Data sources & methodology
PBJ320 is a public nursing home staffing and facility lookup built from federal and other public datasets. This page lists the main sources behind the free site. PBJ320 is operated by 320 Consulting LLC and is not affiliated with CMS, Medicare, MACPAC, or the FEC. Background: PBJ explained · What is HPRD?
CMS staffing (Payroll-Based Journal)
Facility-level nurse staffing hours, census, and derived metrics (including HPRD) come from CMS Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) public files.
- CMS PBJ staffing data submission — program page, policy manual, PUF documentation, and specs
- CMS PBJ — daily nurse staffing (data.cms.gov)
- CMS PBJ — employee detail (data.cms.gov)
CMS provider & facility context
Ratings, special focus status, abuse icon, ownership type, and case-mix benchmarks come from CMS Nursing Home Provider Information dataset.
CMS chain & affiliated entity data
Chain-level summaries on entity pages use CMS nursing home chain performance measures where available.
CMS ownership (limited profiles)
CMS-reported owner profile pages link facilities to CMS owner data (SNF All Owners). Recent ownership changes on state indexes use CMS change-of-ownership (CHOW) filings. Coverage on PBJ320 is limited and may expand over time.
State staffing policy context
State minimum staffing references and MACPAC summaries on PBJ320 are policy compendia, not statutory text.
- MACPAC — state policies related to nursing facility staffing (March 2022 compendium)
Political contributions (FEC)
Where shown on CMS owner profile pages, political contribution totals come from Federal Election Commission (FEC) public campaign finance data, not CMS PBJ files.
PBJ320 Premium (paid)
PBJ320 Premium may use CMS employee-detail and other files for roster-level views. The free site uses quarterly PBJ aggregates only.
How metrics are calculated
Screening tool only—not proof of compliance, abuse, or care quality. Terms.
- HPRD: Total nurse hours ÷ average residents (CMS-reported).
- Direct care: Excludes admin and DON where noted.
- Case-mix: acuity metrics based on distribution of MDS 3.0 assessments by nursing case-mix Groups (CMGs) from the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM). See the Five-Star / Care Compare Technical Users’ Guide (PDF).
- Within-state ranks (e.g. bottom 10%): Facility total nurse HPRD vs. other homes in the same state for the quarter on that page; not case-mix adjusted.
- CMS quality flags (SFF, SFF candidate, 1-star overall rating, abuse icon): PBJ320 shows these when they appear in CMS Provider Information—the same underlying fields Care Compare uses. PBJ320 reads and displays CMS’s flags; it does not run surveys or assign ratings. Confirm on Care Compare.
- FEC contributions data: Name-matched to FEC filings on owner profile pages when available; each amount links to the underlying FEC record.
- Trend line exclusions: Longitudinal charts omit quarters with implausible submitted HPRD. Total: total or direct-care below 0.25. RN: below 0.08, or (when median RN ≥ 0.12) below 0.25 and under 5% of both neighbors. LPN: below 0.05, or (when median LPN ≥ 0.20) below 0.12 and under 5% of both neighbors. Aide: below 0.15, or (when median aide ≥ 0.75) below 0.45 and under 5% of both neighbors.
- PBJ daily staffing flags (facility pages, when data is available): PBJ320 screens reported daily staffing against state-specific total nursing HPRD thresholds (all reported nursing roles, including admin/DON, ÷ census; days with census > 0). New York screens use 3.56 total nursing HPRD. Connecticut screens use 3.06 total nursing HPRD, based on MACPAC’s total estimated staffing requirement. State law may separately reference direct-care minimums (e.g. Connecticut’s three hours of direct care per resident per day). PBJ320 also counts days with zero total RN hours or total RN hours under 8 (RN + RN administrator + DON; facility-wide hours that day, not RN-HPRD). PBJ320 reports PBJ-based days below threshold; it does not make legal findings of violation or noncompliance. Premium dashboards may list individual calendar dates; the free site shows quarter-level counts only.
How to use this site
PBJ320 is an analytical tool built on public records. It is not proof of care quality, legal liability, or regulatory noncompliance. Verify important figures against the official CMS sources above before relying on them for research, litigation, or operations.
Questions: [email protected] or the contact form.