By Tucson Senior Advisor Care Team · October 13, 2026
CMS rates 24 of Pima County's 24 certified nursing homes; 10 have four or five stars and 7 have one or two. Use the overall rating to build a list, then weigh health inspections and staffing hours, which CMS also publishes.
How are Pima County nursing homes rated right now?
In the CMS Provider Data Catalog release processed October 1, 2026, Pima County has 24 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes with 3,042 certified beds. Their overall ratings break down as follows.
| CMS overall rating | Pima County nursing homes |
|---|---|
| 5 stars | 4 |
| 4 stars | 6 |
| 3 stars | 7 |
| 2 stars | 6 |
| 1 stars | 1 |
| Not rated | 0 |
The average among rated homes is 3.2 stars. Because CMS grades health inspections relative to other homes in the same state, a three-star Arizona nursing home sits near the Arizona middle, not the national one.
Which homes are largest?
Size matters for rehab capacity and for how easy it is to get a bed after a hospital stay. The five largest by certified beds are listed below with their CMS overall rating.
| Nursing home | City | Certified beds | CMS overall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devon Gables Rehabilitation Center | Tucson | 312 | 2 of 5 |
| Sandstone Of Tucson Rehab Centre | Tucson | 240 | 2 of 5 |
| Casas Adobes Post Acute Rehab Center | Tucson | 230 | 3 of 5 |
| Park Avenue Health And Rehabilitation Center | Tucson | 200 | 4 of 5 |
| Life Care Center Of Tucson | Tucson | 162 | 3 of 5 |
Large is not better or worse by itself. A big home may have more therapists and more varied units; a smaller home may feel calmer for long-term residents.
What does staffing data add?
CMS publishes reported nurse staffing hours per resident per day. Across the 23 Pima County homes that report it, the median is 3.97 hours, ranging from 2.57 to 6.66. More hours generally means more hands at the bedside, especially for long-term residents who need help with every meal and every transfer.
CMS also reports staff turnover and how many administrators have left. High turnover is one of the clearest warning signs in the data, because it usually shows up in care consistency before it shows up in inspections.
How should a Tucson family use the ratings?
Start with the overall rating to narrow the list, then open each home's health inspection rating and its most recent survey's deficiency count. For a short rehab stay, the short-stay quality rating is the most relevant. For long-term care, health inspections and staffing deserve the most weight.
Then visit. Ratings are a summary of the past year or more; a visit tells you who is working this month.
What do the ratings not tell you?
They do not tell you how responsive the therapy team is on weekends, whether the home will accept a particular insurance plan, or whether there is a bed today. They also do not apply to assisted living at all: Arizona and CMS publish no rating for assisted living centers or homes.
For those questions, call the admissions office and ask directly, and for assisted living use the inspection record on AZ Care Check.
How do the ratings fit a Tucson hospital discharge?
Hospital case managers usually hand families a list of nursing homes with open rehab beds and ask for a choice within a day. Having already looked at the CMS ratings for the homes near you turns that rushed moment into a quick comparison instead of a guess.
Ask the case manager which homes on the list are in your parent's Medicare Advantage network, if they have one, and which have accepted patients with similar needs recently. Then pick the highest-rated home that meets both tests, and ask the home's admissions office about weekend therapy.
CMS star rating: what it is and is not
| It is | It is not | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | CMS, from inspections, staffing and quality data | resident reviews |
| Scale | relative to other homes in Arizona | a national ranking |
| Scope | nursing homes only | a rating for assisted living |
Frequently asked questions
Who publishes nursing home star ratings?
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services publishes the Five-Star ratings on Medicare Care Compare and in its Provider Data Catalog. Our directory reproduces them exactly, labelled as CMS ratings, and never adds a rating of its own.
Why do some nursing homes have no rating?
CMS withholds a rating when a home is too new to have enough inspection history or when data are missing. An unrated home is not necessarily a poor home; look at its inspection reports on Care Compare.
Does ALTCS cover nursing homes with any rating?
ALTCS pays for nursing home care for eligible members in facilities that contract with the member's ALTCS health plan. The star rating does not determine coverage, so check the plan's network before choosing.
How often do ratings change?
CMS updates the data monthly and ratings can move after a new inspection or a staffing report. Check the current rating on Care Compare just before you choose a home.
Are Tucson nursing home ratings better or worse than the state?
CMS grades health inspections relative to other homes in the same state, so county averages hover near the Arizona middle by design. Compare individual homes rather than reading much into the county average.
Where can I read a nursing home's inspection reports?
Medicare Care Compare publishes each certified nursing home's inspection reports and deficiency details. Our nursing home pages link to the Care Compare record for every Pima County home.
