Polaris Extended Care is certified as a Medicare and Medicaid facility and has been approved to provide these services since 2013-02-13. 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 (907) 212-9200 or your local Medicaid office to verify current eligibility.

Polaris Extended Care 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 (3★). Our independent composite quality score — which uses the raw underlying CMS numbers to break ties between similarly-rated facilities — is 68.0/100, placing it #9206 of 14703 facilities nationally and #20 of 20 in Alaska. 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 Polaris Extended Care receives a reported average of 5 hours 20 minutes of total nurse staffing per day. This breaks down as: Registered Nurse (RN) coverage — 1 hour 53 minutes; Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) — 53 minutes; Nurse Aide — 2 hours 35 minutes. On weekends, total nurse staffing is 4 hours 39 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 52.5%. Families are encouraged to ask about current staffing schedules during their facility visit.

⚠️ CMS has flagged Polaris Extended Care with an abuse icon, indicating a history of reported abuse or neglect incidents. Families should review the detailed inspection reports on Medicare.gov before considering this facility. In the current reporting period, the facility received 3 fine(s) totaling $220,373. 4 substantiated complaints were recorded across the 5-year period — families should request details from the facility or review CMS inspection findings. There were 1 Medicare payment denial(s) in the current period. In the most recent CMS reporting period, the facility received 3 fine(s) totaling $220,373, and 1 Medicare payment denial(s). Total penalties: 4. The Total Weighted Health Survey Score is 383.5 (lower scores are better). IMPORTANT: CMS has flagged this facility with an abuse icon — indicating a reported history of abuse or neglect. Families should review the full inspection report on medicare.gov/care-compare before deciding. Full inspection history and complaint details are available at medicare.gov/care-compare.

Nationally, Polaris Extended Care ranks 9206th out of 14,703 facilities (composite score: 68.0/100), placing it in the below average nationwide. Within AK, it ranks 20th out of 20 nursing homes. In Anchorage, it ranks 3rd out of 3 facilities. Among facilities sharing its ZIP code, it ranks 3rd of 3. For 2026 staffing: total nurse hours rank #768 nationally and RN hours rank #269 nationally (#12 in AK). Our composite quality score of 68.0/100 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 Anchorage, visit: https://nursinghomesnearme.org/alaska/anchorage/