19 of the 296 Medicare-certified nursing homes in Kansas (6%) are government-run, and all are listed below. 7 of the 19 graded homes earn an A and 1 earn a D or F. They average 5.19 nursing hours per resident per day, 1.12 hours above the 4.07 for every home in Kansas. Hill Top House in Bucklin grades highest at A (100 out of 100).
How government-run homes in Kansas compare
This group set against every nursing home in Kansas, from the current CMS release.
Nursing hours per resident per day
5.19
All homes in Kansas: 4.07
Better than the local average
Nurse staff turnover
35.2%
All homes in Kansas: 48.1%
Better than the local average
Average ElderGrade score
81.5/100
All homes in Kansas: 75.8/100
Better than the local average
Grade spread
A
B
7 grade A, 10 grade B, 1 grade C, 1 grade D,
The best-graded government-run home in Kansas is
Hill Top House
in Bucklin, KS, grade A, 100/100.
Hill Top House runs on a government hospital district budget in Bucklin, and the numbers suggest the money goes to people. Nurse staffing sits at 4.38 hours per resident day, about 13% above the national average, and weekends only dip roughly 5% below weekday levels, a small gap by nursing home standards. Staff turnover is 29%, well under the national 45.8%, so the aides and nurses here tend to stay. The tradeoff shows up in inspections: 15 deficiencies on record, one serious enough to reach harm or jeopardy level, and a middling 3 out of 5 inspection rating, though the last survey was recent, in November 2024, with nothing abuse-related. With 29 beds, it stays small enough that consistency matters more than scale.
Stanton County Health Care Facility in Johnson runs on a city/county budget, and the numbers show a place where people tend to stay. Annual turnover is 13.3 percent, well below the national 45.8 percent, and total nurse staffing sits at 5.27 hours per resident day, roughly a third more than the 3.86 national average. Weekend coverage dips only about 8 percent from weekday levels, so care doesn't thin out much on Saturdays and Sundays. Inspectors logged 24 deficiencies, none at the harm level, though one is abuse-related, and the last visit was August 2025. The staffing star rating of 1/5 looks odd next to those hours; CMS's scoring there weighs things like RN coverage specifically, not just total volume.
Kansas Soldiers Home runs on unusually heavy staffing for a nursing home, 6.58 nurse hours per resident day against a national average of 3.86. That's the strongest thing about it, and it shows up in the five-star staffing rating. Turnover sits at 27.6%, well under the national 45.8%, so the people caring for residents tend to stay. Weekends thin out, though, running about 24% below weekday coverage.
The inspection record is the harder part: 25 deficiencies, including one at the harm level and two abuse-related, with a two-star health inspection rating. The last survey was August 2025, so the picture is current rather than stale. State-run ownership, 56 beds, and a mixed record, strong hands on deck, but real problems documented.
Pioneer Manor is county-owned, and the staffing numbers show it: 4.68 nurse hours per resident day, roughly a fifth above the national average, and a five-star staffing rating to match. Turnover sits at 37.3%, better than the 45.8% national figure, though weekend coverage dips about 12% below weekday levels, so care can thin out on Saturdays and Sundays. The trouble is inspections. The current record carries 23 deficiencies, three of them at the level where a resident was harmed or put in immediate jeopardy, and one abuse-related. The health inspection rating is 1 out of 5, and the most recent survey was in December 2024. Strong staffing is real, but it hasn't kept the home out of serious trouble.
Trego County runs this 37-bed home inside the local hospital, and the staffing is the strongest thing it has going: 5.35 nurse hours per resident day, well above the national average. Turnover sits at 26.5%, notably lower than the typical nursing home, so the people caring for residents tend to stick around. Weekends thin out about 17% from weekday coverage, which is worth asking about if your family visits then. The trade-off shows in the care record, 18 deficiencies on file, including one at the harm level and three related to abuse, with a mid-2025 inspection. Staffing is clearly the priority here; the quality measures and inspection history are not keeping pace.
Kansas Veterans Home in Winfield runs on unusually heavy staffing for a nursing home, 6.08 nurse hours per resident day against a national average of 3.86. That's roughly 58 percent more hands-on time, and it holds up on weekends better than most places, dipping about 14 percent instead of the steeper drops common elsewhere. State-run ownership shows in the numbers: 35.9 percent annual turnover beats the 45.8 percent national figure, and the current record carries 10 deficiencies, none at the harm level and none abuse-related. The tradeoff sits in the quality measures, which score low relative to inspections and staffing. Worth asking what specifically drives that before you decide.
St Luke Living Center runs on 4.19 nurse hours per resident day, roughly 8% above the national average of 3.86, and weekends dip about 13% below its own weekday levels, a drop families should ask about directly. The 22 deficiencies on record include none at the harm or jeopardy level, though one is abuse-related, and the most recent inspection came in October 2025. This is a hospital-district-owned home in Marion with 32 certified beds, which means a small census and a public owner. Its four-out-of-five ratings for health inspections, quality measures, and staffing are consistent across the board, suggesting a stable operation rather than one carried by a single strong category.
Nurse staffing here runs about 4.79 hours per resident day, roughly a quarter above the national average, and only about 28% of staff leave each year, compared to 45.8% nationally. That kind of retention matters more than almost anything else, because familiar aides notice changes in a resident before a chart does. Weekends dip about 16% below weekday coverage, so ask how that gap gets filled. The health inspection record is strong and recent, February 2025, with no deficiencies at the harm level. The tension is in the quality measures, which sit at the bottom of the scale, worth asking what specifically drives that, because good staffing and a low measure score don't usually tell the same story.
Fowler Residential Care is a small hospital-district home, 20 beds, and its staffing is the headline: 5.50 nurse hours per resident day, roughly 42% above the national figure of 3.86. Turnover sits at 37%, better than the 45.8% national average, though weekend coverage drops about 20% below the home's own weekday level. The trade-off shows up in its record: nine deficiencies, one serious enough to reach harm or jeopardy level, and a single $8,021 fine, with the most recent inspection in February 2025. Nothing here suggests abuse, and the staffing numbers are genuinely strong, but the harm-level citation is the kind of thing worth asking about directly before you decide.
Kiowa Hospital District Manor runs on unusually heavy staffing for a 29-bed home, 6.34 nurse hours per resident day, roughly two and a half hours more than the national average, and its most recent inspection was in September 2025, so the record is current. The catch is in the inspection findings: ten deficiencies on file, one of them serious enough to reach harm or jeopardy level, which is what pulls the overall picture down despite the five-star staffing rating. Weekend coverage dips about 9% below weekdays, and turnover sits at 46.2%, essentially matching the national rate. As a government hospital-district home, it answers to local public ownership rather than a chain.
Solomon Valley Manor runs on a city-owned, 30-bed setup in Stockton, and its strongest asset is people: nurses deliver about 4.25 hours of care per resident per day, roughly 10 percent above the national average, and staff turnover sits at 28.6 percent against a national 45.8 percent. That retention matters in a small rural home, though weekend coverage dips about 13 percent below weekday levels. The tradeoffs are real elsewhere. Sixteen deficiencies show on the current record, three serious enough to involve harm or jeopardy, and the quality measure score is weak. Inspectors last visited in October 2024. A well-staffed building with recent inspection problems is worth a close look at what those three citations involved.
Minneola District Hospital Ltcu runs on unusually heavy staffing for a 26-bed home, 7.16 nurse hours per resident day, roughly 85% above the national average, though weekends drop about 15% below its own weekday pace. That staffing cushion is doing a lot of work here, because the inspection record is rough: 23 deficiencies on file, two of them serious enough to involve harm or jeopardy, and a one-star health inspection rating despite a March 2025 survey that's still recent. Government hospital-district ownership doesn't change the picture either way. The quality measure score sits at two stars, so what you're really weighing is whether strong daily coverage outweighs a troubled survey history.
Lawrence Memorial Hospital's skilled nursing unit is small, 14 certified beds, and it's run by the city, which is unusual in this part of Kansas. The staffing numbers are the weak spot: Medicare rates nurse staffing at just one star, well below what most homes in the country manage, and that's the main thing pulling the overall picture down. The clinical quality scores are a different story, sitting at the top of the scale, and the nine deficiencies on record include nothing at the harm level and nothing tied to abuse. State inspectors were last in during October 2024, so the record is current. If you're weighing this one, ask directly how many nurses are on the floor at night.
Wichita County Health Center is a ten-bed county-run home in Leoti, and the small size shows in the numbers. It was inspected in June 2025 and has 30 deficiencies on its current record, but none of them rose to the level of harm or jeopardy, and none were abuse-related, so what's on paper reads more like paperwork and process problems than anything that put residents in danger. Its quality measure score is essentially perfect, which usually means residents are being tracked and treated well. The tradeoff is inspection performance, which lands a step below the top. For a county facility this size, that's a fairly ordinary picture.
Memorial Hospital Ltcu in Abilene runs on a government hospital-district license and 75 certified beds. The staffing numbers are the strongest part of the story: 4.33 nurse hours per resident day, roughly 12% above the national average, though weekend coverage slips about 7% below its own weekday level. Turnover sits at 55.1% against a 45.8% national average, so the people providing that care are cycling through fairly quickly. The inspection record shows 17 deficiencies, including one at the harm level and one abuse-related, with the most recent survey in September 2024. Quality measure scores came in at 2 stars while staffing earned 4.
Logan Manor is city-owned, and it runs 36 beds with nurse staffing at 4.41 hours per resident day, roughly 14 percent above the national average, which is the strongest thing in its favor. The catch is who's still there month to month: turnover sits at 56.8 percent against a national 45.8 percent, and weekends run about 16 percent thinner than weekdays, so the coverage that looks good on paper may not feel steady at the bedside. The inspection record shows 26 deficiencies, none at harm or jeopardy level, though two are abuse-related, and the most recent inspection was in December 2025. Federal quality measures come in at 2 stars.
Southwest Medical Center's skilled nursing unit is small, 18 certified beds, and it's run by Seward County rather than a for-profit chain, which tends to matter for how a place is staffed and maintained. State inspectors were last in on April 22, 2026, and the record shows 15 deficiencies, but none rose to the level of actual harm or immediate jeopardy, and there's no abuse history on file. That's a meaningful distinction: paperwork and process problems, not residents getting hurt. Both the health inspection and quality measure ratings sit at three out of five stars. For a county-run home this size in southwest Kansas, the picture is a steady one, not spotless on compliance, but not dangerous either. Ask about the specific deficiencies and how they've been corrected.
Attica Long Term Care runs on thin margins, and you can see it in the numbers. The hospital district that owns it staffs nurses at 3.95 hours per resident day, just above the national average, and those hours thin out on weekends, roughly 12% below what the home itself manages Monday through Friday. Turnover sits at 36.2%, better than the national 45.8%, so the people who stay tend to stay.
The problem is the record. Eighteen deficiencies, two serious enough to put residents at risk of harm, and one tied to abuse. The health inspection rating reflects that. Quality measures land in the middle. If you're weighing this one, the staffing is genuinely a strength, but ask hard questions about those harm-level findings and who's supervising on Saturdays.
Kearny County Hospital Ltcu is a 40-bed county-owned home in Lakin, and the federal numbers are hard to read past. Inspectors have cited 43 deficiencies on the current record, two of them serious enough to put residents in harm's way, and the staffing rating sits at the bottom of CMS's scale, well below what the government considers adequate. The result: 8 fines totaling $69,565, and a place in the Special Focus Facility program, which CMS reserves for the homes with the most persistent problems. The last inspection was in October 2024, so that record is current, not stale. County ownership here doesn't translate into better care. If you're considering this home, ask what's changed since that inspection.
Frequently asked questions
How many government-run nursing homes are there in Kansas?
There are 19 government-run Medicare-certified nursing homes in Kansas, 6% of the 296 nursing homes there.
Are government-run nursing homes better staffed?
In Kansas they average 5.19 total nursing hours per resident per day, against 4.07 for all nursing homes in Kansas, a difference of +1.12 hours. Staff turnover averages 35.2% against 48.1%.
Which government-run nursing home grades best in Kansas?