Emerald Nursing & Rehab Columbus is certified as a Medicare and Medicaid facility and has been approved to provide these services since 1989-12-01. 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 (402) 564-8014 or your local Medicaid office to verify current eligibility.

Emerald Nursing & Rehab Columbus holds an overall CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) rating of 3 out of 5 stars. This is made up of three components: Health Inspection (3★), Staffing (2★), and Quality of Resident Care (2★). Our independent composite quality score — which uses the raw underlying CMS numbers to break ties between similarly-rated facilities — is 61.3/100, placing it #11658 of 14703 facilities nationally and #127 of 179 in Nebraska. 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 Emerald Nursing & Rehab Columbus receives a reported average of 3 hours 51 minutes of total nurse staffing per day. This breaks down as: Registered Nurse (RN) coverage — 18 minutes; Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) — 45 minutes; Nurse Aide — 2 hours 48 minutes. On weekends, total nurse staffing is 3 hours 22 minutes per resident per day. The CMS Staffing Rating for this facility is 2 out of 5. The national average for total nursing hours is approximately 3.5 hrs/day. Total nursing staff turnover is 74.0%. Families are encouraged to ask about current staffing schedules during their facility visit.

The facility has received 9 fine(s) over the 5-year period, totaling $39,413. 7 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 0 fine(s) totaling $0, and 1 Medicare payment denial(s). Total penalties: 1. The Total Weighted Health Survey Score is 31.0 (lower scores are better). Full inspection history and complaint details are available at medicare.gov/care-compare.

Nationally, Emerald Nursing & Rehab Columbus ranks 11658th out of 14,703 facilities (composite score: 61.3/100), placing it in the bottom 25% nationwide. Within NE, it ranks 127th out of 179 nursing homes. In Columbus, it ranks 2nd out of 2 facilities. Among facilities sharing its ZIP code, it ranks 2nd of 2. For 2026 staffing: total nurse hours rank #5,872 nationally and RN hours rank #12,670 nationally (#168 in NE). Our composite quality score of 61.3/100 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 Columbus, visit: https://nursinghomesnearme.org/nebraska/columbus/