Minnesota Nursing Homes: Violations, Fines and Worst Records

Nursing homes across Minnesota average 4.19 hours of daily nurse staffing for each resident, a level that ranks the state 13th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and tops the 3.86 national average. Registered nurses supply 1.06 of those daily hours, versus 0.69 hours nationwide, based on the federal nursing home data kept by CMS, the federal agency behind Medicare. Across the state, 42.2% of nursing staff depart over a year, less than the nationwide 45.8%. Government bodies run 25 of the state's homes, for-profit owners run 103, and non-profit organizations run 210, out of 338 facilities in all. Monarch Healthcare Management, the largest chain, operates 45 locations.

During the last three inspection cycles, infection prevention and control rules were cited 615 times in Minnesota facilities. Accident hazards and supervision was the next most common violation, cited 507 times overall, with 201 at a level where inspectors found immediate danger or harm to a resident. In May 2026, federal officials fined The Waterview Shores, a nursing home in Two Harbors, $334,488, the largest single such penalty statewide since September 2023.

The Minnesota Nursing Home Report Card lets families review staff retention, direct care hours, family satisfaction, resident quality of life scores, and state inspection results. Each certified Minnesota facility's full federal inspection reports also open from its page on Medicare Care Compare, a federal search tool formerly called Nursing Home Compare. The reports use Form CMS-2567, the statement of deficiencies that lists the rules a home broke.

Anyone suspecting poor care or neglect can report it to the Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Health Facility Complaints, either on the state facility complaint page or by phoning 1-844-880-1574. The same line, 1-844-880-1574, connects callers to Minnesota Adult Protective Services when maltreatment of a vulnerable adult is suspected. Free help from an independent state advocate is available to residents and relatives with a care problem through the Minnesota Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care at 1-800-657-3591.