Baton Rouge Health Care Center is a Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home with 145 certified beds at 5550 Thomas Road, Baton Rouge (East Baton Rouge Parish), licensed by the Louisiana Department of Health as nursing home #963. Baton Rouge Health Care Center holds a CMS overall rating of 5 of 5 stars in CMS Care Compare data dated October 1, 2026.
How many stars does Baton Rouge Health Care Center have from CMS?
Baton Rouge Health Care Center holds a CMS overall rating of 5 of 5 stars, with 4 for health inspections, 3 for staffing and 5 for quality measures on CMS's five-star scale.
| CMS / LDH measure | Value |
|---|---|
| CMS overall | 5 of 5 |
| CMS health inspections | 4 of 5 |
| CMS staffing | 3 of 5 |
| CMS quality measures | 5 of 5 |
| Certified beds / residents on an average day | 145 / 89.2 |
| Ownership (CMS) | Non profit - Corporation |
| Chain (CMS) | Commcare Corporation, 19 facilities |
| Medicare/Medicaid certification since | May 1, 1996 |
| LDH license | #963, Licensed through 06/30/2027 |
| Original Louisiana licensure | June 8, 1981 |
| Administrator of record | Casey Kennedy |
About 89 residents live here on a typical day, filling roughly 62% of certified beds, lower than the 81% midpoint for Baton Rouge-area nursing homes.
What have state inspectors found at Baton Rouge Health Care Center?
LDH surveyors, working for CMS, last completed Baton Rouge Health Care Center's standard health survey on October 1, 2025, and the cycle shows 3 health deficiencies: 3 standard and 0 complaint-driven.
Going back one cycle, the October 2, 2024 survey found 8 deficiencies, with 0 infection-control citations on top. Measured against the 4-deficiency regional median, Baton Rouge Health Care Center's latest count is at or below the middle.
In CMS's three-year penalty window it shows 1 fine totaling $21,863 and 0 payment denials.
How do staffing hours at Baton Rouge Health Care Center compare locally?
Baton Rouge Health Care Center reports 4.31 total nurse hours per resident day to CMS, higher than the Baton Rouge-area median of 3.64, and 0.27 RN hours, higher than the Baton Rouge-area median of 0.22.
On weekends the total falls to 3.45 hours per resident per day. Nursing staff turnover is 41.7% (lower than the Baton Rouge-area median of 51.4%), with registered-nurse turnover at 66.7%. CMS counts 0 administrator departures in its measurement period.
What certified nursing homes are closest to Baton Rouge Health Care Center?
At 145 certified beds it is bigger than the East Baton Rouge Parish median of 134. The nearest other certified home is River Oaks Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Baker, about 2.6 miles away as the crow flies, which CMS rates 3 of 5.
| Facility | Miles away | Licensed capacity | CMS overall rating | Last CMS health inspection | Deficiencies cited |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| River Oaks Nursing & Rehabilitation Center 3612 Baker Blvd., 70714 | 2.6 | 132 | 3 of 5 | July 8, 2026 | 5 |
| Central Guest House Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center 10748 Joor Road, 70818 | 5.7 | 170 | 3 of 5 | March 25, 2026 | 6 |
| Lodge at Lane (The) 6170 Carpenter Road, 70791 | 6.1 | 39 | 5 of 5 | March 31, 2026 | 0 |
| Zachary Manor Nursing & Rehab. Center 6161 Main Street, 70791 | 6.3 | 110 | 3 of 5 | February 11, 2026 | 10 |
| St. Clare Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation 7435 Bishop Ott Drive, 70806 | 7.3 | 184 | 2 of 5 | May 6, 2026 | 4 |
What else is near Baton Rouge Health Care Center in Baton Rouge?
Baton Rouge Health Care Center is in the North Baton Rouge, Sherwood & Greenwell Springs Road part of Baton Rouge, and Lane Regional Medical Center is the closest acute-care hospital on LDH's roster, about 6.3 miles away by straight line.
Second closest is Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, about 10.7 miles off; distances come from ZIP or CMS coordinates rather than road routes.
East Baton Rouge Parish is inland, so its storm risk is rain flooding along the Amite and Comite rivers and long power outages rather than surge; the August 2016 flood reached neighborhoods from Central to Southeast Baton Rouge. Federal certification rules require an emergency plan with evacuation and shelter-in-place procedures and backup power arrangements, so ask where residents would go and what the generator keeps running.
What should families ask Baton Rouge Health Care Center on a visit?
Let the public record set the agenda: ask for the full statement of deficiencies behind the 3 deficiencies recorded on October 1, 2025, even if the count is low.
- With turnover at 41.7%, at or under the regional median, ask which charge nurses have been on the night shift longest.
- Ask what led to $21,863 in CMS fines and how the problem was fixed.
- With occupancy near 62%, ask which halls have open beds and why.
- CMS lists a resident council; ask when it meets and how families take part.
- If Louisiana Medicaid will pay later, confirm Baton Rouge Health Care Center keeps Medicaid long-stay beds and how residents receive the $45 monthly Personal Care Needs Allowance.
