61/100
Average
Northwood Rehabilitation & Health Care Center
1010 Varnum Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854
- Certified beds
- 123
- Occupancy
- 94%
- Ownership
- For-profit
- Accepts
- Medicare + Medicaid
What to ask about before you visit
These are findings in the public CMS record for this home. They are not our opinion, each one comes straight from a federal inspection or enforcement file.
$85,178 in federal fines
CMS has fined this facility across 1 penalty action(s).
Our read on Northwood Rehabilitation & Health Care Center
Northwood runs about 2.83 nursing hours per resident day, roughly 27% under the national average of 3.86, and it doesn't add help on weekends, when staffing dips another 3% below its own weekday level. The tradeoff isn't explained by retention: turnover is 23.8%, well below the national 45.8%, so people tend to stay. What the record shows instead is a pattern of problems: 55 deficiencies, three at harm or jeopardy level, five tied to abuse, and two fines totaling $165,780. The most recent inspection was August 2025, and the health inspection rating sits at 1 out of 5.
Written from the CMS figures for this home shown further down this page. Nothing here is paid for or supplied by the home.
How this grade was calculated
Every point is shown. Nothing is weighted behind the scenes, the full formula is on How we grade.
A full pentagon is full marks. The shape shows what kind of good or bad a home is, two homes can share a score and look nothing alike.
Inspection safety
30/30Citations from state health inspections over the last three surveys, weighted by how much harm CMS says they caused.
- →No citations recorded in the last 3 years
Staffing
9/30Nursing hours per resident per day, adjusted for how sick the residents are, plus RN cover and weekend consistency.
- →2.83 total nurse hours per resident per day (national median 3.77)
- →0.38 RN hours per resident per day
- →Weekend staffing holds steady
Staff stability
15/15How much of the nursing team leaves in a year. High turnover means a resident rarely sees the same face twice.
- →24% of nursing staff left in the last year
Resident outcomes
5/15The CMS quality-measure rating, built from resident outcomes like falls, pressure ulcers, infections and antipsychotic use.
- →2 of 5 stars on the CMS quality-measure rating
Enforcement history
2/10Fines and payment denials CMS has imposed. A denial of payment means CMS stopped paying for new admissions.
- →$85,178 in federal fines across 1 action(s)
Staffing, against the national average
Full detailHours of nursing care each resident receives per day. The marker on each bar is the national average.
RNs are the licence level most likely to catch a resident deteriorating.
The shift most families visit, and the one thinned first.
The share of nursing staff who left over the last year.
Recent inspection findings
Last standard health inspection: August 15, 2025 (1 year ago). No citations were recorded.
No health-inspection citations on record for this facility in the current CMS release.
Who owns this home
Full recordPart of ATHENA HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS, which operates 19 homes. Staffing budgets are usually set at chain level, not in the building.
What families say
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Common questions about Northwood Rehabilitation & Health Care Center
What is the ElderGrade for Northwood Rehabilitation & Health Care Center? +
Northwood Rehabilitation & Health Care Center holds an ElderGrade of C (61 out of 100), which we describe as "average". The grade combines its inspection citations, nurse staffing levels, staff turnover, resident outcomes and enforcement history from the federal CMS record.
How many nursing hours does each resident get at Northwood Rehabilitation & Health Care Center? +
Residents receive an average of 2.83 nursing hours per day across all nursing staff, against a national average of 3.86 hours.
Has Northwood Rehabilitation & Health Care Center been cited for harming residents? +
No. None of the 0 citations on record were scored at the levels CMS uses to indicate actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
Does Northwood Rehabilitation & Health Care Center accept Medicaid? +
Yes, Northwood Rehabilitation & Health Care Center is certified to accept Medicaid, which is the programme that pays for long-term custodial care once a resident meets their state's income and asset limits.
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