Wisconsin Nursing Homes: Violations, Fines and Worst Records

Counted per facility, nursing home citations finding harm to a resident or immediate danger place Wisconsin 12th among all 50 states and the District of Columbia. During the last three inspection cycles, inspectors identified at least one violation involving immediate danger in 140 of the state's 323 nursing homes. The Wisconsin numbers come from Medicare nursing home data, which CMS, the federal Medicare agency, publishes. Across specific safety rules, Wisconsin homes drew 620 citations from inspectors for accident hazards and supervision failures; in 206, actual harm to a resident or immediate danger was found.

Since September 2023, $424,350 is the biggest single federal fine for a Wisconsin home, issued in May 2025 to Bayshore Nursing & Rehab in Glendale. In Wisconsin, nursing staff provide 4.21 hours per resident each day on average, above the nationwide figure of 3.86 hours. Registered nurses account for 0.99 hours in Wisconsin, compared with 0.69 hours across the country. Wisconsin facilities saw 46.9% of nursing staff leave over a single year, compared with 45.8% across the nation.

Using the DHS Division of Quality Assurance Provider Search, families can check state inspection records for Wisconsin's regulated health and residential care providers. Many Wisconsin pages for nursing homes on that site have a Survey History section, where the last three years of surveys and violations from the Division of Quality Assurance are shown. For every Wisconsin home, federal inspection reports open through Medicare Care Compare, a search tool once named Nursing Home Compare. On a facility's page, the Form CMS-2567 statement of deficiencies shows the violations inspectors cited for that home.

Families can submit a complaint online about unsafe care at a facility through the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Quality Assurance, or by calling 1-800-642-6552. The Ombudsman Program at the Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long Term Care answers calls at 1-800-815-0015 for continuing help with resident rights. For suspected abuse or neglect, families can also call Wisconsin Adult Protective Services at 833-586-0107.