PBJ Nursing Home Staffing Dashboard
A free public resource by 320 Consulting
Featured in Columbia Public Health, Positive Aging, and Aging in America News
About the PBJ Dashboard
Staffing data is a key indicator of nursing home quality, revealing how much care residents receive and what resources facilities commit. Yet most public data shows only the latest quarter, offering a narrow and incomplete view. PBJ320 stitches together nine years of federal CMS staffing files—billions of data points from Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) submissions—into interactive visualizations, so you can see how staffing has changed over time and bring data-driven context to what's happening inside 15,000+ U.S. nursing homes.
Who it helps
- AttorneysIdentify staffing patterns and trends that may support negligence cases, regulatory violations, or quality of care claims. Access historical data to demonstrate chronic understaffing, seasonal variations, or ownership-related staffing deficiencies.
- ReportersPlug numbers and data visualizations into a nursing home investigation or ownership-focused report without wrangling raw CSVs.
- Advocates & familiesSee how a nursing home stacks up over time for residents and loved ones.
- ProvidersUse historical staffing data to identify gaps, benchmark performance, and support quality improvement efforts.
What you can explore
| View | Data you get |
|---|---|
| National / State | Nurse staffing hours per resident day (HPRD), contract staff %, census—every quarter since 2017 |
| Facility | Quarterly staffing, contract share, census, ratings, and risk indicators (search any CCN from the home page) |
| Ownership group | Loading latest ownership-group snapshot... |
Under the hood
- Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) Staffing Data 33 quarters of daily data, aggregated for clarity (what is PBJ?)
- CMS Provider Info 5-star ratings, enforcement data, and other key indicators
- CMS Affiliated Entity quality and performance metrics for affiliated nursing home groups (example entity page)
- CMS Citations (Premium) citation data and inspection reports, categorized by date, type, severity, and more
How PBJ Data Reveals Chronic Understaffing: The Seagate Case
In September, a Brooklyn nursing home made national headlines after the violent death of an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor. Federal records point to a deeper problem: Seagate Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has been marked by chronic understaffing—one of thousands of U.S. nursing homes with similar conditions. In the 1,279 days since New York implemented a 3.50 HPRD minimum, Seagate has fallen below the threshold every single day, according to CMS Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data.
Seagate reported below 3.50 nursing hours per resident day on every reported PBJ day reviewed, according to PBJ records.
PBJ data enables this analysis by providing daily staffing records, historical context, regulatory compliance tracking, and pattern recognition—revealing systemic issues that affect resident care across thousands of facilities. Read the full analysis or explore Seagate's public staffing page.
Digging deeper?
320 Consulting offers PBJ320 Premium: custom reports with daily, position-level analysis and data visualizations tied to ratings, enforcement, and other critical metrics to support your casework and advocacy. View a sample dashboard or request a demo.
Methodology
This Nursing Home Staffing Dashboard uses CMS Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data from 2017–2025, covering all nursing positions, including contract staff. CMS first published PBJ data in 2017. It also uses Provider Information, Affiliated Entity, CMS SNF ownership, MACPAC State Staffing Standards (2022), and FEC campaign finance data. See data sources and methodology.
Staffing Categories
Total nurse staff includes: Registered Nurse (RN), RN Director of Nursing (DON), RN Admin, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), LPN Admin, Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Nurse Aide in Training, Medication Aide/Technician.
Metrics Explained
Total Nurse Hours Per Resident Day (HPRD)*: Total nurse staff hours per resident per day.
Direct Care (excl. Admin, DON): Hours per resident day for direct care staff only (RN, LPN, CNA, NAtrn, MedAide), excluding administrative and supervisory roles.
Contract Staff Percentage: Percentage of nurse staff hours provided by contract staff.
Census: Average number of residents in facility or state during the reporting period.
A 2001 CMS report to Congress identified 4.1 HPRD as a level discussed in that staffing adequacy study, not a current federal minimum. Facilities with higher-acuity residents—such as those with complex medical needs or limited mobility—generally require more staffing. Staffing levels can also vary significantly by day and shift.
Some states have their own standards (e.g., New Jersey, California, and New York each set a 3.5 HPRD minimum), though enforcement and definitions vary. Note: A federal 3.48 HPRD minimum was recently overturned by a court in 2025.
Transparency Note
The PBJ Dashboard pulls directly from CMS data and is carefully vetted for accuracy. Still, sometimes a bug sneaks into the jelly.
That could mean:
- A facility reported bad data to CMS (more common than you'd think).
- Or I made a coding error (it happens).
Either way, I want to be the first to know. If you spot something that looks off, please let me know so I can squash the bug and set things right.
Phoebe J's PBJ Guide
Plain-language explainer of nursing home Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) staffing data—what it is, why it matters, and how to use it.
PBJ explainedAbout 320 Consulting
320 Consulting is led by Eric Goldwein, MPH, a data consultant with expertise in nursing home staffing. His work on nursing home data has been featured in Columbia Public Health, the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Positive Aging, and Aging in America News. He has presented at national conferences hosted by the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units, Consumer Voice, the American Society on Aging, and the NYS Long Term Care Ombudsman Program. He previously served as policy director at the Long Term Care Community Coalition.