19 of the 77 Medicare-certified nursing homes in Chicago, IL (25%) are independently owned, and all are listed below. They average 3.45 nursing hours per resident per day, 0.31 hours above the 3.14 for every home in Chicago, IL. Nurse staff turnover runs 42.4%, 3.4 points higher than the 39% across all homes there. Selfhelp Home Of Chicago in Chicago grades highest at A (96 out of 100).
How independently owned homes in Chicago, IL compare
This group set against every nursing home in Chicago, IL, from the current CMS release.
Nursing hours per resident per day
3.45
All homes in Chicago, IL: 3.14
Better than the local average
Nurse staff turnover
42.4%
All homes in Chicago, IL: 39%
Worse than the local average
Average ElderGrade score
66.6/100
All homes in Chicago, IL: 64.7/100
Better than the local average
Grade spread
A
C
D
4 grade A, 10 grade C, 5 grade D,
The best-graded independently owned home in Chicago, IL is
Selfhelp Home Of Chicago
in Chicago, IL, grade A, 96/100.
Every independently owned nursing home in Chicago, IL
Nurse staffing at Selfhelp Home of Chicago runs 4.85 hours per resident day, roughly a quarter above the national average, and weekends dip only about 9% below weekdays, a modest drop compared with what many homes see. Annual turnover sits at 24.4%, well under the national 45.8%. The tradeoff is on the inspection side: 21 deficiencies on the current record, including one at the harm level and one abuse-related, with the last inspection in August 2024. The nonprofit's quality and staffing measure ratings are both top-tier, so the care numbers look strong; the open question is how that one serious deficiency fits with everything else.
Community First Medical Center sits on Chicago's north side with 66 certified beds and a for-profit individual owner. The staffing numbers stand out: 7.62 nurse hours per resident day, roughly double the national average, though weekend coverage drops about 16% below its own weekday level. Staff turnover of 31.3% beats the 45.8% national figure.
The inspection record is mixed but not alarming. Twenty deficiencies on file, none at the harm or jeopardy level, with one abuse-related citation. The last inspection was August 2024, so the record is reasonably current. CMS gives it four stars for health inspections and quality measures, five for staffing.
What the numbers describe is a small home that invests heavily in nursing hours and retains staff better than most, while carrying a moderate deficiency load and a slight weekend gap worth asking about directly.
The Admiral At The Lake runs on 4.45 nurse hours per resident day, roughly 15 percent above the national average, and its staff turnover of 15.2 percent sits far below the 45.8 percent typical elsewhere. Weekend staffing dips about 11 percent under weekday levels, which is worth asking about. The 25 deficiencies on record include one at the harm level and none tied to abuse, and the last inspection was in March 2026. For a 36-bed nonprofit, the pattern is steady care with a stable workforce, though that single harm-level finding deserves a direct question about what happened and what changed.
Mercy Circle is a small nonprofit home on Chicago's Southwest Side, church-affiliated, with only 23 certified beds. Staffing runs 4.35 nurse hours per resident day, about 13% above the national average, though weekends dip roughly 7% below its own weekday level, so ask how coverage holds up on Saturdays. Turnover is 33.3%, well below the national 45.8%, which matters for consistent care. The inspection record shows 17 deficiencies, none at harm or jeopardy level, but two tied to abuse, so ask directly how those were resolved. Its last inspection was February 2025, and all three CMS star ratings sit at five.
Balmoral Home runs on about 2.11 nurse staffing hours per resident per day, roughly 45% under the national average of 3.86, and weekends drop further, about 7% below its own weekday level. That thin coverage sits alongside a clean inspection record, 4 out of 5 stars, most recently surveyed in December 2024, though 27 deficiencies are on file, including two at the harm or jeopardy level and one tied to abuse. Staff turnover lands at 43.7%, slightly better than the national 45.8%, so retention isn't the problem; the raw number of hands on the floor is. A for-profit corporation operates the 213-bed building, and the staffing rating of 1 out of 5 reflects where the strain actually shows.
Buckingham Pavilion is a 235-bed for-profit home in Chicago, and its inspection record is its strongest card, a recent December 2025 survey, 23 deficiencies on file with none rising to harm or jeopardy, and nothing abuse-related. A 4-out-of-5 inspection rating reflects that. Where it slips is staffing: 2.73 nurse hours per resident day sits roughly 29% under the national average of 3.86, and weekend coverage drops another 5% below its own weekday level. Annual turnover of 50% runs above the 45.8% national figure. Fewer hands and a churning workforce is what pulls the overall picture down, even with clean inspections.
Norwood Crossing is a nonprofit home of 131 beds on Chicago's North Side, and its nurse staffing runs about 8% above the national average, enough for four stars on that measure. Weekends dip roughly 6% below its own weekday coverage, though, and annual turnover sits at 56.7% against a national 45.8%, so the people providing that care keep changing. The inspection record is where the picture darkens: 34 deficiencies, four at harm or jeopardy level, three tied to abuse, and $63,348 in fines across three events. The most recent inspection was in July 2025, so the record is current. Solid staffing numbers, a troubled inspection history, both are true here.
Ryze West runs 2.28 nurse hours per resident per day, roughly 41% under the national average of 3.86, and weekend coverage dips about 10% below its own weekday level. That thin staffing shows in the federal stars: one out of five for staffing, two for health inspections. The inspection record carries 72 deficiencies, including three at the harm or jeopardy level and five tied to abuse, plus three fines totaling $127,940. Turnover sits at 47.3%, slightly above the national 45.8%. The five-star quality measure rating reflects resident assessments, not the hands available to help. The most recent inspection was May 24, 2024. For-profit corporate ownership, 234 beds.
Montgomery Place sits in Chicago with 40 certified beds and a nonprofit owner, and its nurse staffing comes in at 3.82 hours per resident day, just under the national average of 3.86. Weekend coverage dips about 3% below its own weekday level, so the difference between a Tuesday and a Sunday is real. The inspection record is the harder part: 33 deficiencies, including one at the harm or jeopardy level and three tied to abuse, with two fines totaling $19,752. That health inspection rating lands at 2 out of 5, though quality measures score 5 and staffing scores 4, a split worth asking about directly when you tour.
Smith Village is a nonprofit home on Chicago's South Side with 93 certified beds, and its staffing is genuinely heavy, 5.27 nurse hours per resident day, roughly 36% above the national average, though weekends run about 10% thinner than weekdays. The trouble sits elsewhere: 23 deficiencies on the current record, five of them serious enough to put residents in harm's way and one tied to abuse, plus a $16,350 fine and a November 2025 inspection that landed at two stars for health inspections and two for quality measures. Staff turnover of 57.3% is well above the national 45.8%. Generous staffing only helps if the same caregivers stay long enough to know the residents.
On Chicago's Southwest Side, a 46-bed for-profit home run by a limited liability company sits well under the national staffing benchmark, about 16% below it, and weekends run roughly 12% thinner than its own weekdays. Turnover lands at 39.4%, better than the 45.8% national figure, so the consistent staff largely stay. What stands out more is the record: 58 deficiencies, three at harm or jeopardy level, six tied to abuse, and a $151,119 fine, with the last inspection in October 2024. Federal inspectors rated health inspections 2 out of 5, though quality measures scored 4 out of 5.
Winston Manor runs on 1.39 nurse hours per resident per day, about 64 percent below the national average of 3.86, and weekend staffing drops another 7 percent below its own weekday level. That thin coverage sits behind a one-star CMS staffing rating and a two-star inspection record: 36 deficiencies, five of them at the harm or jeopardy level, and eight tied to abuse. The five-star quality measure score looks strong, but those numbers come from resident assessments, not from how many hands are actually on the floor. This is a 180-bed for-profit corporate home in Chicago last inspected in June 2024.
Ryze At The Ridge runs on 2.17 nurse staffing hours per resident day, roughly 44% below the national average of 3.86, a gap that shows up on weekends too, when coverage dips about 4% below its own weekday level. The inspection record is where it gets harder to look past: 50 deficiencies on file, including 6 at the harm or jeopardy level and 8 tied to abuse, plus three fines totaling $301,750. The last inspection was August 23, 2024. Turnover sits near the national figure at 44.2%, so the problem isn't retention so much as how few hands are scheduled in the first place. For-profit, limited liability ownership.
Mado Healthcare - Uptown runs on 2.87 nurse hours per resident day, roughly a quarter below the national average, and weekends dip even further, about 12% under its own weekday staffing. That thin coverage shows up in the record: 33 deficiencies, including 2 at the harm or jeopardy level and 5 tied to abuse, plus $123,614 in fines across two cases. The one number that runs the other way is turnover at 29.9%, better than the 45.8% national average, so the staff who are there tend to stay. The last inspection was November 2024, so the picture is current.
Little Village runs on 2.37 nurse hours per resident day, roughly 39% under the national average, and weekends drop about 27% below what the home itself staffs on weekdays. That thin coverage sits behind a record of 51 deficiencies, nine of them at harm or jeopardy level and 11 tied to abuse, plus a $54,464 fine and a December 2024 inspection. Turnover, at 33.3%, is actually better than the 45.8% national figure, so the problem here isn't retention, it's how few hands are scheduled against a for-profit, limited-liability operation where federal ratings land at 2/5 for inspections and 1/5 for both quality measures and staffing.
Paul House & Health Cr Ctr runs 110 certified beds on Chicago's Near West Side, and the staffing numbers are where the trouble starts. Nurses provide 3.77 hours per resident day, slightly under the 3.86 national average, but weekends drop about 11% below the home's own weekday coverage, so care thins out exactly when families tend to visit. Staff turnover sits at 64.2% against a 45.8% national figure, meaning most of the people caring for residents this year likely won't be there next year. Add 59 deficiencies on the current record, three serious enough to involve harm or jeopardy, plus $107,115 in fines, and the recent June 2025 inspection reads less like a fresh start than a long-running pattern.
Ryze On The Avenue runs 302 beds on Chicago's South Side, and the numbers behind its record are hard to dress up. Nurse staffing sits at 2.64 hours per resident day, roughly a third below the national average, and weekend coverage barely dips from that already thin weekday level, so there's little sign of extra help when families visit. Nearly three in five staff left over the past year, well above the typical rate. Inspectors have cited 86 deficiencies, seven involving harm or jeopardy and a dozen tied to abuse, with nine fines totaling $192,821. The last inspection was September 2024.
Central Nursing Home runs 245 beds on Chicago's West Side, and the numbers behind its federal record are hard to dress up. Nurse staffing sits at 2.24 hours per resident per day, roughly 42% under the national average of 3.86, and weekends run about 8% thinner than weekdays, so the hours when families visit most are the hours with the least coverage. The inspection record shows 45 deficiencies, including 2 at the harm or jeopardy level and 6 tied to abuse, with three fines totaling $85,800 and a last inspection in August 2024. Staff turnover of 46.5% is close to the national rate, meaning the instability here isn't unusual for the industry, but combined with the low staffing and quality scores, it leaves little margin.
Kenwood Vlge Nrsg And Rhb Ctr carries a record that should give any family pause. The home has been cited for 72 deficiencies, including 8 at the harm or jeopardy level and 10 tied to abuse, findings severe enough to trigger three federal fines totaling $236,838. Nurse staffing sits at 3.16 hours per resident day, roughly 18% under the national average, and weekend coverage drops another 17% below its own weekday level, meaning care thins out exactly when families often visit. Turnover is near the national norm, so the problem isn't churn, it's depth of coverage and a long, serious inspection history.
Frequently asked questions
How many independently owned nursing homes are there in Chicago, IL?
There are 19 independently owned Medicare-certified nursing homes in Chicago, IL, 25% of the 77 nursing homes there.
Are independently owned nursing homes better staffed?
In Chicago, IL they average 3.45 total nursing hours per resident per day, against 3.14 for all nursing homes in Chicago, IL, a difference of +0.31 hours. Staff turnover averages 42.4% against 39%.
Which independently owned nursing home grades best in Chicago, IL?