Search the facility by name or ZIP code on Medicare's Care Compare tool (medicare.gov/care-compare), which publishes the federal CMS Five-Star Quality Rating combining health inspection results, staffing data, and quality measures into an overall score and three component scores. This rating applies only to Medicare/Medicaid-certified nursing homes (skilled nursing facilities), not to assisted living or adult care homes.
What this means in practice
Raleigh's role as the Triangle's medical hub — anchored by WakeMed, UNC REX Healthcare, and Duke Raleigh Hospital — means the metro has a substantial concentration of skilled nursing facilities, many affiliated with these health systems, and CMS Care Compare is the standard national tool for comparing them. The overall Five-Star score is built from three separately reported components (health inspections, staffing, and quality measures), and it's worth looking at each component individually rather than just the blended score, since a facility can score well on quality measures while lagging on staffing, or vice versa. Because this rating is federally standardized, it's the one senior-care metric in this space where a Raleigh nursing home can be meaningfully compared head-to-head against a facility anywhere else in the country — a comparison that isn't possible for adult care homes under NC's separate ACLS rating system.
Related questions
- How do I check if an assisted living community in Cary is actually licensed?
- Does North Carolina license assisted living facilities as Type A, B, or C like some other states?
- What's the difference between a 'family care home' and a regular adult care home in Durham?
- What has to be disclosed if a memory care unit in Wake Forest calls itself a 'Special Care Unit'?
- How do I find inspection reports and violation history for a nursing home in Durham?
- Is the same state agency in charge of licensing both nursing homes and assisted living communities in Raleigh?
- Where do I file a complaint about care quality at an adult care home in Apex?
