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Nursing homes in Tennessee

Tennessee has 303 Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing homes in 95 counties, with 34,613 certified beds in total. The state average CMS overall rating is 3.0 of 5 against a national average of 3.0, and homes report 3.80 nurse staffing hours per resident per day against 3.86 nationally.

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Tennessee against the national average

MeasureTennesseeUnited States
Overall rating (1 to 5)3.03.0
Health inspection rating3.02.8
Staffing rating2.52.9
Nurse staffing hours per resident per day3.803.86
Registered nurse hours per resident per day0.600.69
Nursing staff turnover48.9%45.8%
Health deficiencies in the latest inspection4.49.2
Fines per home, past three years0.50.9

Averages are published by CMS. Health inspection ratings are set within each state, so compare them across states with care.

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Cities with at least 3 homes, by the city in each home's CMS address. Every home is also listed by county below.

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Nursing home rules and contacts in Tennessee

Federal rules on residents' rights, discharge notices and Medicare coverage are the same in every state. These are the offices to call in Tennessee, and the rules the state sets for itself.

Minimum staffing
Tennessee licensing rules require each nursing home to provide at least 2 hours of direct care to each resident every day, including 0.4 hours of licensed nursing personnel time. Each home must have 24-hour nursing services furnished or supervised by a registered nurse (RN), a licensed practical nurse or RN on duty at all times, and at least two nursing personnel on duty each shift. The director of nursing must be a licensed RN, and an RN must supervise and evaluate each resident's nursing care. Source: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0720-18-.06(4)(a), (b), (d), (e) (Health Facilities Commission, Standards for Nursing Homes)
Personal needs allowance (Medicaid)
Tennessee law sets the personal needs allowance for a TennCare (Medicaid) nursing home resident at $70 per month for nursing home care on or after January 1, 2025. The resident keeps this amount from his or her monthly income. TennCare also subtracts certain other items (such as health insurance premiums and, for a married resident, an allowance for a spouse at home); the remaining income goes toward the cost of care. TennCare's eligibility manual (Oct. 1, 2026) applies the $70 allowance for people in a nursing facility. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 71-5-147(a), as amended by 2024 Pub. Acts ch. 986; TennCare ABD Manual 125.020 (Post-Eligibility Treatment of Income); Medicaid State Plan Amendment TN 24-0004
Holding a bed during a hospital stay or leave
TennCare (Tennessee Medicaid) does not pay nursing homes to hold a bed. A TennCare rule states that effective July 1, 2018, Medicaid bed hold days are no longer reimbursed. Source: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-13-02-.16 (Bed Holds)
Visiting
Tennessee's nursing home rules give residents the right to privately talk and meet with and see anyone, and privacy for visits by a spouse; the administrator may refuse access to a person whose presence would be injurious to the health and safety of a resident or staff or would threaten the security of property. During a declared disaster, emergency, or COVID-19 public health emergency, state law requires nursing homes and assisted-care living facilities to allow visitors in end-of-life situations and not to restrict a resident from having at least one resident representative present, if that person is not showing symptoms of COVID-19 or another communicable disease and agrees to follow the facility's written safety protocols (no more restrictive than those for staff), unless this would cause the facility to violate federal or state law, rules or guidance. Source: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0720-18-.12(1)(b), (e), (i); Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-11-248
Discharge notice
Tennessee rules say a nursing home may not make an involuntary transfer or discharge until it has first informed the state licensing agency (the rule says 'the department'; nursing home licensing moved to the Health Facilities Commission in 2022) and the area long-term care ombudsman, and not until five business days after they are notified, except in disasters or medical emergencies or if the agencies earlier say they will not intervene. TennCare's required notice form says copies go to the resident and representative, the TennCare Commissioner's Designee, the State and District LTC Ombudsman and the Health Facilities Commission. The form says residents of Medicare skilled nursing or Medicaid nursing facilities may appeal to TennCare (1-833-582-1224); if they appeal within 30 days, the home usually cannot make them move until a decision. Source: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0720-18-.05(14); TennCare Nursing Facility Notice of Transfer or Discharge (Rev. 02/2026)

Checked against Tennessee state sources on Oct 11, 2026. Rules and phone numbers change, so confirm with the office listed. For the rules that apply in every state, see residents' rights, how to file a complaint and how Medicaid pays for a nursing home.

Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog, nursing home datasets processed Sep 1, 2026.