Pennsylvania Nursing Homes: Violations, Fines and Worst Records

In Pennsylvania, 366 of 639 evaluated nursing homes, more than half, reported daily nursing hours below the federal expected level for their residents. CMS, the federal Medicare agency, supplies these state records through its data files, which cover each Medicare and Medicaid home across Pennsylvania. Across the state, an average of 44.5% of nursing staff left within a year, just under the national figure of 45.8%. For-profit businesses run most facilities in the state, and the largest chain in Pennsylvania belongs to Genesis Healthcare.

In Pennsylvania, the most common violation is general quality of care: inspectors cited it 1,267 times over the past three inspection cycles. With 325 citations, supervision and accident hazards topped the state among violations that brought actual harm or immediate danger to residents. Regulators also placed Pennsylvania homes with persistent problems into the Special Focus Facility program, a federal effort for closer oversight. Grandview Nursing and Rehabilitation and Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Palmyra are among them. Financial penalties can follow serious findings; in July 2024, Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol received a $312,363 penalty, the state's largest single federal fine since September 2023.

Federal inspection reports give the full survey findings for every facility in Pennsylvania. A Pennsylvania home's official inspection reports, called the Form CMS-2567 statement of deficiencies, are one click away on its Medicare Care Compare page (the search tool previously named Nursing Home Compare). The exact problems found by Pennsylvania Department of Health inspectors during routine visits and investigations of complaints are written out in that report.

Families who see unsafe care can complain to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, either online or by phone at 1-800-254-5164. For care disputes or resident rights, families can phone 717-783-8975 to reach the Pennsylvania Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. That office is the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, part of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging. Residents and families get help resolving problems inside nursing homes from a Pennsylvania ombudsman, a free state advocate. Call 1-800-490-8505 to reach Adult Protective Services, which also handles reports of suspected abuse or neglect involving an older adult in the state.