Baton Rouge-Area Nursing Homes by CMS Rating: How to Read the Numbers

How are Baton Rouge-area nursing homes rated?

CMS's Care Compare gives each Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home an overall rating from one to five stars, built from health inspection results, staffing and quality measures. In the ten Baton Rouge-area parishes, LDH licenses 40 nursing homes and CMS rates 39 of them (data dated October 1, 2026).

One-star ratings are more common here than many families expect. Ratings are relative to other Louisiana homes, so a one-star home is in the bottom group within the state, and the reasons behind it matter.

Which homes carry four or five stars?

These homes held four or five stars overall in the current CMS release:

A high rating is a reason to visit, not a guarantee. Ratings can change with a single inspection, and a home that suits short-term rehab may not suit a long stay.

What should we read beyond the stars?

Open the health inspection rating and the latest deficiency count first; the regional median in the latest cycle is 4 deficiencies. Then look at reported nurse staffing hours per resident per day (regional median 3.64) and nursing staff turnover (median 51.4%). A home with average stars but low turnover and steady staffing may be a better long-term choice than one with a high rating driven by quality measures alone.

Check the fines and payment denials in CMS's three-year window, and whether CMS flags the home with its abuse icon or as a Special Focus Facility.

How do location and storms factor in?

Most of the region's nursing homes are in Baton Rouge itself, with others in Zachary, Baker, Denham Springs, Gonzales, Donaldsonville, Port Allen, Plaquemine, New Roads, Jackson, Slaughter, St. Francisville, Napoleonville and Greensburg. In a rural parish there may be only one or two choices, so distance from family can outweigh a star. Ask every home where residents went during its last evacuation or extended outage and what its generator powers.

How do we pay?

Medicare covers up to 100 days of skilled care after a qualifying hospital stay. Long stays are paid privately, by long-term care insurance or by Louisiana Medicaid once the resident qualifies, with a $45 monthly Personal Care Needs Allowance for personal items. CareScout's 2025 Louisiana medians are $91,250 a year for a semi-private room and $96,908 for a private room.

What does a nursing home visit add to the data?

CMS data tells you what inspectors found and what payroll records show. A visit tells you what it feels like at four in the afternoon. Watch whether call lights are answered, whether residents are dressed and up, how staff talk to residents, and whether the building smells clean. Ask to see the latest statement of deficiencies, which certified homes must make available, and ask how the home responded to it. Visit again at a different time, ideally a weekend, when staffing is lower.

Talk to the regional long-term care ombudsman at (800) 833-9883; ombudsmen visit homes regularly and can describe what residents tell them.

How should short-term rehab patients use the ratings?

For a short stay after a hospital admission, CMS's short-stay quality measures, the therapy schedule and the home's track record of discharging patients home matter most. For a long stay, the health inspection history, staffing, turnover and resident council matter more. Many homes do both on separate halls, so ask which hall your parent would be on and who leads it.