All 12 Medicare-certified nursing homes in El Cajon,
side by side on the things that separate them: how many nursing hours each resident gets, how much of the
staff leaves each year, and what inspectors found on their last visit.
Bradley Court runs lean on nurse hours, 3.16 per resident per day, roughly 18% under the national average, and weekends get about 10% less attention than weekdays. What offsets that is unusual stability: staff turnover sits at 13.5% against a national average near 46%, meaning the people who are there tend to stay. The 20 deficiencies on file include none at the harm level and none tied to abuse, and the most recent inspection was in March 2025. It's a for-profit LLC with 56 beds. Fewer hands, but consistent ones, and a clean recent record.
Parkside runs 4.20 nurse hours per resident day, roughly 9% above the national average of 3.86, and its staff turnover sits at 22.6%, about half the national rate of 45.8%. That combination matters more than any single number, since consistent caregivers tend to know residents' routines and catch changes early. Weekend staffing drops about 13% below the home's own weekday level, worth asking about if you're planning visits or worrying about Saturday coverage. The inspection record shows 12 deficiencies, none at the harm or jeopardy level, though one is abuse-related. With a 5/5 health inspection rating and a May 2025 survey, this is a for-profit corporate home that has stayed clean on the measures that usually predict trouble.
The Royal Home is small, 19 certified beds, and it's staffed better than most: 4.18 nurse hours per resident day, about 8% over the national average. Weekends dip roughly 9% below its own weekday level, so coverage thins out then. The bigger number to sit with is turnover: 73.9% of nursing staff leaving annually, against a national average of 45.8%. That churn matters more at a 19-bed home, where there's no big team to absorb it. Its record shows 31 deficiencies, none at the harm or jeopardy level and none abuse-related, with the last inspection in December 2025, recent enough. Quality measures score well; the inspection history is middling. You're looking at a well-staffed, recently inspected home with a retention problem.
Victoria Post Acute Care runs 120 certified beds in El Cajon under corporate ownership, and its staffing sits modestly above the national average at 4.03 nurse hours per resident day. Weekend coverage, though, drops roughly 7% below what the home staffs on weekdays, and annual turnover of 49.6% is a few points higher than the national 45.8%, worth asking about if continuity of care matters to you. The inspection record shows 41 deficiencies, including one at the harm level and two tied to abuse, which is a lot to carry even with a recent January 2026 inspection and strong marks on quality measures.
Cottonwood Canyon runs 96 beds in El Cajon under corporate ownership, and its staffing sits at 4.02 nurse hours per resident day, a bit above the national average, though weekends drop roughly 7% below its own weekday coverage. Turnover lands at 40.4%, better than the 45.8% national figure, so the same faces are more likely to stick around. The trouble shows up in inspections: 61 deficiencies on the current record, two at harm or jeopardy level and three tied to abuse, plus $20,518 in fines across two penalties. With a 2-star inspection rating against a 5-star quality measure score, the day-to-day care numbers look stronger than what surveyors have actually found.
Stillwater Post-Acute runs 256 beds in El Cajon under for-profit LLC ownership, and its staffing sits slightly above the national average, about 3.98 nurse hours per resident day. Weekends dip roughly 5% below its own weekday coverage, so the care you'd see on a Saturday isn't quite what the weekday numbers suggest. Turnover lands at 44%, essentially in line with the national rate, so this isn't a retention crisis. The real story is the inspection record: 62 deficiencies on file, one abuse-related, though none reached harm or jeopardy level, and the last state visit was April 2025. Two out of five on health inspections against three on quality and staffing measures tells you where the trouble lives.
Granite Hills runs 4.06 nurse hours per resident day, which is about 5% above the national average, real, but modest. The bigger issue is what's on the record: 56 deficiencies, two of them serious enough to involve harm or jeopardy, plus two abuse-related citations and a $14,015 fine. Weekend staffing drops roughly 8% below weekday levels, so coverage thins exactly when families tend to visit. A for-profit LLC with 99 beds, inspected in January 2025, carries a 2-star inspection rating and a 2-star staffing rating from CMS. The quality measure score sits higher at 3 stars, but that's self-reported data, and the inspection findings are what surveyors saw firsthand.
Somerset Post Acute Care runs 4.68 nurse hours per resident day, about 21% above the national average of 3.86, that's a real staffing advantage, and it shows up in a 3/5 staffing star. But look at how that coverage holds up on weekends: it drops roughly 14% below the weekday level, so the hands on deck shrink exactly when families tend to visit. Turnover sits at 61.9% against a national average of 45.8%, meaning most of the people providing that care are relatively new. The inspection record carries 43 deficiencies, one at the harm level and one abuse-related, with a $26,728 fine and a March 2025 inspection.
Villa Las Palmas runs 151 beds in El Cajon under corporate ownership, and its staffing sits a bit under the national average, 3.73 nurse hours per resident day against 3.86, with weekends dipping about 5% below weekdays. The tradeoff is retention: 33.1% turnover beats the 45.8% national figure, so the faces here tend to stick around longer than at a typical home. What pulls the record down is the inspection side: 47 deficiencies on file, two of them serious enough to involve harm or jeopardy, plus four abuse-related citations and $33,732 in fines. The last inspection was May 2025, so this is current.
Country Hills runs 305 beds in El Cajon under for-profit LLC ownership, and its staffing sits at 3.91 nurse hours per resident day, barely above the national average of 3.86. That thin margin gets thinner on weekends, which run about 6% below the home's own weekday levels, and annual turnover hits 58.2% against a national 45.8%. The inspection record is where the real concern lives: 73 deficiencies, including one at the harm or jeopardy level and three tied to abuse, plus a $122,210 fine. The last inspection was March 2025, so the record is current. Quality measure scores look strong on paper, but that's a different measure than the ones families feel day to day.
Magnolia Post Acute Care runs 99 beds in El Cajon under corporate for-profit ownership, and its staffing sits right at the national average, 3.89 nurse hours per resident day against 3.86 nationwide, with weekend coverage dropping roughly 13% below its own weekday numbers. Turnover of 37.5% is better than the 45.8% national figure, so the workforce is more stable than most. The concern is the inspection record: 33 deficiencies, including 8 abuse-related citations and one at the harm or jeopardy level, with a single $117,475 fine. A recent August 2025 inspection and a 2-out-of-5 health inspection rating suggest the care problems are current, not historical.
San Diego Post-Acute Center runs 240 beds in El Cajon under for-profit LLC ownership, and its staffing is the strongest thing it has going: 4.16 nurse hours per resident day, about 8 percent above the national average, with turnover at 36.5 percent, meaningfully better than the 45.8 percent norm. Weekend coverage dips roughly 6 percent below weekdays, which is worth asking about. The inspection record is where the picture darkens. Eighty-seven deficiencies sit on the current record, three of them at harm or jeopardy level and seven tied to abuse, plus two fines totaling $46,495. The most recent inspection was February 27, 2025. Strong daily care numbers do not cancel out that history.