Nursing home safety in Washington
Washington has 167 Medicare-certified nursing homes. They average 3.24 out of 5 CMS stars (0.26 better than the national average), carry 50.6 health-inspection citations each, and 14 are listed with an abuse icon by CMS in this source snapshot. Federal penalties total $9,107,311. CMS abuse-icon records and a separate star-record sample are named below.
Source: CMS Care Compare — Provider Information released 2026-08-06; source data last modified 2026-07-29. Free to cite with attribution to Haven.
CMS source snapshot: 20 days old. These are historical CMS fields from a dated source release, not live proof of availability, certification status, an inspection outcome, or an individual's care fit.
Staffing in Washington averages 4.4 nurse hours per resident per day (0.51 better than the national average). Citations average 50.6 per home (20.3 worse than the national average)— though citation counts reflect how aggressively a state's survey agency inspects, so they compare poorly across state lines.
Washington homes listed with a CMS abuse icon
CMS applies this icon when a facility was cited for abuse-related deficiencies on a recent inspection. It is a serious signal, not a verdict — read the specific citations in the linked record and ask the administrator directly.
- Auburn Post Acute (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Auburn · 1★
- Orchard Park Health Care & Rehab Center (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Tacoma · 1★
- Linden Grove Health Care Center (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Puyallup · 1★
- Colville Health and Rehabilitation of Cascadia (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Colville · 1★
- Life Care Center of Mount Vernon (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Mount Vernon · 1★
- Seattle Medical Post Acute Care (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Seattle · 2★
- Gig Harbor Health and Rehabilitation (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Gig Harbor · 2★
- Alderwood Post Acute & Rehabilitation (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Lynnwood · 2★
- North Cascades Health and Rehabilitation (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Bellingham · 2★
- Soundview Rehabilitation and Health Care INC (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Anacortes · 2★
- Providence Mount St Vincent (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Seattle · 3★
- Lakeland Village Nursing Facility (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Medical Lake · 3★
- Yakima Valley School (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Selah · 3★
- Life Care Center of Kennewick (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Kennewick · 3★
Special Focus Facilities in Washington
CMS's own list of homes with a persistent record of poor care. They are inspected about twice as often as other facilities and can be terminated from Medicare and Medicaid if they do not improve.
- Auburn Post Acute (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Auburn · SFF Candidate
- Spokane Health & Rehabilitation (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Spokane · SFF Candidate
- Colville Health and Rehabilitation of Cascadia (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Colville · SFF Candidate
- Port Washington Post Acute (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Bremerton · SFF Candidate
- Bremerton Trails Post Acute (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Bremerton · SFF Candidate
- Crystal Cove Post Acute (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) — Lacey · SFF
CMS four- and five-star records in Washington
Four and five-star homes with no abuse flag and no Special Focus status in this CMS snapshot. The first 10 are shown in neutral name order; these source fields are not a Haven recommendation.
| Community | City | CMS stars | Nurse hrs/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alderwood Park Health and Rehab of Cascadia (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) | Bellingham | 5 | 3.98472 |
| Americana Health and Rehabilitation (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) | Longview | 4 | 3.92856 |
| Arlington Health and Rehabilitation (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) | Arlington | 4 | 4.54959 |
| Avalon Care Center Federal Way, L.l.c. (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) | Federal Way | 4 | 4.28232 |
| Avalon Healthcare Bellingham (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) | Bellingham | 5 | 4.50227 |
| Avamere Rehabilitation at Ridgemont (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) | Port Orchard | 4 | 4.02222 |
| Avamere Transitional Care of Puget Sound (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) | Tacoma | 4 | 5.1654 |
| Bainbridge Island Health & Rehab Center (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) | Bainbridge Island | 5 | 3.91131 |
| Beacon Hill Rehabilitation (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) | Longview | 5 | 4.1029 |
| Bethany at Pacific (opens the official CMS Care Compare record) | Everett | 4 | 4.80189 |
Largest federal penalties in Washington
Civil monetary penalties follow serious deficiencies. A large fine history is a question to raise, not an automatic disqualification — some homes correct course, and the citations tell you which.
- Heartwood Extended Healthcare · Tacoma (opens the official CMS Care Compare record)$382,661
- Auburn Post Acute · Auburn (opens the official CMS Care Compare record)$380,862
- Everett Center · Everett (opens the official CMS Care Compare record)$378,252
- North Cascades Health and Rehabilitation · Bellingham (opens the official CMS Care Compare record)$313,623
- Landmark Care and Rehabilitation · Yakima (opens the official CMS Care Compare record)$277,867
- Renton Health & Rehabilitation · Renton (opens the official CMS Care Compare record)$256,725
- Park Rose Care Center · Tacoma (opens the official CMS Care Compare record)$256,703
- Crescent Health Care · Yakima (opens the official CMS Care Compare record)$245,834
- Crystal Cove Post Acute · Lacey (opens the official CMS Care Compare record)$215,060
- Life Care Center of Mount Vernon · Mount Vernon (opens the official CMS Care Compare record)$206,734
Washington nursing homes: common questions
How many nursing homes in Washington have been flagged for abuse?
14 of 167 CMS-certified nursing homes in Washington (8.4%) are listed with the federal abuse icon in the CMS snapshot used for this report. CMS applies the icon when a facility has been cited for abuse-related deficiencies on a recent inspection. The national rate in this same snapshot is 9.9%. Every listed home is named on this page.
What is the average nursing home rating in Washington?
Washington nursing homes average 3.24 out of 5 on the CMS overall star rating, across 166 rated facilities. The national average is 2.98. Staffing averages 4.4 total nurse hours per resident per day versus 3.89 nationally.
Which nursing homes in Washington are on the Special Focus list?
6 Washington facilities are designated a Special Focus Facility or candidate — CMS's list of homes with a persistent record of poor care, which face roughly double the normal inspection frequency and possible termination from Medicare and Medicaid. They are listed by name on this page.
How much have Washington nursing homes been fined?
Federal civil monetary penalties against Washington nursing homes total $9,107,311 in the CMS release used for this report. Fines follow serious deficiencies, so a large penalty history is worth asking a facility about directly — they are required to discuss their inspection record with you.
Worried about a specific home in Washington?
Open a named home's linked CMS record to review the source fields behind this report, then use the assessment and comparison tools to prepare questions, then confirm current price, availability, and care acceptance directly with each home.