Nhc Healthcare, Athens is certified as a Medicare and Medicaid facility and has been approved to provide these services since 1971-11-16. 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 (423) 745-0434 or your local Medicaid office to verify current eligibility.

Nhc Healthcare, Athens holds an overall CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) rating of 4 out of 5 stars. This is made up of three components: Health Inspection (4★), Staffing (3★), and Quality of Resident Care (4★). Our independent composite quality score — which uses the raw underlying CMS numbers to break ties between similarly-rated facilities — is 78.8/100, placing it #4203 of 14703 facilities nationally and #100 of 303 in Tennessee. 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 Nhc Healthcare, Athens receives a reported average of 3 hours 54 minutes of total nurse staffing per day. This breaks down as: Registered Nurse (RN) coverage — 37 minutes; Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) — 1 hour 6 minutes; Nurse Aide — 2 hours 11 minutes. On weekends, total nurse staffing is 3 hours 31 minutes per resident per day. The CMS Staffing Rating for this facility is 3 out of 5. The national average for total nursing hours is approximately 3.5 hrs/day. Total nursing staff turnover is 53.9%. Families are encouraged to ask about current staffing schedules during their facility visit.

The facility has received 6 fine(s) over the 5-year period, totaling $43,144. 8 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 0 fine(s) totaling $0, and 0 Medicare payment denial(s). Total penalties: 0. The Total Weighted Health Survey Score is 20.0 (lower scores are better). Full inspection history and complaint details are available at medicare.gov/care-compare.

Nationally, Nhc Healthcare, Athens ranks 4203rd out of 14,703 facilities (composite score: 78.8/100), placing it in the above average nationwide. Within TN, it ranks 100th out of 303 nursing homes. In Athens, it ranks 2nd out of 2 facilities. For 2026 staffing: total nurse hours rank #5,549 nationally and RN hours rank #6,446 nationally (#110 in TN). Our composite quality score of 78.8/100 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 Athens, visit: https://nursinghomesnearme.org/tennessee/athens/