Polaris Transitional Care is certified as a Medicare and Medicaid facility and has been approved to provide these services since 1983-09-01. 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 (907) 212-9200 or your local Medicaid office to verify current eligibility.

Polaris Transitional Care 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 (2★), Staffing (5★), 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 81.8/100, placing it #2870 of 14703 facilities nationally and #13 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 Transitional Care receives a reported average of 5 hours 34 minutes of total nurse staffing per day. This breaks down as: Registered Nurse (RN) coverage — 2 hours 44 minutes; Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) — 20 minutes; Nurse Aide — 2 hours 29 minutes. On weekends, total nurse staffing is 4 hours 34 minutes per resident per day. The CMS Staffing Rating for this facility is 5 out of 5. The national average for total nursing hours is approximately 3.5 hrs/day. Total nursing staff turnover is 52.8%. Families are encouraged to ask about current staffing schedules during their facility visit.

In the current reporting period, the facility received 1 fine(s) totaling $109,382. 6 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 1 fine(s) totaling $109,382, and 0 Medicare payment denial(s). Total penalties: 1. The Total Weighted Health Survey Score is 94.25 (lower scores are better). Full inspection history and complaint details are available at medicare.gov/care-compare.

Nationally, Polaris Transitional Care ranks 2870th out of 14,703 facilities (composite score: 81.8/100), placing it in the top 25% nationwide. Within AK, it ranks 13th out of 20 nursing homes. In Anchorage, it ranks 1st out of 3 facilities. Among facilities sharing its ZIP code, it ranks 1st of 3. For 2026 staffing: total nurse hours rank #594 nationally and RN hours rank #114 nationally (#5 in AK). Our composite quality score of 81.8/100 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 Anchorage, visit: https://nursinghomesnearme.org/alaska/anchorage/