Open data

Cite this data

Always name the release. A release is one CMS vintage with fixed checksums, so a reader who cites it can retrieve exactly the files you used.

Plain text

The Care Ratings (YYYY). Open Nursing Home Data, release vYYYY.MM (CMS Month YYYY vintage). Built from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services public files. https://thecareratings.com/data/releases/vYYYY.MM/

A DOI for the release archive is being registered with Zenodo. Until it is listed here, the release page URL is the persistent reference.

Citing a single figure

Name the release, the table and the column, for example: "Share of Alabama nursing homes reporting a private-equity owner, 2.1%, from state_summary.pct_private_equity_owner, The Care Ratings Open Nursing Home Data release vYYYY.MM."

Values in columns tagged cms are CMS's own figures; cite CMS as the source and the release as the copy you used. Values in columns tagged tcr are our derivations, documented column by column in the codebook shipped with the release.

A machine-readable CITATION.cff is in the repository. Every page on this site that quotes a figure from the data links to the release it came from.

For editors and journalists

The dataset is a secondary compilation of federal records, published with its method, its code and its checksums. If you are writing for an outlet with a sourcing policy, cite the CMS file for any CMS value and cite the release for any derived figure, and link the release page so readers can check both. We never edit encyclopedia articles about nursing homes ourselves, and we ask that you do not add links to this site on our behalf.