Care-facility inspections
How nursing homes and care facilities in Massachusetts are inspected, licensed, and held to account.
10 laws · 7 enforcement actions · 6 guides · 5 court decisions
See the details
The laws 10
- M.G.L. c. 111, § 71 — Licensing of long-term care facilities; defines "long-term care facility," "convalescent or nursing home," "charitable home for the aged," "intermediate care facility for persons with an intellectual disability," "lice… malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 111, § 72 — Classification of long-term care facilities; directs the department (DPH) to classify long-term care facilities and, after public hearing, promulgate rules and regulations covering medical/nursing care, records, patien… malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 111, § 72E — Inspection of long-term care facilities; notice of violations; plan of correction; penalties; enforcement. malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 111, § 72G — Reports of abuse of patients; mandatory reporting by physicians, nurses, aides, administrators and other caregivers of suspected abuse, mistreatment, neglect or property misappropriation of a long-term care facility p… malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 111, § 73 — Penalties for operating a long-term care facility without a license (fines up to $2,000 / up to 2 years imprisonment for repeat offenses) and for violating rules/regulations promulgated under §§ 71, 72 and 72C (per-day… malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 19D, § 1 — Definitions applicable to the Assisted Living Residences chapter; defines "assisted living residence," "applicant," "personal services," and "department" as the Executive Office of Aging & Independence (formerly Elder A… malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 19D, § 3 — Certification of assisted living residences; exemptions. No person may advertise, operate or maintain an ALR without certification, with express carve-outs for licensed nursing/rest homes, hospices, continuing-care faci… malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 19D, § 6 — Denial, suspension or revocation of certification. The department (EOEA/AGE) may deny recertification, modify/suspend/revoke certification, or fine an ALR sponsor up to $500/day for noncompliance, with c. malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 19D, § 8 — Operating without certification; penalty. Civil penalty up to $500/day (assessed by Superior Court) for operating an uncertified ALR, injunctive relief available to the department, and a c. malegislature.gov
- M.G.L. c. 29, § 2GGG — Establishes the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Civil Monetary Penalties Fund: DPH/EOHHS must deposit CMP monies collected from nursing homes (Medicaid-only and dually-participating skilled nursing facilities) into a de… malegislature.gov
Know your rights 6
- "Choosing a Nursing Home" — DPH/Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification consumer guide walking through gathering information, visit questions, and using the Survey Performance Tool and Ombudsman before selecting a facil… mass.gov
- "Nursing Home Provider Information" — DPH's provider-facing hub for licensed nursing homes: electronic plans of correction (ePOC), administrator/DON change reporting, the Long-Term Care Facilities Listserv, MDS, MOLST/Comfort Care verificat… mass.gov
- "Operate an Assisted Living Residence" — EOEA/AGE's provider hub for ALR operators: certification application, incident reporting, operational fees, ownership/unit-count changes, compliance-review guidance, closure requirements, and staff t… mass.gov
- "Health care facility licensure regulations" — DPH's own index of every 105 CMR licensure regulation by facility type (adult day health, clinics, hospices, hospitals, nursing/rest homes, dialysis units) each paired with its enabling M.G.L. mass.gov
- "Nursing home survey performance tool" (guide) — DPH's consumer-facing explainer of what the Survey Performance Tool measures (Overview / About the Surveys / About the Survey Performance Tool / Choosing a Nursing Home) and how to read it al… mass.gov
- "Massachusetts Civil Monetary Penalties Fund Use Plan" — DPH's explanation of how CMS-released nursing-home CMP funds (collected under 42 U.S.C. § 1396r / c. mass.gov
Enforcement actions 3
- Massachusetts Nursing Home Survey Performance Tool — DPH/Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality's own (non-federal) searchable per-facility survey/enforcement disclosure system: for every licensed nursing home it publishes standard-survey… eohhs.ehs.state.ma.us
- Named-facility state enforcement record: Blaire House LTCF of Worcester, 116 Houghton Street, Worcester, MA 01604 — DPH's Denial of Payments (for new admissions) enforcement action imposed 3/11/2022 and lifted 4/3/2023 [facility's most rece… eohhs.ehs.state.ma.us
- Named-facility state enforcement record: Odd Fellows Home of Mass, Inc., 104 Randolph Road, Worcester, MA 01606 — DPH's Denial of Payments (for new admissions) enforcement action imposed and lifted 1/18/2024 [most recent standard survey fou… eohhs.ehs.state.ma.us
Orders & settlements 4
- 105 CMR 150.00: Standards for long-term care facilities — DPH's substantive licensing standards for nursing/rest/charitable homes for the aged and ICFs-IID, promulgated under M.G.L. c. 111 §§ 3, 71 and 72 mass.gov
- 105 CMR 153.00: Licensure procedure and suitability requirements for long-term care facilities — applies to applicants for licensure of any facility licensed under M.G.L. c. mass.gov
- 105 CMR 155.00: Patient and resident abuse prevention, reporting, investigation, penalties and registry — implements the c. 111 §§ 72F-72L mandatory-abuse-reporting scheme and the DPH nurse aide/caregiver abuse registry mass.gov
- 651 CMR 12.00: Certification procedures and standards for assisted living residences — the Executive Office of Aging & Independence's (EOEA/AGE) ALR certification, renewal and suitability regulation under M.G.L. c. 19A § 6 and c. 19D; mass.gov
Court decisions 5
- Cliff House Nursing Home, Inc. v. Department of Public Health, 18 Mass. App. Ct. 112, 463 N.E.2d 578 (1984) — Massachusetts Appeals Court review of DPH's licensing/rate-related enforcement action against a named nursing home courtlistener.com
- Miller v. Cotter, 448 Mass. 671 (2007) — Supreme Judicial Court decision on the validity of a nursing-home arbitration agreement signed on a resident's behalf at admission to Birchwood Care Center in Fitchburg, foundational MA resident-care… courtlistener.com
- Johnson v. Kindred Healthcare, Inc., 466 Mass. 779 (2014) — SJC decision holding that a health care agent's arbitration agreement with a nursing facility is not a "health care decision" binding the principal under G.L. c. courtlistener.com
- Licata v. GGNSC Malden Dexter LLC, 466 Mass. 793 (2014) — companion SJC decision (same day as Johnson) holding a son lacked authority to bind his deceased mother's estate to a nursing-home arbitration agreement he signed on her behalf at ad… courtlistener.com
- GGNSC Administrative Services, LLC v. Schrader, SJC-12714 (Mass. Feb. 27, 2020) — more recent SJC nursing-home arbitration-agreement/health-care-proxy-authority decision in the same line as Johnson and Licata courtlistener.com
Official notices 6
- DPH Circular Letter #17-2-699 (2/1/2017), "Revised Informed Consent for Use of Psychotropic Medications in LTCFs" — Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality / Bureau of Health Professions Licensure provider bulletin to Long-Term Care Facili… mass.gov
- DPH Circular Letter DHCQ #17-1-668 (1/24/2017), "Implementation of the STEP Law: Voluntary Non-Opioid Directive Form" — provider bulletin to acute-care hospitals, Long-Term Care Facility Administrators, controlled-substance registrants and… mass.gov
- Notice of Intent to Close: Arnold House Nursing Home (490 William Street, Stoneham, MA), filed with DPH's Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification May 25, 2023, effective closure on or about September 22, 2023, per the v… mass.gov
- DPH Approval of Highview of Northampton Closure Plan (letter dated November 20, 2024) — Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Certification's formal approval letter to the named nursing facility's chief compliance officer mass.gov
- Press release (7/10/2026), "Healey-Driscoll Administration Finalizes Assisted Living Safety Reforms Ahead of Anniversary of Gabriel House Fire" — EOHHS/EOEA(AGE) announcement finalizing the 651 CMR 12.00 amendments (fire safety, emergency p… mass.gov
- Press release (1/12/2026), "Governor Healey Announces Immediate Safety Reforms Following Release of the Assisted Living Residence Commission's Final Report" — announces the ALR Commission's final report (established by the 2024 Act to Impro… mass.gov