Winston-Salem Senior AdvisorBy Winston-Salem Senior Advisor Care Team · September 17, 2026
Across 29 certified nursing homes in the five counties with staffing data, total nurse time ranges from 2.92 to 6.46 hours per resident per day, with a median of 3.62. Median nursing staff turnover is 54.7%. Staffing is the number most worth checking before a visit.
Why staffing numbers matter
In a nursing home, almost everything a resident experiences runs through staff: how quickly a call light is answered, whether someone notices a fever, how often a resident is turned or walked. CMS's staffing data comes from payroll records that homes submit every quarter, which makes it harder to dress up than a tour or a brochure.
Two measures matter most. Total nurse staffing hours per resident per day counts registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nurse aides together. Turnover tells you how many of those staff left over a year. High hours with high turnover can mean a home is filling shifts with agency staff who do not know the residents.
The highest-staffed homes
These are the five certified homes in the five counties with the most total nurse time per resident, from CMS's current data:
| Home | Town | Nurse hours per resident-day | RN hours | Nursing staff turnover | CMS staffing stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina State Veterans Home Kernersville | Kernersville | 6.46 | 0.94 | n/a | 4 |
| Salemtowne | Winston-Salem | 5.60 | 0.20 | 36.8% | 3 |
| Homestead Hills | Winston-Salem | 5.49 | 0.78 | 55.1% | 4 |
| Piedmont Crossing | Thomasville | 4.85 | 0.74 | 33.7% | 5 |
| Trinity Elms | Clemmons | 4.77 | 0.65 | 48.7% | 4 |
Source: CMS Care Compare Provider Information, data as of October 1, 2026; N.C. DHSR nursing home license list.
Several are part of retirement communities or are the state veterans home, which typically staff above the industry average.
The lowest-staffed homes
And these five report the least total nurse time per resident:
| Home | Town | Nurse hours per resident-day | RN hours | Nursing staff turnover | CMS staffing stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King Health and Rehabilitation Center | King | 3.30 | 0.60 | 60.0% | 2 |
| Bermuda Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center | Advance | 3.29 | 0.32 | 34.3% | 2 |
| Willow Valley Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation | Winston-Salem | 3.29 | 0.29 | 54.3% | 2 |
| Willowbrook Rehabilitation and Care | Yadkinville | 3.06 | 0.42 | 42.6% | 2 |
| Walnut Cove Health and Rehabilitation | Walnut Cove | 2.92 | 0.41 | 38.5% | 3 |
Source: CMS Care Compare Provider Information, data as of October 1, 2026; N.C. DHSR nursing home license list.
Low staffing is not the same as poor care, but it narrows the margin for error. If a home on this list is otherwise your best option, ask the questions below with particular care.
Turnover, nights and weekends
Median nursing staff turnover across the five counties' certified homes is 54.7%, and individual homes range from 22.4% to 75.2%. CMS also reports weekend staffing separately, because many homes run thinner on Saturdays and Sundays. Each home's page on this site shows its weekend figure next to its weekday total.
On a visit, ask how many nurses and aides work the night shift on the unit where your parent would live, how many residents each aide covers and what share of shifts are filled by agency staff. Ask how long the night charge nurse has been there. The answer to that question often says more than any rating.
What staffing numbers cannot tell you
Payroll data counts hours, not attention. It cannot show whether an aide speaks kindly, whether the night nurse knows which resident gets confused at sundown, or whether staff are spread evenly across halls. It also lags: CMS publishes quarterly data some months after the fact, so a home that hired or lost a group of nurses recently may look better or worse than it is today.
That is why the numbers should lead to questions rather than conclusions. If a home's hours look strong, ask whether that is true on nights and weekends. If its turnover looks high, ask what changed and whether the director of nursing is new. A visit at 7 p.m. on a weekday, when evening shift is settling in, often shows more than a mid-morning tour.
Use the numbers to decide which homes deserve that visit.
Putting the numbers together
Use staffing alongside the inspection and quality ratings, not on its own. A home with strong staffing and a poor recent survey may be in recovery; a home with weak staffing and a clean survey may be stretched but managing. Our nursing home list sorts every home in the five counties by CMS rating, and each facility page sets staffing, turnover and deficiencies against the five-county median.
Frequently asked questions
Where does nursing home staffing data come from?
From payroll-based journal records that certified homes submit to CMS each quarter, published on Care Compare.
What is a good number of nurse hours per resident?
There is no single right number, but homes well above the local median give each resident more nursing time. Compare within the same area.
Why does turnover matter?
High turnover means more new and agency staff who do not know residents' habits, which affects consistency of care.
Is the CMS staffing star the same as the hours figure?
The staffing star is based on the hours data adjusted for how sick residents are, so the two usually move together but not exactly.
Do assisted living homes report staffing to CMS?
No. Payroll-based staffing data is published only for certified nursing homes. For adult care homes, ask for the actual shift schedule.
