Norwood Healthcare
On Medicare Special Focus status, a serious quality warning. Visit in person and ask tough questions before deciding.
based on 23 Google reviews

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Quality Concerns Identified
Medicare inspection and quality data reveal areas that families should carefully evaluate before choosing this facility.
- Special Focus Facility (under heightened CMS scrutiny)
- Low overall rating (1/5 stars)
- Low staffing rating (2/5 stars)
- Above-median deficiencies (18 vs median 7.0)
- High RN turnover (54%)
Bottom 25% in MA · Below recommended RN staffing · Low staff turnover (stable workforce) · Worst in NEXT STEP HEALTHCARE chain · $166,977 in fines · Special Focus Facility (CMS)
What this means for your family
While the activity department receives some praise, the consistent reports of neglect, poor hygiene, and communication failures are deeply concerning. We strongly advise families to look elsewhere, or if you must consider this facility, conduct an unannounced visit and speak directly with current residents' families about their daily care experience.
Google Reviews
Google Reviews
23 reviews on Google“Norwood Healthcare faces severe and recurring criticism regarding neglect, poor communication, and inadequate staffing levels. While a few reviewers noted improvements in the activities department, the overwhelming majority of feedback describes a facility struggling with basic hygiene, patient safety, and professional responsiveness.”
Quality Themes
Tap a score for detailsStrengths
- Engaging activities department
- Compassionate activity directors
- Effective physical and occupational therapy
Concerns
- Chronic understaffing and high turnover of agency staff (mentioned by 5 reviewers)
- Poor communication and unresponsive phone lines (mentioned by 3 reviewers)
- Neglect regarding basic patient hygiene and nutrition (mentioned by 4 reviewers)
- Hostile or unprofessional staff behavior (mentioned by 4 reviewers)
Rating Trends
Tap a year to see what changed
Distribution · 25 analyzed
How They Respond to Reviews
Questions for Your Tour
- 1Given the recent feedback regarding staffing consistency, how do you ensure that residents receive reliable, personalized care when using agency or temporary staff members?
- 2I noticed the facility has a very active and well-regarded activities department; could you walk me through a typical daily schedule and how you encourage residents to participate in these programs?
- 3Communication is very important to our family; what is the official protocol for updating us on changes in care, and who is our primary point of contact if we have urgent questions?
- 4Regarding the recent state health inspections, what specific steps has the facility taken to improve hygiene protocols and ensure that nutritional needs are consistently met for every resident?
- 5How do you foster a supportive and professional environment for your staff to ensure that every resident feels treated with dignity and kindness at all times?
- 6In the event of a medical emergency, what is your internal process for stabilizing a resident and how quickly can we expect to be notified by your clinical team?
Personalized based on this facility's data
Key Review Excerpts
“I am very please to say I am impressed with the activities department and staff my sister was there for while and she never got out of bed until the activity director started showing interest to the residents I think she is new there.”
“I found them to be very caring and concerned about the patients. Additionally I found the occupational staff and physical therapy department quite good. Nursing care is kind of hitor miss.”
“It seemed to me, that if he didn’t have a visitor, he did not get fed or hydrated. He had not been there that long, and IMHO, that was what led to his death.”
Staffing
Staffing Hours
per resident/day · Medicare 2026Total nursing hours are below minimum, though RN coverage is adequate. This may mean fewer aides for daily tasks like bathing and mobility.
Quality Measures
Quality Measures
Resident outcomes compared with national, state, and local averages · 17 measures
8
measures
9
measures
Residents on antipsychotic medication
Residents whose walking got worse
Residents needing more daily help over time
Residents vaccinated for pneumonia
Residents with depression symptoms
Highly dependent on how each facility screens and codes depressive symptoms, so it varies widely between facilities.
Residents whose bladder or bowel control got worse
Short-stay residents vaccinated for pneumonia
Short-stay residents vaccinated for the flu
Short-stay residents newly given antipsychotics
US average from Medicare published data
Inspection History
Medicare Inspection History
3-year lookback · Medicare 2026
Norwood Healthcare has significant ongoing issues, with families filing at least 9 complaint reports leading to federal violations. The facility shows persistent problems across multiple surveys in accident prevention and safety, care planning, and medication management. While the facility claims to have correction dates for deficiencies, the pattern of repeated violations in core care areas—including accident hazards appearing in both complaint and routine inspections—suggests systemic challenges that families should carefully consider when evaluating this facility.
Feb 9, 2026Routine19
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies
Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Administration Deficiencies
Have a plan that describes the process for conducting QAPI and QAA activities.
Administration Deficiencies
Set up an ongoing quality assessment and assurance group to review quality deficiencies and develop corrective plans of action.
Administration Deficiencies
Have the Quality Assessment and Assurance group have the required members and meet at least quarterly
Administration Deficiencies
Conduct mandatory training, for all staff, on the facility’s Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement Program.
Emergency Preparedness Deficiencies
List the names and contact information of those in the facility.
Emergency Preparedness Deficiencies
Conduct testing and exercise requirements.
Resident Rights Deficiencies
Honor the resident's right to organize and participate in resident/family groups in the facility.
Resident Rights Deficiencies
Honor the resident's right to voice grievances without discrimination or reprisal and the facility must establish a grievance policy and make prompt efforts to resolve grievances.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies
Ensure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies
Assist a resident in gaining access to vision and hearing services.
Infection Control Deficiencies
Implement a program that monitors antibiotic use.
Resident Rights Deficiencies
Allow resident to participate in the development and implementation of his or her person-centered plan of care.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Deficiencies
Prevent the use of unnecessary psychotropic medications or use medications that may restrain a resident's ability to function.
Pharmacy Service Deficiencies
Ensure a licensed pharmacist perform a monthly drug regimen review, including the medical chart, following irregularity reporting guidelines in developed policies and procedures.
Nutrition and Dietary Deficiencies
Procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory and store, prepare, distribute and serve food in accordance with professional standards.
Resident Rights Deficiencies
Provide the required documentation or notification related to the resident's needs, appeal rights, or bed-hold policies.
Nutrition and Dietary Deficiencies
Ensure each resident receives and the facility provides food prepared in a form designed to meet individual needs.
Nov 17, 2025Complaint1
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies
Ensure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality.
Feb 11, 2025Complaint4
Resident Rights Deficiencies
Honor the resident's right to share a room with spouse or roommate of choice and receive written notice before a change is made.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Deficiencies
Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Deficiencies
Respond appropriately to all alleged violations.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies
Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured.
Oct 30, 2024Routine19
Administration Deficiencies
Hire a qualified full-time social worker in a facility with more than 120 beds.
Resident Rights Deficiencies
Give the resident's representative the ability to exercise the resident's rights.
Resident Rights Deficiencies
Honor the resident's right to a safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment, including but not limited to receiving treatment and supports for daily living safely.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies
Provide safe and appropriate respiratory care for a resident when needed.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies
Provide care or services that was trauma informed and/or culturally competent.
Pharmacy Service Deficiencies
Ensure drugs and biologicals used in the facility are labeled in accordance with currently accepted professional principles; and all drugs and biologicals must be stored in locked compartments, separately locked, compartments for controlled drugs.
Nutrition and Dietary Deficiencies
Procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory and store, prepare, distribute and serve food in accordance with professional standards.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies
Safeguard resident-identifiable information and/or maintain medical records on each resident that are in accordance with accepted professional standards.
Infection Control Deficiencies
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
Resident Rights Deficiencies
Immediately tell the resident, the resident's doctor, and a family member of situations (injury/decline/room, etc.) that affect the resident.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies
Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies
Ensure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies
Provide appropriate treatment and care according to orders, resident’s preferences and goals.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies
Provide appropriate care for residents who are continent or incontinent of bowel/bladder, appropriate catheter care, and appropriate care to prevent urinary tract infections.
Emergency Preparedness Deficiencies
Conduct testing and exercise requirements.
Emergency Preparedness Deficiencies
Implement emergency and standby power systems.
Resident Rights Deficiencies
Provide timely notification to the resident, and if applicable to the resident representative and ombudsman, before transfer or discharge, including appeal rights.
Resident Rights Deficiencies
Notify the resident or the resident’s representative in writing how long the nursing home will hold the resident’s bed in cases of transfer to a hospital or therapeutic leave.
May 9, 2024Complaint2
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies
Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured.
Oct 11, 2023Complaint2
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies
Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Federal Penalties
Fine
Feb 9, 2026
$12,740
Fine
Feb 9, 2026
$23,585
Fine
Oct 30, 2024
$56,789
Fine
May 9, 2024
$16,071
Fine
Oct 11, 2023
$13,793
Fine
Jul 21, 2023
$80,324
Ownership & Operations
Who Operates This Facility
Norwood Healthcare
for profit
Chain Affiliation
Next Step Healthcare
14 facilities nationwide
Chain avg rating: 1.9/5 · Rank 8 of 14 (Worst)
Ownership & Management
Key personnel
Contact
Get in Touch
Contact this facility directly and verify the details that matter most to your family.
References & Resources
Medicare Care Compare
Official Medicare quality ratings, inspections & staffing data
Google Maps
Photos, directions & neighborhood info
Google Reviews
23 reviews from families & visitors
Medicare data downloads
Original nursing home datasets
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Safer Alternatives Nearby
Based on current clinical data, we identified 6 nearby facilities within 10 miles that may offer a stronger care environment. We encourage families to compare options carefully.
Brush Hill Care Center
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Newbridge on the Charles Skilled Nursing Facility
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Skilled Nursing Facility at North Hill (the)
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Care Village at Mattapan
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Recuperative Services Unit-Hebrew Rehab Center
7.6 miNursing Home · Boston, MA
Armenian Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
7.6 miNursing Home · Boston, MA