Dayton Senior AdvisorWho licenses and inspects nursing homes in Dayton?
The Ohio Department of Health licenses nursing homes under Revised Code Chapter 3721 and Administrative Code Chapter 3701-17, and, for homes certified for Medicare and Medicaid, its surveyors also inspect on behalf of CMS against the federal requirements.
ODH lists 80 licensed nursing homes in the six counties with 7,799 beds, and CMS rates 79 of them, 30 at four or five stars overall (Care Compare data as of October 1, 2026). Because one survey team does both jobs, the inspection results on CMS Care Compare are Ohio's results too. A nursing home that is licensed but not certified cannot bill Medicare or Medicaid, which matters to almost every family, so certification is the first thing to confirm.
How do CMS star ratings work?
CMS gives each certified nursing home one to five stars for health inspections, staffing and quality measures, and combines them into an overall rating; the inspection stars compare homes with others in the same state.
That last point means an Ohio four-star inspection rating is measured against Ohio homes, not the nation. Staffing stars come from payroll data homes submit, and quality measures from resident assessments and Medicare claims. Our nursing home pages show all four ratings, the latest inspection date and deficiency count, staffing hours and turnover, each set against the six-county median.
What is the Special Focus Facility program?
It is CMS's program for nursing homes with a persistent record of serious problems; homes on the list are inspected about twice as often and must improve or risk losing certification.
CMS also publishes a list of candidates for the program. A home on either list deserves very careful questions, though some have improved under new management. Our Dayton nursing homes page says whether any home in the six counties currently appears in CMS's data with a Special Focus status.
Which nursing home figures matter most for a long stay?
For a long stay, staffing hours per resident, registered nurse hours, staff turnover and the health inspection history usually tell you more than the overall star rating, which can be lifted by short-stay quality measures.
For a short rehab stay after a hospital discharge, look at the short-stay quality measures, the rate of residents sent back to the hospital and whether therapy is available seven days a week. In both cases visit in the evening or on a weekend, when staffing is thinnest.
How do nursing homes in Ohio get paid?
Medicare pays for a short skilled nursing stay after a qualifying inpatient hospital stay of at least three days, Ohio Medicaid pays for long-term care once the resident qualifies, and private funds or long-term care insurance cover everything else.
CareScout's 2025 Ohio median for a semi-private room is about $9,186 a month. Ask every home whether it accepts Medicaid for long stays, whether a resident who starts as private pay may stay in the same room after converting, and how many Medicaid beds it has. Our Medicaid guide covers Ohio's 2026 eligibility figures.
Side by side
| Nursing home oversight in Ohio includes | Nursing home oversight in Ohio does not include | |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing | An ODH license under OAC 3701-17 | Local licensing by the city or county |
| Inspections | ODH surveys for the state and for CMS | Advance notice to the home |
| Ratings | CMS stars for inspections, staffing and quality | A state-issued star rating |
| Payment | Medicare short stays, Ohio Medicaid long stays | Medicare paying for long-term custodial care |
Drawn from Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3721, Ohio Administrative Code Chapters 3701-16 and 5160:1-6, ODH and Ohio Department of Aging publications, Ohio Medicaid letters, CareScout, CMS and the VA; our editorial standards explain how we check them.
