Top 10 Worst Nursing Homes in DC

Updated as of May 01, 2023

A list of the ten worst skilled nursing homes in DC. Based on the Weighted Health Inspection Score developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Click here to see the best skilled nursing facilities in DC.

Compare the Worst Nursing Homes in DC

Every year, thousands of seniors, their families and friends have to make a decision involving a skilled nursing facility, either because someone is recupering after a hospital visit or for end-of-life care. This is usually an issue that arises suddenly, and the decision makers are not equipped with the right knowledge and information to make a good decision. Not knowing how to decide, they turn to others for recommendations. Word of mouth, along with geography, are constantly cited as the single most important factors in choosing a skilled nursing facility. This lack of understanding and lack of information can lead to significant problems because not all skilled nursing facilities are the same and the people that you trust to recommend a facility may not know enough about the facility and the alternatives to be a competent guide.

Providing the type of care that residents of skilled nursing facilities require is very difficult. The range of issues that are being treated is vast and the needs cover both people recuperating and recovering as well as those facing end-of-life issues. Residents require significant help with basic daily activities as well as supplemental needs like oxygen and 24/7 monitoring.

To help people who are facing this difficult situation, we have compiled a list of the both the best and the worst skilled nursing facilities in DC. Additionally we have compiled the best and worst nursing homes by city for most cities in the United States. The lists are based on data compiled by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (“CMS”) and include information gathered from detailed annual inspections, monthly reporting, complaint histories, deficiency reports and much more.

The list below calls out the worst skilled nursing facilities in DC. For the most part these facilities should be avoided. All of the facilities have issues with cleanliness and safety and a large number of the facilities have been flagged by CMS as locations where abuse has either occurred or is highly likely.

Avoiding these facilities may not always be an option either because of geographic, monetary, or occupancy constraints. However, being in a bad nursing home does not mean that the resident will not improve. If you have a loved one in one of these facilities, we encourage you to visit often and to ask that friends and other family visit too. It is well documented that positive outcomes for skilled nursing residents is highly correlated with the number and diversity of people visiting the resident. Being there, getting to know the staff, showing the staff that the resident has people that care about him or her is critical. There may not always be a better option, but your direct involvement can make a difference.

Nursing Home Rating
Bridgepoint Sub-Acute and Rehab National Harborside
4601 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVENUE SW
WASHINGTON, DC 		499.17
/
Deanwood Rehabilitation and Wellness Center
5000 NANNIE HELEN BURROUGHS AVE. NE
WASHINGTON, DC 		316.00
/
Capitol City Rehab and Healthcare Center
2425 25TH STREET SE
WASHINGTON, DC 		289.00
/
Unique Rehabilitation and Health Center LLC
901 FIRST STREET NW
WASHINGTON, DC 		220.33
/
Bridgepoint Subacute and Rehab Capitol Hill
223 7TH STREET NE
WASHINGTON, DC 		205.33
/
Washington Ctr For Aging Svcs
2601 18TH STREET NE
WASHINGTON, DC 		150.33
Serenity Rehabilitation and Health Center LLC
1380 SOUTHERN AVE SE
WASHINGTON, DC 		141.33
Ascension Living Carroll Manor
725 BUCHANAN ST., NE
WASHINGTON, DC 		110.67
Ingleside at Rock Creek
3050 MILITARY ROAD NW
WASHINGTON, DC 		95.33
Forest Hills of Dc
4901 CONNECTICUT AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON, DC 		82.00

Nursing Homes with the warning icon () have been flagged by CMS for abuse.

How We Compile Nursing Home Ratings in DC

Every month, we rank all of the skilled nursing facilities in DC. These rankings are based on data provided by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid measures ("CMS"), including the CMS 5-Star Rating System and the Health Inspection Scores. The list of the Worst Skilled Nursing Facilities in DC is based on the weighted overall health inspection score which is a composite of CMS's three most recent skilled nursing home inspection scores weighted to give the most recent inspection more importance.

The CMS 5-Star Rating System rates skilled nursing facilities from one to five stars, with one star being the lowest and five stars being the highest. The rating system also rates DC nursing homes across five different dimensions including overall rating, health inspection rating, quality measures rating, overall staffing rating, and RN staffing rating (RN is an acronym for Registered Nurse).

In addition to the 5-Star Rating System, CMS provides numerical metrics that summarize:

  • Health Inspection Domain. The health inspection rating is based on the three most recent standard surveys for each nursing home, results from any complaint investigations during the most recent three-year period, and any repeat revisits needed to verify that required corrections have brought the facility back into compliance. CMS calculates a weighted deficiency score based on points assigned to health deficiencies identified in each active provider’s current health inspection survey and the two prior surveys (including revisits), as well as deficiency findings from the most recent three years of complaint investigations. More recent surveys are weighted more heavily than older surveys: the most recent period (cycle 1) is assigned a weighting factor of 1/2, the previous period (cycle 2) has a weighting factor of 1/3, and the second prior survey (cycle 3) has a weighting factor of 1/6. The weighted time period scores are then summed to create the survey score for each facility.
  • Staffing Domain. Using multiple reporting methods, CMS calculates the amount of time that the nursing staff spends with residents. This is measured across multiple dimensions, one each for three different levels of nursing, including Registered Nurses (“RNs”), Licensed Practical Nurses (“LPNs”), and Certified Nursing Assistants (“CNAs”), plus one metric that totals all contributions. These metrics are expressed in hours per resident per day. CMS also provides state-level and national averages for the metrics to allow for additional comparisons.
  • Quality Measures Domain. A set of quality measures (QMs) has been developed from MDS-based indicators to describe the quality of care provided in nursing homes. These measures address a broad range of functioning and health status in multiple care areas. The facility rating for the QM domain is based on performance on a subset of 11 (out of 18) of the QMs. Ratings for the QM domain are calculated using the three most recent quarters for which data are available. This time period specification was selected to increase the number of assessments available for calculating the QM rating, increasing the stability of estimates and reducing the number of facilities that do not have enough data to report QM ratings.
  • Abuse Flag. Abuse is always a concern in skilled nursing facilities. To highlight the issue, CMS has extracted this feature as its own flag. Facilities with an actual abuse event or where the potential for abuse has been shown for the past two years are flagged. The Health Inspection Score is capped at 2-stars for nursing homes that have been flagged for abuse.

Skilled nursing facilities that are new and do not have at least two surveys completed are not rated by CMS. These facilities may have health inspection scores that can be used to evaluate the facility.

One complication in DC nursing home inspections is the COVID-19 pandemic. Although inspections should be performed every 12 months, COVID has decreased this frequency. While CMS admits that only in “rare cases” do these inspections increase to 15 months, our analysis suggests that this time frame may be even longer. This report shows that the time between inspections is now just under 500 days (more than sixteen months). There are now hundreds of skilled nursing homes in the United States that have not been inspected in more than 24 months. This list shows the skilled nursing homes with the longest period since being inspected. According to the CMS data, these homes have not been inspected since 2018!

Skilled Nursing Home Abuse in DC

Abuse is always going to be an issue with skilled nursing facilities. Skilled nursing facility residents need help with so many basic things and they are suffering, confused, and frustrated. If you are the friend or relative of a nursing home resident, we guarantee that you will be constantly fretting about whether your loved one is receiving proper and timely care. Abuse feels like a violation of your trust, but it happens. CMS actively monitors nursing homes not just for actual abuse but also for indicators that suggest that abuse might be occurring. Homes where abuse has either occurred or might be occurring are flagged. A very high percentage of the worst skilled nursing facilities in DC have been flagged for abuse. We have marked these facilities both on the list of the worst skilled nursing facilities and on the detailed page for each of the facilities.

Skilled Nursing Homes in DC Compared to Nationwide

We have compared DC nursing homes to the nationwide average on several metrics. DC performed better than the national average on several metrics and worse on other metrics.

Cycle 1 Total Number Of Health Deficiencies 17.30 Higher
Cycle 1 Total Number Of Fire Safety Deficiencies 2.40 Lower
Cycle 2 Total Number Of Health Deficiencies 14.50 Higher
Cycle 2 Total Number Of Fire Safety Deficiencies 2.50 Lower
Cycle 3 Total Number Of Health Deficiencies 18.40 Higher
Cycle 3 Total Number Of Fire Safety Deficiencies 4.60 Lower
Average Number Of Residents Per Day 117.20 Higher
Reported Nurse Aide Staffing Hours Per Resident Per Day 2.68 Higher
Reported Lpn Staffing Hours Per Resident Per Day 0.74 Lower
Reported Rn Staffing Hours Per Resident Per Day 1.34 Higher
Reported Licensed Staffing Hours Per Resident Per Day 2.08 Higher
Reported Total Nurse Staffing Hours Per Resident Per Day 4.76 Higher
Total Number Of Nurse Staff Hours Per Resident Per Day On The Weekend 4.22 Higher
Registered Nurse Hours Per Resident Per Day On The Weekend 1.08 Higher
Reported Physical Therapist Staffing Hours Per Resident Per Day 0.10 Higher
Total Nursing Staff Turnover 45.80 Lower
Registered Nurse Turnover 44.10 Lower
Number Of Administrators Who Have Left The Nursing Home 1.00 Higher
Case-mix Rn Staffing Hours Per Resident Per Day 0.47 Higher
Case-mix Total Nurse Staffing Hours Per Resident Per Day 3.42 Higher
Number Of Fines 3.40 Higher
Fine Amount In Dollars 133,361.00 Higher
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents Whose Need For Help With Daily Activities Has Increased 16.92 Higher
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents Who Lose Too Much Weight 4.84 Lower
Percentage Of Low Risk Long Stay Residents Who Lose Control Of Their Bowels Or Bladder 64.59 Higher
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents With A Catheter Inserted And Left In Their Bladder 1.18 Lower
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents With A Urinary Tract Infection 1.69 Lower
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents Who Have Depressive Symptoms 0.95 Lower
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents Who Were Physically Restrained 0.15 Higher
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents Experiencing One Or More Falls With Major Injury 1.27 Lower
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents Assessed And Appropriately Given The Pneumococcal Vaccine 91.22 Lower
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents Who Received An Antipsychotic Medication 7.90 Lower
Percentage Of Short Stay Residents Assessed And Appropriately Given The Pneumococcal Vaccine 64.13 Lower
Percentage Of Short Stay Residents Who Newly Received An Antipsychotic Medication 1.43 Lower
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents Whose Ability To Move Independently Worsened 20.49 Higher
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents Who Received An Antianxiety Or Hypnotic Medication 10.68 Lower
Percentage Of High Risk Long Stay Residents With Pressure Ulcers 13.46 Higher
Percentage Of Long Stay Residents Assessed And Appropriately Given The Seasonal Influenza Vaccine 94.89 Higher
Percentage Of Short Stay Residents Who Made Improvements In Function 66.45 Lower
Percentage Of Short Stay Residents Who Were Assessed And Appropriately Given The Seasonal Influenza Vaccine 68.27 Lower
Percentage Of Short Stay Residents Who Were Rehospitalized After A Nursing Home Admission 18.71 Lower
Percentage Of Short Stay Residents Who Had An Outpatient Emergency Department Visit 6.60 Lower
Number Of Hospitalizations Per 1000 Long-stay Resident Days 0.89 Lower
Number Of Outpatient Emergency Department Visits Per 1000 Long-stay Resident Days 0.30 Lower

FAQs About Nursing Homes in DC

How Many Nursing Homes in DC

There are 17 skilled nursing facilities registered with CMS in DC with a total of 2,505 beds. Average occupancy was 79.56% in May 2023.

DC has 1 homes that are rated as having one star on the CMS 5-Star Rating System. Approximately 4.95 percent of the total number of available skilled nursing beds in DC are in one-star facilities. In DC, occupancy is higher in skilled nursing facilities where the CMS 5-Star Raing is higher than one-star.

There are 0 skilled nursing facilities in DC that are not rated.

How to Report a Nursing Homes in DC

If you run into an issue at a DC nursing home, there are a few steps you can take to make sure the issue is reported. First, speak with the immediate staff. If the problem is not solved, speak with a director or administrator, doctor, or any other employee of a high level.

As required by Medicare and Medicaid, reports and complaints must go through a grievance procedure. Per the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a grievance is “an expression of dissatisfaction (other than an organization determination) with any aspect of the operations, activities, or behavior of a Medicare health plan, or its providers, regardless of whether remedial action is requested”. All grievances must be filed in writing or verbally within 60 days of the event prompting the grievance.

To report a DC nursing home for quality of care, go through a grievance procedure through your Medicare or Medicaid plan. You can also go through the Beneficiary and Family Centered Care-Quality Improvement Organizations (BFCC-QIO). These groups serve to help with complaints made regarding the quality of care by Medicare providers. You can also choose to go through both Medicare and a BFCC-QIO.

Worst Nursing Homes in the Largest DC Cities

All of the following nursing homes have been given a Weighted Health Inspection Score by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Every year, nursing homes in DC go through an unannounced inspection performed by independent state examiners. These examiners look at factors such as cleanliness, hazards, and safety to perform the inspection. Points are given to nursing homes based on their deficiency in a certain category. Thus, a higher Weighted All Cycles Score means more problems and lower quality of care.

The list below ranks the homes with the highest (worst) weighted scores. The score is shown next to the facility name. The list also shows the two most recent deficiencies for each of the nursing homes.

Worst Nursing Homes in Washington

  • Bridgepoint Sub-Acute and Rehab National Harborside (499.167)
    • Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured. (2023-01-09)
    • Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program. (2023-01-09)
  • Washington Senior Living (341.167)
    • Have generator or other power source capable of supplying service within 10 seconds. (2023-04-25)
    • Not transfer or discharge a resident without an adequate reason; and must provide documentation and convey specific information when a resident is transferred or discharged. (2023-03-24)
  • Deanwood Rehabilitation and Wellness Center (316)
    • Safeguard resident-identifiable information and/or maintain medical records on each resident that are in accordance with accepted professional standards. (2023-01-18)
    • Report COVID19 data to residents and families. (2023-01-18)
  • Capitol City Rehab and Healthcare Center (289)
    • Protect each resident from all types of abuse such as physical, mental, sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect by anybody. (2022-07-05)
    • Inspect, test, and maintain automatic sprinkler systems. (2022-03-10)
  • Aspire of Washington (226.333)
    • Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities. (2023-02-18)
    • Ensure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality. (2023-02-18)
  • Unique Rehabilitation and Health Center LLC (220.333)
    • Provide pharmaceutical services to meet the needs of each resident and employ or obtain the services of a licensed pharmacist. (2023-01-27)
    • Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities. (2023-01-09)
  • Bridgepoint Subacute and Rehab Capitol Hill (205.333)
    • Allow residents to easily view the nursing home's survey results and communicate with advocate agencies. (2022-06-20)
    • Honor the resident's right to request, refuse, and/or discontinue treatment, to participate in or refuse to participate in experimental research, and to formulate an advance directive. (2022-06-20)
  • Washington Ctr For Aging Svcs (150.333)
    • Honor the resident's right to a safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment, including but not limited to receiving treatment and supports for daily living safely. (2021-07-31)
    • Not transfer or discharge a resident without an adequate reason; and must provide documentation and convey specific information when a resident is transferred or discharged. (2021-07-31)
  • Serenity Rehabilitation and Health Center LLC (141.333)
    • Provide appropriate treatment and care according to orders, resident?s preferences and goals. (2021-04-14)
    • Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured. (2021-04-14)
  • Ascension Living Carroll Manor (110.667)
    • Honor the resident's right to a safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment, including but not limited to receiving treatment and supports for daily living safely. (2021-09-17)
    • Not transfer or discharge a resident without an adequate reason; and must provide documentation and convey specific information when a resident is transferred or discharged. (2021-09-17)

Worst Nursing Homes in WASHINGTON, DC 20037

Worst Nursing Homes in WASHINGTON DC

Worst Nursing Homes in OLNEY

  • Richland Nursing and Rehab (93.333)
    • Conduct testing and exercise requirements. (2023-03-15)
    • Establish staff and initial training requirements. (2023-03-15)
  • Helia Healthcare of Olney (81.667)
    • Inspect, test, and maintain automatic sprinkler systems. (2023-03-16)
    • Implement emergency and standby power systems. (2023-03-16)
  • Grace Care Center of Olney (12.667)
    • Ensure heating and ventilation systems that have been properly installed according to the manufacturer's instructions. (2022-10-14)
    • Keep aisles, corridors, and exits free of obstruction in case of emergency. (2022-10-14)

Worst Skilled Nursing Homes in Other States

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