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Special Focus Facility (SFF)

A nursing home flagged by CMS as having a sustained pattern of serious deficiencies, requiring twice-as-frequent inspections.

What they don't tell you

There are 88 SFF nursing homes in the US at any given time. CMS publishes the list. If your parent's facility is on it — or on the SFF candidate list — that's a five-alarm signal. Ask your administrator. They have to tell you.

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