Understanding Nursing Home Inspections

The California Department of Health Services (DHS) is the regulatory oversight agency for California's nursing homes.

On a routine basis, DHS performs licensing inspections of facilities. When a facility is participating in either the Medicare or the Medi-Cal program, DHS also inspects the facility for the purpose of certification within those programs. Most facilities are inspected every 12-15 months.

 

Facilities can also be inspected for other reasons; for example, in response to a consumer complaint.

During an inspection visit, a regulatory violation observed by a DHS evaluator may be written up as a deficiency. If a deficiency, or set of deficiencies, is very serious or goes unresolved, DHS may choose to apply one of several enforcement actions, such as a state fine ("Citation").

For most deficiencies, the facility is required to respond with a Plan of Correction.

A copy of the most recent statement of deficiencies and the facility’s Plan of Correction is required to be conspicuously posted in a prominent location accessible to the public. Copies of the survey results, i.e., statement of deficiencies and plans of correction, and of all citations are available at the District Office of Licensing and Certification responsible for oversight of that facility.

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