Nursing Home Database

Nursing Home Database — MCP

Public documentation for the Nursing Home Database Model Context Protocol server. It exposes US skilled nursing facility search, detail, ownership, and owner portfolio data — including CMS nurse hours, turnover, and inspection scores — to AI assistants and other MCP clients.

Website: nursinghomedatabase.com
Contact: Contact page

MCP endpoint

Transport	Streamable HTTP (JSON-RPC 2.0 over HTTPS)
URL	https://mcp.nursinghomedatabase.com/mcp
Auth	None required (public access)
Server name	nhd-mcp
Version	1.4.0

Send a standard MCP session: initialize → notifications/initialized (optional; may receive HTTP 204) → tools/list → tools/call as needed.

Tools

Tool	Purpose
search_facilities	Finds certified SNFs near an address (or by name/city/state/ownership type) so you can shortlist more than three homes using hours, turnover, and inspection scores
search_facilities_by_ownership	Same search, with CMS ownership type required (For profit / Non profit / Government, or an exact value from list_distinct_values)
summarize_facilities	National or grouped stats (n, mean, min, max; optional median) for nurse hours, turnover, ratings, beds, fines. Prefer this over paging search_facilities
get_facility	Opens one home by CMS provider number or site slug, with the same hours, turnover, inspection, beds, and penalty fields as search
compare_facilities	Same schema for up to 25 CCNs/slugs — prefer this over looping get_facility (MCP is 60 req/min)
get_facility_changes	Field-level diff of one home across two CMS monthly files. Defaults to the latest file versus the prior snapshot. Not owner names
get_facility_ownership	Lists who owns a home and in what role
search_owners	Finds nursing-home owners by name
get_owner	Opens an owner’s portfolio of certified SNFs
list_file_dates	Lists CMS monthly snapshot dates in the database so you can look at a prior month
list_distinct_values	Lists distinct CMS values and counts for a ProviderInfo field (ownership, state, sffstatus, chainname, …)
get_data_freshness	Reports when the latest CMS file was published and how many rows it contains

Exact inputSchema objects are returned in tools/list.

Historical months (filedate)

By default every lookup uses the latest CMS monthly file. To retrieve a prior month:

1. Call list_file_dates (returns current, filedates newest first, and known_gaps for unpublished months).
2. Pass one of those dates as filedate (YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM) on search_facilities, search_facilities_by_ownership, summarize_facilities, compare_facilities, get_facility, get_facility_ownership, search_owners, get_owner, or list_distinct_values. get_facility_changes does not take filedate; pass from and to.

CMS snapshots are stored as the first of the month (YYYY-MM-01). A value like 2026-07 or 2026-07-15 is normalized to 2026-07-01. Unknown dates return a validation error — call list_file_dates rather than guessing.

search_facilities

Finds certified SNFs near an address so you can shortlist more than three homes using hours, turnover, and inspection scores. You can also search by name, city, state, or ZIP.

Parameter	Type	Description
q	string	Free-text facility name
address	string	Origin address for distance search (e.g. 150 Corporate Woods Drive, Magnolia, TX 77354)
city	string	City filter
state	string	State filter
zip	string	ZIP code filter
radius_miles	number	Straight-line radius in miles; defaults to 25 when address is provided
min_overall_rating	integer	Minimum CMS overall star rating (already on REST; also on this MCP tool)
max_overall_rating	integer	Maximum CMS overall star rating (already on REST; also on this MCP tool)
abuse_icon	string	Filter by CMS abuse icon (Y / N, true / false) (already on REST; also on this MCP tool)
sffstatus	string	When set, keep homes that have a CMS Special Focus Facility (or candidate) status (already on REST; also on this MCP tool)
ownership	string	CMS ownership type (ProviderInfo.ownership). Case-insensitive. Prefixes For profit, Non profit, and Government match that kind. Call list_distinct_values with field=ownership for the 13 exact values
sort	string	Sort key (see Sort keys below)
limit	integer	Max results
offset	integer	Pagination offset
filedate	string	Optional CMS monthly snapshot from list_file_dates (defaults to the latest month)

If the supplied address cannot be resolved, the API returns an address-specific validation error.

Facility payload (search and detail)

search_facilities (each items[] row) and get_facility (facility) return the same richer object, so a shortlist does not require a detail call per home.

Identity, location, and CMS star ratings are included (provnum, web, provname, lbn, address, city, state, zip, latitude, longitude, phone, overall_rating, survey_rating, quality_rating, staffing_rating, public urls). Decision fields use CMS keys:

Key	Meaning
tothrd	Total nurse hours per resident per day (HPRD)
rnhrd	RN hours per resident per day
totalnumberofnursestaffhoursperresidentperdayontheweekend	Weekend total nurse HPRD
registerednursehoursperresidentperdayontheweekend	Weekend RN HPRD
totalnursingstaffturnover	Nursing staff turnover
registerednurseturnover	RN turnover
numberofadministratorswhohaveleftthenursinghome	Administrators who have left the nursing home
weighted_all_cycles_score	Weighted health-inspection score (all cycles)
bedcert	Certified beds
restot	Residents in certified beds
occupancy	Occupancy (residents / certified beds)
fine_tot	Total fines (dollars)
fine_cnt	Number of fines
abuse_icon	CMS abuse icon
sffstatus	Special Focus Facility status
chain_id	Chain identifier
chain_name	Chain name
ownership	CMS ownership type (e.g. For profit - Corporation)
oldsurvey	Flag (Y/N): most recent standard health inspection is more than two years old
cycle_1_survey_date	Date of the most recent standard health inspection

Distance (straight-line miles, not driving minutes)

When search_facilities is called with address:

• distance_miles is straight-line Haversine miles from that origin to the facility.
• distance is kept as an alias of the same number.

These values are not driving minutes or road miles. For driving minutes, use maps.google_dir / maps.apple_dir on the row, or pass the coordinates to a mapping tool.

Sort keys

Pass sort on search_facilities (and on GET /api/v1/nh/facilities). Default is overall_rating (stars, descending) when sort is omitted. Use sort=distance for nearest-first when searching from an address.

sort value	Alias	Order
overall_rating		Stars descending (higher better)
survey_rating		Stars descending
quality_rating		Stars descending
staffing_rating		Stars descending
distance		Miles ascending (nearest first)
tothrd	total_nurse_hours	Hours descending (higher better)
totalnursingstaffturnover	nurse_turnover	Turnover ascending (lower better)
weighted_all_cycles_score	survey_score	Inspection score ascending (lower better)

search_facilities_by_ownership

Same result schema as search_facilities, with ownership required. Use this when the question is “find government / nonprofit / for-profit homes in …”. Combine with state, city, zip, or address. Call list_distinct_values with field=ownership first for the exact CMS strings.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
ownership	string	yes	CMS ownership type (prefix or exact value)
state	string	no	Two-letter state
city	string	no	City filter
zip	string	no	ZIP filter
address	string	no	Origin address for distance search
filedate	string	no	CMS monthly snapshot from list_file_dates

summarize_facilities

Aggregate numeric CMS ProviderInfo fields across certified SNFs. Prefer this over paging search_facilities for national or grouped stats (government vs private hours, state means, etc.). Means are facility-equal (not bed-weighted). Facilities missing a metric are excluded from that metric’s n/mean/min/max only — values are not imputed. Not causal. Not a substitute for get_facility on a named home.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
metrics	array of strings	yes	1–20 keys: tothrd, rnhrd, weekend_tothrd, weekend_rnhrd, totalnursingstaffturnover, registerednurseturnover, weighted_all_cycles_score, overall_rating, survey_rating, staffing_rating, quality_rating, bedcert, restot, fine_tot, fine_cnt, occupancy. Synonyms: total_nurse_hours, nurse_turnover, rn_turnover, survey_score
group_by	string	no	ownership, ownership_kind (Government / For profit / Non profit), state, overall_rating, staffing_rating, survey_rating, quality_rating, sffstatus, abuse_icon. Omit for one national (or filter-scoped) row
ownership	string	no	Same prefix/exact filter as search_facilities
state	string	no	Two-letter state
city	string	no	Requires state
zip	string	no	ZIP filter
abuse_icon	string	no	Same as search_facilities
sffstatus	string	no	Same as search_facilities
min_overall_rating	integer	no	1–5
max_overall_rating	integer	no	1–5
include_median	boolean	no	Default false. When true, each stats object includes median
filedate	string	no	CMS monthly snapshot from list_file_dates

REST: GET /api/v1/nh/facilities/summary?metrics=tothrd,rnhrd&group_by=ownership_kind&include_median=true

Response groups[] each have group_key, group_label, facilities_in_group, and stats keyed by canonical metric (n, mean, min, max, optional median, unit). facilities_in_scope is the filter-matched count; per-metric n is the non-null count in that group. Unknown metric keys return invalid_metric with the allowed list.

0% / 100% turnover and near-zero HPRD can be reporting artifacts.

list_distinct_values

Lists distinct CMS ProviderInfo values and row counts for a field in the active monthly snapshot. Omit field to see the allowed field catalog. field=city requires state.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
field	string	no	ownership, state, sffstatus, abuse_icon, certification, chainname, overall_rating, …
state	string	no	Two-letter state (required for city)
filedate	string	no	CMS monthly snapshot from list_file_dates

compare_facilities

Same decision fields as search_facilities, for up to 25 CMS provider numbers or web slugs, on one snapshot. Ids past 25 are dropped. This is not a month-to-month diff; use get_facility_changes for that.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
ids	array of strings	yes	CMS provider numbers or web slugs. Maximum 25
filedate	string	no	CMS monthly snapshot from list_file_dates

get_facility

Opens one home by CMS provider number (provnum) or site slug. The facility object matches a search_facilities row (hours, turnover, inspection, beds, penalties, maps links).

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
id	string	yes	Provider number or web slug
filedate	string	no	CMS monthly snapshot from list_file_dates

get_facility_changes

Diff one home across two CMS monthly snapshots. Omit from and to to compare the latest file with the previous snapshot. changes is field-level: stars, nurse hours, turnover, weighted inspection score, the CMS abuse icon, Special Focus status, ownership type (for-profit / nonprofit / government, not the owner’s name), fines, beds, residents, and occupancy. A home missing from one of the two files is found.from or found.to false. That is not a closure.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
id	string	yes	CMS provider number or web slug
from	string	no	Earlier filedate (YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM). Omit to use the snapshot before to
to	string	no	Later filedate. Omit to use the latest CMS file

get_facility_ownership

Lists who owns a home and in what role.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
id	string	yes	Provider number or web slug
filedate	string	no	CMS monthly snapshot from list_file_dates

search_owners

Finds nursing-home owners by name.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
q	string	yes	Owner name search term
limit	integer	no	Max results
offset	integer	no	Pagination offset
filedate	string	no	CMS monthly snapshot from list_file_dates

get_owner

Opens an owner’s portfolio of certified SNFs by web_owner slug.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
web_owner	string	yes	Owner slug identifier
filedate	string	no	CMS monthly snapshot from list_file_dates

list_file_dates

Lists CMS monthly snapshot dates available in the database. No parameters. Returns current, filedates (newest first), and known_gaps for unpublished months.

get_data_freshness

Reports latest CMS source dataset dates and row counts. No parameters. For a prior month, call list_file_dates and pass filedate to the other tools.

MCP Registry

Listed in the official MCP Registry as com.nursinghomedatabase/mcp.

• Registry manifest: server.json
• Search: https://registry.modelcontextprotocol.io/v0.1/servers?search=com.nursinghomedatabase

REST API (same backend)

JSON discovery APIs are also available under the main site:

• GET https://www.nursinghomedatabase.com/api/v1/nh/capabilities
• GET https://www.nursinghomedatabase.com/api/v1/nh/file-dates
• GET https://www.nursinghomedatabase.com/api/v1/nh/facilities?address=150+Corporate+Woods+Drive,+Magnolia,+TX+77354
• GET https://www.nursinghomedatabase.com/api/v1/nh/facilities?address=150+Corporate+Woods+Drive,+Magnolia,+TX+77354&radius_miles=10&sort=distance
• GET https://www.nursinghomedatabase.com/api/v1/nh/facilities?state=TX&min_overall_rating=4&sort=tothrd
• GET https://www.nursinghomedatabase.com/api/v1/nh/facilities?state=TX&filedate=2026-07-01
• GET https://www.nursinghomedatabase.com/api/v1/nh/field-values?field=ownership
• GET https://www.nursinghomedatabase.com/api/v1/nh/facilities?state=TX&ownership=Non+profit
• GET https://www.nursinghomedatabase.com/api/v1/nh/facilities/summary?metrics=tothrd,rnhrd,totalnursingstaffturnover&group_by=ownership_kind

REST callers can pass filedate=YYYY-MM-DD (or YYYY-MM) on facilities and owners endpoints the same way MCP tools do. min_overall_rating, max_overall_rating, abuse_icon, sffstatus, and ownership are query parameters on GET /api/v1/nh/facilities.

MCP and REST share the same underlying data layer.

Example: Cursor / IDE config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nursing-home-database": {
      "type": "streamableHttp",
      "url": "https://mcp.nursinghomedatabase.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

License and data

Data is derived from public CMS and related sources. Use is subject to the terms published on nursinghomedatabase.com.