First: what kind of record is it?
Medicare's nursing home ratings, state assisted living licenses and state complaint/inspection documents are different records produced under different rules. An assisted living home is generally licensed by the state, not graded with Medicare's nursing-home five-star system. Do not compare their marks as if they were on the same scale.
License status
Look for the license number, category and effective date. A license is evidence of authorization, not proof that no problems have occurred.
Inspection deficiencies
Read the description, inspection date, scope and severity. Look for repeated patterns and whether corrective action was verified.
Medicare star ratings
Check overall, health inspections, staffing and quality measures separately. Some components update on different schedules.
How to use the findings
- Check the reporting period. A single current deficiency and many older ones are not interchangeable.
- Read the actual finding, not just its number or severity letter.
- Compare with relevant peer providers of the same type, using consistent dates and measures.
- Ask for the corrective action and whether the problem recurred.
- Visit at different times when possible, especially evenings and weekends.
For nursing homes, Medicare publishes individual citations, health inspection and staffing information. For California assisted living, check the state Care Facility Search for public inspection documentation. The same family may want both datasets, but they are not interchangeable.