Optima Care Fountains is certified as a Medicare and Medicaid facility and has been approved to provide these services since 2002-07-02. Medicare covers short-term skilled nursing care (typically up to 100 days after a qualifying hospital stay). Medicaid covers long-term care for residents who meet financial eligibility requirements. Contact the facility at (201) 863-8866 or your local Medicaid office to verify current eligibility.

Optima Care Fountains holds an overall CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) rating of 1 out of 5 stars. This is made up of three components: Health Inspection (1★), Staffing (4★), and Quality of Resident Care (1★). Our independent composite quality score — which uses the raw underlying CMS numbers to break ties between similarly-rated facilities — is 50.5/100, placing it #13958 of 14703 facilities nationally and #343 of 348 in New Jersey. Star ratings are a useful starting point, but the composite score and individual sub-ratings give a more complete picture for families comparing facilities.

Each resident at Optima Care Fountains receives a reported average of 3 hours 49 minutes of total nurse staffing per day. This breaks down as: Registered Nurse (RN) coverage — 30 minutes; Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) — 34 minutes; Nurse Aide — 2 hours 44 minutes. On weekends, total nurse staffing is 3 hours 30 minutes per resident per day. The CMS Staffing Rating for this facility is 4 out of 5. The national average for total nursing hours is approximately 3.5 hrs/day. Total nursing staff turnover is 41.1%. Families are encouraged to ask about current staffing schedules during their facility visit.

In the current reporting period, the facility received 2 fine(s) totaling $60,823. 34 substantiated complaints were recorded across the 5-year period — families should request details from the facility or review CMS inspection findings. In the most recent CMS reporting period, the facility received 2 fine(s) totaling $60,823, and 0 Medicare payment denial(s). Total penalties: 2. The Total Weighted Health Survey Score is 148.75 (lower scores are better). Full inspection history and complaint details are available at medicare.gov/care-compare.

Nationally, Optima Care Fountains ranks 13958th out of 14,703 facilities (composite score: 50.5/100), placing it in the bottom 25% nationwide. Within NJ, it ranks 343rd out of 348 nursing homes. For 2026 staffing: total nurse hours rank #6,170 nationally and RN hours rank #8,696 nationally (#214 in NJ). Our composite quality score of 50.5/100 weighs health inspections, quality of resident care, staffing hours, compliance record, and five-year performance trends — giving a more complete picture than CMS star ratings alone, which can place hundreds of facilities in the same 5-star bucket. To browse and compare all nursing homes in Secaucus, visit: https://nursinghomesnearme.org/new_jersey/secaucus/