How to check a community's record yourself
Use the Indiana Long Term Care Survey & Inspection Public Search (hoosierusa.isdh.in.gov), run by the Indiana Department of Health, to pull a facility's license status and inspection history free. Nursing homes (Comprehensive Care Facilities) also carry a federal CMS Care Compare star rating; assisted living (Residential Care Facilities) does not.
To file a facility complaint, use IDOH's online complaint form (linked from in.gov/health/ltc/contact/complaints/) or call 1-800-246-8909 — IDOH notes this line goes to voicemail and recommends the online form as the more reliable channel.
Pulling the record is the easy part. Read deficiency narratives, not just the
citation count. Watch for the same finding repeating across consecutive surveys — that is a pattern,
not a one-time lapse. And remember the ratings gap: a five-star Google rating measures customer service,
not the regulatory record.
What to actually look at once you are in there
Pulling the record is easy. Reading it usefully is the part nobody explains.
- Match the license type to your parent's needs, not just to today. Ask directly about admission and retention criteria.
- Check the licensee name against the operator. Ownership turns over regularly, and buildings are often marketed under a brand that differs from the license holder.
- Read deficiency narratives, do not count citations. A missing signature and an injured resident can appear in the same document, formatted identically.
- Look for repetition across surveys. One citation is an incident. The same finding across consecutive surveys is a pattern.
