Lakeland Senior AdvisorBy Lakeland Senior Advisor Care Team · September 18, 2026
Of Polk County's 25 licensed nursing homes, CMS publishes an overall rating for 24: 2 five-star, 4 four-star, 2 three-star, 8 two-star and 8 one-star. Median reported nurse staffing is 3.57 hours per resident per day and median nursing turnover 45.5%. The highest-rated homes also tend to have the most nurse hours and the lowest turnover.
The overall picture
Polk County has 25 AHCA-licensed nursing homes with 3,178 beds, almost all of them certified by Medicare and Medicaid. CMS's Care Compare gives an overall star rating to 24 of them; the others are either too new to rate or are flagged in a way that suspends the rating. The distribution leans low: 16 of the 24 rated homes have one or two stars, and 6 have four or five.
That does not mean a family has to settle. It means the choice of home matters more here than in a county where most homes cluster in the middle, and it is worth driving a little farther for a better record when a parent faces a long stay.
Every home, side by side
Source: CMS Provider Information, data as of October 1, 2026. Ratings are CMS's, reproduced as published.
What separates the top of the list
The homes at the top share a profile. Spring Lake Rehabilitation Center (5 of 5), Westminster Lakeland (5 of 5), Davenport Nursing and Rehab Center (4 of 5), Life Care Center of Winter Haven (4 of 5), Palm Garden of Winter Haven (4 of 5), The Manor at Carpenters (4 of 5) carry four or five stars, and most of them report more nurse time per resident and lower staff turnover than the county median. 4 of the county's homes are nonprofit corporations in CMS's data, including the two health centers tied to Lakeland's life plan communities.
Staffing is the number to watch. Reported total nurse staffing runs from 3.25 to 4.74 hours per resident per day across the county, and nursing staff turnover from 24.6% to 58.0%. High turnover means residents see more unfamiliar faces and new staff learn routines on the job. In a nursing home, that shows up in falls, missed care and family frustration.
Chains and ownership
CMS links 22 of the county's homes to a named chain or affiliated group, and several groups operate more than one Polk building: Hearthstone Senior Communities (3), Aston Health (3), Excelsior Care Group (2), Summit Care (2), Vivo Healthcare (2). A chain name is not good or bad by itself. It is useful because a group's homes often share policies, staffing practices and management, so a pattern at one building can be a question to ask at its sister building.
The ownership type column on each facility page shows whether a home is for-profit, nonprofit or government-owned, and the CMS abuse icon and Special Focus status appear there when they apply.
Using the ratings without over-reading them
Star ratings combine three parts: health inspections, staffing and quality measures. A home can earn an average overall rating with a weak inspection record offset by strong quality measures, or the reverse. Look at the parts, not only the total.
For short-term rehab after a hospital stay, the short-stay quality rating matters more than the long-stay one; for a parent who will live in the home, the reverse. Then visit at a shift change, ask how many residents each aide is assigned on evenings and weekends, and ask how long the director of nursing has been in the job.
Frequently asked questions
Does CMS rate every Polk County nursing home?
No. CMS publishes an overall rating for 24 of the 25; the rest are too new to rate or have the rating withheld under CMS rules.
Which number best predicts day-to-day care?
Staffing: nurse hours per resident per day and staff turnover tell you how many people are caring for residents and how stable that team is.
Are nonprofit homes always better?
Not always, but in Polk County several of the highest-rated homes are nonprofit or tied to a life plan community; compare each home's own figures.
Where can we see each home's full CMS data?
Every Polk County nursing home has a page in our directory with its ratings, staffing, turnover, inspections and fines.
