10 of the 221 Medicare-certified nursing homes in Arkansas (5%) are government-run, and all are listed below. 4 of the 9 graded homes earn an A and 1 earn a D or F. They average 4.64 nursing hours per resident per day, 0.62 hours above the 4.02 for every home in Arkansas. Montgomery County Nursing Home in Mount Ida grades highest at A (92 out of 100).
How government-run homes in Arkansas compare
This group set against every nursing home in Arkansas, from the current CMS release.
Montgomery County Nursing Home runs on 5.14 nurse hours per resident day, roughly a third more than the national average, and its staff turnover sits at 15.4 percent against a national rate near 46 percent, a combination that usually means the people caring for your relative have been there a while. The county owns it, and the current record shows 16 deficiencies, none involving harm or abuse, with a May 2025 inspection behind them. Weekend staffing dips about 12 percent from weekday levels, worth asking about if your visits or your family member's care needs fall on Saturdays and Sundays.
Randolph County Nursing Home runs on county tax money rather than a corporate chain, and the numbers back up the difference. Nurse staffing sits at 4.02 hours per resident day, roughly 4% above the national average, with turnover at 40.1% against a national 45.8%, a steadier workforce than most. The catch is weekends, when coverage drops about 21% below its own weekday level, so a Saturday shift won't look like a Tuesday. Sixteen deficiencies sit on the current record, none at the harm or jeopardy level and none abuse-related, and the most recent inspection was April 2025. Pocahontas families get a county-run home with strong clinical marks and a predictable weekend dip.
Arkansas Health Center is state-run and large, with 290 certified beds in Benton. Its nurse staffing sits at 6.14 hours per resident day, roughly 59% above the national average, and it holds five stars in both staffing and health inspections, with eleven deficiencies on record and none at the harm or jeopardy level. Turnover runs 38.8%, better than the 45.8% national figure but still meaning more than a third of staff leaving each year.
The catch is weekends, when hours drop about 15% below the weekday level. With a May 2025 inspection and no abuse citations, the record is clean and recent. Families should ask how weekend coverage is actually staffed, because that gap is where the risk usually lives.
Nurse staffing at this state-run veterans home runs 5.06 hours per resident day, about 31% above the national average, and weekends dip roughly 12% below its own weekday level. Turnover sits at 61.7% against a national average of 45.8%, which means a lot of the people providing that care are new to the building. The record shows 16 deficiencies, none at the harm level but one tied to abuse, and the last inspection was in May 2025. Strong clinical quality marks and steady staffing numbers sit alongside a workforce that keeps changing.
The Arkansas Veterans Home At Fayetteville runs a state-owned, 90-bed operation where the day-to-day staffing numbers look better than most: 4.28 nurse hours per resident day, roughly 11% above the national average. The catch is consistency. Weekend coverage drops about 18% below the home's own weekday level, and annual turnover sits at 69.1% against a national average of 45.8%, meaning a lot of the people delivering that above-average care are new, or leaving. Its inspection record shows 39 deficiencies, none at harm or jeopardy level and none abuse-related, with the most recent visit in March 2025. Quality and staffing measures both earned four stars; inspections came in at two.
Woodruff County Health Center is county-owned, and its nurse staffing runs about 18% above the national average, 4.57 hours per resident day against 3.86. That's real coverage, though weekends dip roughly 6% below the home's own weekday level, so the cushion thins out when families tend to visit. Staff turnover sits at 47.5%, a touch above the national 45.8%, which means familiar faces aren't guaranteed. The current record shows 16 deficiencies, one serious enough to reach harm or jeopardy, plus a single fine of $8,278. The last inspection was September 2025. You're looking at a home with genuinely strong hands-on staffing but a survey history that isn't clean.
Little River Nursing & Rehab is city-county owned, one of the fewer government-run homes you'll find in Arkansas, and its inspection record is genuinely strong: five out of five stars, 13 deficiencies on the current record but none at the harm level and none abuse-related, with the last visit in June 2026. Where it slips is quality measures, just two stars, and staffing sits slightly under the national average at 3.78 hours per resident day, with weekends running about 18% thinner than weekdays. Turnover is 40.2%, better than the 45.8% national figure. The takeaway: this is a clean, well-inspected building that may feel stretched on weekends.
Hudson Memorial runs on county money, which tends to mean stable funding but not always deep pockets for staffing. Its 4.13 nurse hours per resident day sits about 7% above the national average, and the last inspection was recent, December 2024, with 15 deficiencies on record, none of them causing harm or involving abuse. That's a meaningful distinction. The concern is turnover: 59.7% of staff leaving annually against a 45.8% national rate, and weekend coverage drops roughly 20% below weekday levels. High churn plus thinner weekend shifts can wear on consistency of care even when the raw staffing number looks fine. Inspection history sits at 2 stars; quality measures and staffing each earn 3.
Dermott City Nursing Home is city-owned and holds 70 certified beds in Chicot County. On its latest inspection, dated February 27, 2025, surveyors cited 27 deficiencies, two of which rose to the level of actual harm or jeopardy to residents. There are two fines on record totaling $31,889. CMS gives the home one star out of five in all three categories, health inspections, quality measures, and staffing, meaning it sits below the national average on each. No abuse-related deficiencies appear on the current record, which is worth noting. But a government-run home with that many citations, harm-level findings, and bottom-tier staffing marks is one to ask hard questions about before you consider it.
Craighead Nursing Center is county-owned, which matters in Arkansas because government-run homes often operate with different budget pressures than for-profit chains. Five deficiencies on the current record sounds like a lot until you look at severity: none rose to actual harm or jeopardy, and none involved abuse. That's the distinction that separates paperwork problems from safety problems. The last inspection closed out in December 2025, so the picture is current, not stale. What the record doesn't show is the kind of repeat, high-severity citations that tend to follow residents around. For a 121-bed county home, that's a fairly quiet file, the kind you'd want to ask about in person, but not one that raises immediate alarm.
Frequently asked questions
How many government-run nursing homes are there in Arkansas?
There are 10 government-run Medicare-certified nursing homes in Arkansas, 5% of the 221 nursing homes there.
Are government-run nursing homes better staffed?
In Arkansas they average 4.64 total nursing hours per resident per day, against 4.02 for all nursing homes in Arkansas, a difference of +0.62 hours. Staff turnover averages 46.6% against 49.5%.
Which government-run nursing home grades best in Arkansas?