Long Term Care Ombudsman's office, the State Survey Agency, or other sources.
  6. The information in OSCAR on the nursing homes' characteristics is prepared by each nursing home at the beginning of the regular state inspection. The nursing homes report this information themselves. It is reviewed by nursing home inspectors, but not formally checked to ensure accuracy. This information changes frequently as residents are discharged and admitted, or residents’ conditions change.

  1. National database known as the Minimum Data Set (MDS) Repository
  2. The data for the quality measures come from the MDS Repository. The MDS is an assessment that is done at regular intervals on every resident in a Medicare or Medicaid-certified nursing home. Information is collected about the resident's health, physical functioning, mental status, and general well-being. These data are used by the nursing home to assess each resident’s needs and develop a plan of care.
  3. Regulations require that a MDS assessment be performed at admission, quarterly, annually, and whenever the resident experiences a significant change in status. For residents in a Medicare Part A stay, the MDS is also used to determine the Medicare reimbursement rate. These assessments are performed on the 5th, 14th, 30th, 60th and 90th day of admission.
  4. All of these data are reported by the nursing homes themselves. It is reviewed by nursing home inspectors, but not formally checked to ensure accuracy. Every attempt is made to assure the information is accurate and up-to-date. However, this information changes frequently as residents are discharged and admitted, or residents’ conditions change. The information should be interpreted cautiously and used along with information from the Long Term Care Ombudsman's office, the State Survey Agency, or other sources.
  5. Some MDS items used to calculate the quality measures consider the resident's condition during previous days prior to the assessment date. The following table provides these “observation” or “look back” time frames.



Quality Measures

MDS Observation Time Frame *

Long-Stay Measures

Percent of long-stay residents given influenza vaccination during the flu season October 1 thru March 31
Percent of long-stay residents who were assessed and given pneumococcal vaccination Looks back 5 years
Percent of long-stay residents whose need for help with daily activities has increased Looks back 7 days
Percent of long-stay residents who have moderate to severe pain Looks back 7 days
Percent of high-risk long-stay residents who have pressure sores Looks back 7 days
Percent of low-risk long-stay residents who have pressure sores Looks back 7 days
Percent of long-stay residents who were physically restrained Looks back 7 days
Percent of long-stay residents who are more depressed or anxious Looks back 30 days
Percent of low-risk long-stay residents who lose control of their bowels or bladder Looks back 14 days
Percent of long-stay residents who have/had a catheter inserted and left in their bladder Looks back 14 days
Percent of long-stay residents who spent most of their time in bed or in a chair Looks back 7 days
Percent of long-stay residents whose ability to move about in and around their room got worse Looks back 7 days
Percent of long-stay residents who had a urinary tract infection Looks back 30 days
Percent of long-stay residents who lose too much weight Looks back 30 days

Short-Stay Measures

Percent of short-stay residents given influenza vaccination during the flu season October 1 thru March 31
Percent of short-stay residents who were assessed and given pneumococcal vaccination Looks back 5 years
Percent of short-stay residents who have delirium Looks back 7 days
Percent of short-stay residents who had moderate to severe pain Looks back 7 days
Percent of short-stay residents who have pressure sores Looks back 7 days

*When multiple MDS items with more than one “look back” timeframes are used to calculate the measure, this table displays the longest “look back” timeframe.



Data Updates

The OSCAR data contained on this website is updated on a monthly basis and the MDS data is updated quarterly. However, there may be a lag time between the date of the survey and the date that the survey results are entered into the OSCAR database. Therefore, the OSCAR data on which these results are based may not necessarily reflect the results from the last survey completed.


Each nursing home is also required by law to have the latest survey results on hand for the public to review. For the most recent survey results, contact the State Survey Agency. Their phone number is in the Helpful Contacts section of this website.


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Page Last Updated: December 17, 2008