Nursing home guides
Starfile publishes the data; these guides explain what it means. Written for families evaluating a facility and citizens trying to understand how the U.S. nursing home oversight system actually works.
How to choose a nursing home
The step-by-step process for evaluating a facility using CMS data, in-person visits, and reference checks.
Recognizing and reporting nursing home abuse
What counts as abuse or neglect, how CMS tracks it, and exactly who to call when you suspect harm.
What the CMS 5-star rating really measures
The three components — health inspection, staffing, quality measures — and why the aggregate can mislead.
CMS F-tags: the federal citation system explained
The 180+ deficiency codes surveyors use, how scope & severity letters work, and which ones are most serious.
What the Special Focus Facility program means for a nursing home
The federal watchlist for the worst facilities, how homes land on it, and what happens if they don’t improve.
Who actually owns a nursing home — CMS Form 855A decoded
How private equity rollups, real estate investment trusts, and hidden ownership chains get disclosed to CMS.