As most people know, the Center for Medicare has a website that allows families to compare nursing homes in their region. This site also includes comparisons of nursing homes who participate in medicare, details on nursing home inspections, staffing and other quality measures.
Here is a brief summary of what other information may be available regarding facilities in DC, MD and VA:District of Columbia
For nursing homes in the District of Columbia, the D.C. government does not provide nursing home report cards on-line. You can access the information by using the Medicare Nursing Home Compare tool. You can also obtain some information on the District of Columbia on line nursing home directory. For additional questions or concerns about D.C. nursing homes, you can call the District’s long-term care ombudsman at 202-434-2140.
Maryland
The Maryland Health Care Commission has a Nursing Home Performance Guide that is a pretty comprehensive resource with facility specific information such as number of beds, resident characteristics and details of deficiencies, if any, found during recent state inspections. You have also call the Maryland long-term care ombudsman office at (410) 767-1091.
Virginia
Virginia does not provide its nursing home report cards on line. However, you can use the Medicare Nursing Home Compare Tool. The Virginia Department of Health’s Long Term Care Directory provides a list of licensed nursing homes with contact information. Virginia Health Information (VHI) also offers two nursing home directories. One includes rate information; the other includes bed counts and other financial data. VHI also has a comprehensive long -term care guide. You can also call the Virginia long-term care ombudsman at (804) 565-1600 and they can also provide numbers for local ombudsmen.