Connecticut Nursing Homes Saw a Sudden Surge in the State’s Most Severe Safety Citations — Just as Lawmakers Tightened Ownership Oversight

Hartford, Connecticut — Connecticut nursing homes saw a sharp jump in the state’s most serious safety citations at the same time lawmakers moved to tighten oversight of who owns and controls facilities.

State health officials issued 14 “immediate jeopardy” citations in the first quarter of federal fiscal 2026, up from eight in the same period a year earlier, according to data presented at an April meeting of the Nursing Home Financial Advisory Committee. Connecticut reported five such citations in the first quarter of 2024 and seven in 2023. Across all of fiscal 2025, the state logged 26 immediate jeopardy findings.

Under federal rules, an immediate jeopardy finding means a nursing home has put residents at risk of serious injury, serious harm, serious impairment or death. Connecticut officials said the 14 citations were spread across 12 facilities and involved problems including major medication errors, accident hazards and broader care-quality failures. Most stemmed from complaints, while the rest came from routine certification surveys.

Lorraine Cullen, branch chief of healthcare quality and safety at the state Department of Public Health, said officials are watching closely to see whether the spike turns into a trend. The scrutiny comes after the death of 93-year-old Margaret Healey, a resident with Alzheimer’s disease who was found unresponsive in a snowbank after wandering out of Bickford Health Care Center in Windsor Locks during subzero weather. State investigators said a back door had been routinely propped open and not properly secured. The 48-bed facility was later ordered to close.

The rise in severe citations also landed just as Gov. Ned Lamont signed a new transparency measure aimed at untangling nursing home ownership. Similar to new disclosure efforts around nursing home spending and care in other states, the Connecticut law requires facilities to report the role of investors and to identify officers, directors, trustees and partners tied to owners with more than a 5% interest. Homes must also attest that no investment entity controls resident health, safety or care.

Rep. Jane Garibay, co-chair of the legislature’s Aging Committee, said the Bickford case underscored how hard it can be for lawmakers to regulate ownership structures they do not fully understand. According to state figures cited in the report, about 84% of Connecticut nursing facilities were for-profit as of last year, and 53 nursing homes changed hands between 2022 and the end of 2025. Another four ownership deals were recorded by February.

Industry officials said the turnover reflects low Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement, retirements among family operators and pressure on hospital systems to shed noncore assets. But with complaints rising and ownership structures growing more complex, Connecticut regulators now face a harder question: whether tighter disclosure rules can help prevent the next crisis before it reaches immediate jeopardy.