How to Check Care Facility Complaints in Wyoming

Before your parent moves into any nursing home or assisted living facility, research its regulatory history. A clean lobby doesn't mean a clean inspection record. Wyoming gives families three tools to investigate facility quality — and using all three takes less time than a single facility tour.

Tool 1: HLS Inspection Reports

The Office of Healthcare Licensing and Surveys (HLS) is the Wyoming Department of Health division responsible for licensing, inspecting, and investigating complaints against nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home health agencies.

HLS maintains a public database of Facility Inspection Reports. These documents record:

• Annual licensing survey results — the standard annual inspection that every licensed facility undergoes
• Complaint investigation outcomes — what happened when families or staff reported concerns
• Deficient practice citations — specific violations of state or federal health and safety standards
• Plans of correction — the facility's legally binding response to each citation

Access these reports through the Wyoming Department of Health website under Healthcare Licensing and Surveys, or call HLS directly at (307) 777-7123.

When reviewing a report, focus on patterns rather than isolated incidents. A single citation for a minor documentation error is different from repeated citations for staffing shortfalls, medication errors, or failure to prevent falls.

Tool 2: CMS Five-Star Quality Ratings

For Medicare-certified nursing homes (not assisted living), the federal CMS Five-Star Quality Rating System provides a standardized comparison framework. Access it at medicare.gov/care-compare.

The rating system scores facilities across three domains:

• Health inspections — based on the most recent three years of inspection results
• Staffing — nurse-to-resident ratios compared to national benchmarks
• Quality measures — clinical outcomes including falls, pressure ulcers, and use of antipsychotic medications

A five-star facility isn't guaranteed to be excellent, and a two-star facility isn't necessarily dangerous. But consistent low scores — especially in staffing and health inspections — are red flags worth investigating further.

Tool 3: The Long-Term Care Ombudsman

Wyoming's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program deploys regional advocates who work directly with residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. They cannot share specific complaint details due to confidentiality requirements, but they can provide general context about facility patterns.

Contact the ombudsman for your parent's region:

• Statewide oversight: Patricia Hall, State Ombudsman — (307) 287-7757
• Western Wyoming (Big Horn, Washakie, Park, Hot Springs, Teton, Fremont, Sublette, Lincoln, Uinta): Ember Lucas — (307) 856-6880
• Central Wyoming (Sheridan, Johnson, Natrona, Campbell, Converse): Corycia Kassim — (307) 235-5959
• Eastern Wyoming (Crook, Weston, Niobrara, Goshen, Platte, Laramie, Albany, Carbon, Sweetwater): Nicholas Wiseman — (307) 634-1010

Ask: "Can you tell me anything about the general complaint trends at [facility name]?" They may not give specifics, but their willingness to comment — or their silence — tells you something.

Filing a New Complaint

If your parent is already in a facility and you have concerns about quality of care, neglect, or safety violations, file a formal complaint with HLS. Complaints must be submitted through secure channels — HLS instructs families to never email complaint forms because email isn't considered secure for protected health information.

Three authorized submission methods:

1. Phone: (307) 777-7123 — ask to speak with an active health surveyor
2. Fax: (307) 777-7127
3. Mail: Healthcare Licensing and Surveys, Hathaway Building, Suite 510, 2300 Capitol Avenue, Cheyenne, WY 82002

Response timelines depend on severity: allegations of immediate danger trigger an unannounced inspection within 2 working days; abuse or neglect allegations within 2-10 days; general concerns within 60 days.

For a complete facility evaluation checklist and quality comparison worksheet, see the Choosing Care in Wyoming guide.

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