Nursing home
Buena Vista Care Center
160 South Patterson Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA 93111 · Map
For profit - Corporation · Part of Covenant Care (24 facilities) · 150 certified beds
Buena Vista Care Center is a Medicare-certified nursing home in Santa Barbara, California. CMS rates it 2 out of 5 stars overall (1/5 for staffing, 2/5 for health inspections). Nurse staffing is 2.64 hours per resident per day, below the California average of 4.51. Its most recent inspection on Jan 17, 2025 cited 14 deficiencies.
- 1 fine totaling $68,250In CMS records: 1 total penalty.
CMS quality ratings
Ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), updated monthly. 5 stars is the highest quality.
How Buena Vista Care Center compares
This facility vs. the California and national averages, from CMS data. For staffing, higher is generally better; for turnover and deficiencies, lower is better.
| Metric | This facility | California avg | National avg | Compared with the state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 2.64 | 4.51 | 3.89 | below avg |
| RN staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 0.25 | 0.65 | 0.68 | below avg |
| Aide staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 1.67 | 2.64 | 2.34 | below avg |
| Nursing staff turnover | —% | 38.1% | 46.4% | — |
| Deficiencies cited, last inspection | 14.0 | 15.4 | 9.5 | below avg |
Staffing
Hours per resident per day as reported to CMS. Higher numbers indicate more direct care time.
Staff turnover
Lower turnover typically indicates better working conditions and continuity of care. National average for nursing staff is 46.4%.
Recent health inspection
CMS inspects nursing facilities regularly. Deficiencies are categorized by severity.
Penalties in CMS records: 1 fine totaling $68,250, 1 total penalty.
What inspectors found at Buena Vista Care Center
Specific deficiencies cited in recent CMS health inspections, most recent first. Severity follows the CMS scope/severity scale. Source: CMS Care Compare.
- Potential for harm
Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Jan 14, 2026 · Full report (PDF) - Actual harm
Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Oct 20, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Immediate jeopardy
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Oct 3, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Keep all essential equipment working safely.
Environmental Deficiencies · Oct 3, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide safe, appropriate pain management for a resident who requires such services.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Aug 20, 2025 · Full report (PDF)
Show all 12 deficiencies
- Potential for harm
Safeguard resident-identifiable information and/or maintain medical records on each resident that are in accordance with accepted professional standards.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · May 2, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Honor the resident's right to a safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment, including but not limited to receiving treatment and supports for daily living safely.
Resident Rights Deficiencies · Mar 20, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Make sure that the nursing home area is safe, easy to use, clean and comfortable for residents, staff and the public.
Environmental Deficiencies · Mar 7, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Mar 7, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory and store, prepare, distribute and serve food in accordance with professional standards.
Nutrition and Dietary Deficiencies · Jan 17, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Ensure drugs and biologicals used in the facility are labeled in accordance with currently accepted professional principles; and all drugs and biologicals must be stored in locked compartments, separately locked, compartments for controlled drugs.
Pharmacy Service Deficiencies · Jan 17, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
PASARR screening for Mental disorders or Intellectual Disabilities
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Jan 17, 2025 · Full report (PDF)
Read the full inspection reports on Medicare.gov Each inspection there has a “Read the full report” link with the inspectors’ written findings.
About this facility
- Address
- 160 South Patterson Avenue
Santa Barbara, CA 93111 - CMS certification #
- 555394
- Ownership
- For profit - Corporation
- Certified beds
- 150
- Avg residents/day
- 117.3
- Provider type
- Medicare and Medicaid
- First certified
- 1989-11-20
- Chain
- Covenant Care (24 facilities)
- Setting
- Urban
Part of Covenant Care
Covenant Care operates 24 nursing facilities across the United States. View all Covenant Care facilities →
Not SLA enrolled. This facility hasn’t enrolled in resident survey verification. Learn about enrollment →
Location and nearby
Explore the area around Buena Vista Care Center using Google Maps.
Other public records
- Website says Nurse 24 hours a day
Full public records, with dates and sources
Care and services
From the community’s website
What Buena Vista Care Center says about itself, quoted from its own site. We have not checked these claims against licensing records. Ask about each one on a tour.
- Nurse on site: 24 hours a day.
Our Nursing staff provides 24-hour, round-the-clock care for our residents under the direction of our in-house physicians.
(page, checked Oct 12, 2026)
Location and nearby care
- Nearest hospital with an emergency room
- Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara. 0.2 miles away, straight line. CMS overall hospital rating: 5 of 5 stars.
- Nearest Medicare nursing home
- Channel Islands Post Acute, Santa Barbara. 3.4 miles away, straight line.
- Nearest home health agency office
- Santa Barbara Home Health, Inc., Santa Barbara. 3.4 miles away, straight line. Agencies travel to clients, so ask which ones serve this address.
- Nearest pharmacy
- West Coast Pharmacy. 0.9 miles away, straight line. From OpenStreetMap, which does not list every pharmacy, so one may be closer.
- Area
- USDA classes ZIP code 93111 as metropolitan (metropolitan core).
- Dialysis within 15 miles
- Fmc-Santa Barbara Community Dialysis Center, Santa Barbara, 3.0 miles away, straight line (CMS rating 5 of 5 stars)
Santa Barbara Artificial Kidney Center, LLC, Santa Barbara, 5.7 miles away, straight line (has a shift starting after 5 pm; CMS rating 4 of 5 stars) - Hospice
- 7 Medicare hospices tell CMS they serve ZIP code 93111.
Santa Barbara Hospice And Palliative Care Inc, office in Santa Barbara, 3.4 miles away, straight line
Vna Health, office in Santa Barbara, 7.0 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 4 of 5 stars) - Nearest geriatric medicine practice
- Todd Fearer, MD, Santa Barbara. 5.0 miles away, straight line. 1 geriatric medicine doctor listed there.
Distances are straight lines from the community, not driving distance. Hospitals, home health, dialysis, hospice and doctors come from CMS provider data (CMS, hospital list updated Jul 22, 2026). Star ratings are CMS’s own.
Emergency and natural hazard risk
Public hazard maps for this location. Ask the community about its emergency plan, its generator and where residents would go in an evacuation.
- Flood zone
- Outside the high and moderate risk flood areas on FEMA's flood map (Zone X, minimal flood hazard, or not studied). (FEMA flood map)
- FEMA National Risk Index
- Overall: very high. By hazard: inland flooding very high, coastal flooding relatively low, wildfire very low, tornado very low, heat wave very low, earthquake very high. These are FEMA’s ratings for the census tract, compared with tracts nationwide. (FEMA, December 2025)
A flood zone describes the map at this point, not the building's elevation. In an emergency, follow the local emergency management agency.
What we checked
Every public source we searched for this community. “Nothing on record” means we found no record that matched it. A record can be missed when a name or address differs.
| Source | Data as of | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour cases | Oct 15, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| OSHA workplace safety inspections since 2016 | Oct 15, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| FEMA flood map | See above | |
| USDA wildfire risk | Apr 15, 2026 | Not shown: FEMA rates wildfire risk here very low |
| FEMA National Risk Index | See above | |
| CMS hospitals, home health, dialysis, hospice and doctors; OpenStreetMap pharmacies | See above | |
| HUD Multifamily Properties - Assisted | Jul 6, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| State Veterans Homes (NASVH directory) | Sep 20, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| CMS Hospice - General Information | Aug 19, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| CMS Home Health Care Agencies | May 27, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| The community’s own website | See above |
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Frequently asked questions
Is Buena Vista Care Center a good nursing home?
CMS gives Buena Vista Care Center an overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars, including 1/5 for staffing and 2/5 for health inspections. These ratings come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and are updated monthly.
How is Buena Vista Care Center staffed?
Buena Vista Care Center reports 2.64 total nurse hours per resident per day, compared with the California average of 4.51.
Has Buena Vista Care Center had inspection problems?
Its most recent CMS inspection cited 14 deficiencies.
How many beds does Buena Vista Care Center have?
Buena Vista Care Center is certified for 150 beds.