About and methodology

KELN is an independent senior care information directory. The name carries the heritage of the Kansas Elder Law Network. KELN is not affiliated with the University of Kansas, CMS, Medicare, or any current elder law network.

Our mission

Make public nursing home information easier to find and compare in plain English, without presenting ratings as a substitute for personal visits or professional advice.

Who is behind KELN

The KELN editorial team maintains the directory and its explanatory guides. Team attribution identifies responsibility for the content, not a medical or legal credential. We do not claim clinical certification or independent facility inspections.

Data sources

Every listing comes from the public Provider Information file published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Care Compare. The current release is September 2026, covering 14,690 Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes.

CMS Care Compare nursing home provider data is the official source. Compare current information on Medicare.gov Care Compare.

Methodology

We clean names and addresses for readability and group homes by state and city. Star ratings, staffing, turnover and fines are shown as CMS reports them. An empty rating means CMS did not rate the home.

Update schedule

CMS updates Care Compare monthly. We intend to refresh KELN monthly as new files are released. Figures change over time, so always confirm with the facility and on Medicare.gov.

Ranking

"Best nursing homes" lists include homes with high CMS overall ratings, ordered by overall, then health inspection, then staffing ratings. We do not accept payment for placement and do not publish reviews.

Editorial policy

Our guides explain public data in factual, plain English. We cite official sources, distinguish CMS ratings from editorial explanation, and show a last updated date. We do not publish fabricated reviews, testimonials, named experts, or credentials. A CMS rating is not an endorsement from KELN.

Corrections policy

If a page appears incorrect, contact the editorial team with the page address, the suspected error, and any official source. We check reports against the CMS release and correct errors in our presentation. Changes to the underlying CMS record must also be raised with the facility or CMS; a correction request does not independently verify a new value.

Not advice

KELN provides general information only. It is not medical, legal, or financial advice.