The main purpose of a nursing home is to provide around-the-clock care for the residents who need support. That support involves the following:
- Medication management
- Wound care
- Health monitoring
- Bathing and grooming
- Dressing and clothing
- Toileting and incontinence care
- Eating and dining
- Mobility support
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
- Housekeeping and laundry
- Social activities
- Social services
All of that support must adhere to state and federal regulations. When a nursing home fails to uphold those standards, it receives a poor CMS rating and is fined. The fines are meant as a deterrent, while the ratings can help inform the public about the facility’s quality.
A low CMS rating can also indicate potential neglect of residents. If you have a loved one living in a facility that suddenly fails inspection, you need to speak with a Lexington nursing home abuse lawyer.
Your attorney can step up as your family’s advocate to help ensure your loved one’s safety.
Understanding the CMS Five-Star Quality Rating System
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plays a critical role in regulating nursing home facilities. This is because most of these facilities accept payments from CMS. That means they must comply with the agency’s standards.
CMS gives each nursing home one overall star rating: 5 stars means much-above-average quality, and 1 star means much-below-average quality. This overall score comes from three specific categories:
- Health Inspections (60%–70% of the score): This score is based on unannounced annual state surveys and valid complaints over the past 36 months. The inspections check how well the facility follows federal safety and care rules.
- Staffing (15%–20% of the score): CMS inspections measure the number of hours nurses and aides spend with each resident per day, adjusted for patient needs. It also considers staff turnover rates.
- Quality Measures (15%–25% of the score): This refers to clinical outcomes, such as how many residents develop pressure ulcers, have falls, lose weight, or need emergency hospital care.
If a facility receives a low rating, it must make changes to improve.
What a One-star Rating Reveals About Fayette County Facilities
Fayette County has 13 licensed nursing home care facilities. Based on the most recent results, 3 of those 13 facilities have a one-star rating. Here’s what the inspections reveal about those one-star-rated facilities as of August 26, 2026.
Lexington Premier Nursing & Rehab
- 42 citations on record
- 15 from complaints
- $240,331 in federal fines
Mayfair Manor
- 27 citations on record
- 10 from complaints
- $33,602 in federal fines
Hartland Park Health & Rehabilitation
- 31 citations on record
- 5 from complaints
- $12,925 in federal fines
Red Flags to Watch for in Low-rated Nursing Homes
If you have a loved one living in a nursing home, you’re entitled to copies of the CMS inspection reports. A rating drop doesn’t automatically mean your loved one is being neglected. It does mean you need to stay more aware of the facility. This is what you need to watch out for:
Severe understaffing: Do you know what the staff-to-resident ratio is at your loved one’s facility? Understaffing can lead to missed meals and delayed call-light responses.
High staff turnover: Frequent staff turnover can indicate poor management and leaves inexperienced or temporary workers in charge.
Bedsores (pressure ulcers): Advanced wounds indicate that immobile residents are not being repositioned regularly.
Malnutrition and dehydration: Sunken eyes, cracked lips, or sudden weight loss can indicate malnutrition and dehydration.
Frequent infections: You should also check your loved one’s ongoing medical logs. If they show repeated urinary tract infections or illnesses such as colds and flus, it could point to poor hygiene and infrequent cleaning.
Unexplained injuries: Unaccounted-for bruises, broken bones, or frequent falls can signal a lack of proper supervision.
Unsanitary conditions: Beyond your loved one’s condition, you need to consider their environment. Overflowing trash, dirty common areas, or strong bleach smells used to mask underlying urine and feces odors can indicate unsanitary conditions.
Resident disengagement: Common rooms devoid of activities, or residents left sitting in wheelchairs for prolonged periods without social enrichment, can indicate ongoing neglect.
Even if your loved one’s facility has high ratings, you should still be diligent about your own inspections.
When to Contact a Lexington Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
If you notice a problem with the care your loved one is receiving at their nursing home, share your concerns with management immediately. If they don’t respond, you should take your complaint outside the facility. That is when you want to involve the Peterson Law Office.
We have stepped in as an advocate for many Kentucky families who discover their loved one’s care was compromised. We can look into the immediate matter and investigate whether there has been a history of CMS citations.
In those cases, if the nursing facility hasn’t taken corrective action, we might recommend filing a civil complaint to seek compensation for your family. Before we get there, we need to discuss all available options, starting with an action plan to ensure your loved one’s needs are met.
Call the Peterson Law Office today to arrange a free consultation. Let’s find a way to make things right.