Nursing home · Top rated by CMS
Friends Nursing Home
17340 Quaker Lane, Sandy Spring, MD 20860 · Map
Non profit - Church related · 82 certified beds
Friends Nursing Home is a Medicare-certified nursing home in Sandy Spring, Maryland. CMS rates it 5 out of 5 stars overall (5/5 for staffing, 4/5 for health inspections). Nurse staffing is 4.03 hours per resident per day, above the Maryland average of 3.87. Its most recent inspection on May 14, 2025 cited 8 deficiencies.
- 8 fines totaling $22,965In CMS records: 8 total penalties.
CMS quality ratings
Ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), updated monthly. 5 stars is the highest quality.
How Friends Nursing Home compares
This facility vs. the Maryland and national averages, from CMS data. For staffing, higher is generally better; for turnover and deficiencies, lower is better.
| Metric | This facility | Maryland avg | National avg | Compared with the state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 4.03 | 3.87 | 3.89 | above avg |
| RN staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 0.73 | 0.81 | 0.68 | below avg |
| Aide staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 2.40 | 2.15 | 2.34 | above avg |
| Nursing staff turnover | 18.6% | 40.6% | 46.4% | below avg |
| Deficiencies cited, last inspection | 8.0 | 18.9 | 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: 8 fines totaling $22,965, 8 total penalties.
What inspectors found at Friends Nursing Home
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
Procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory and store, prepare, distribute and serve food in accordance with professional standards.
Nutrition and Dietary Deficiencies · May 14, 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 · May 14, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Deficiencies · May 14, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Keep all essential equipment working safely.
Environmental Deficiencies · May 14, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
Infection Control Deficiencies · May 14, 2025 · Full report (PDF)
Show all 12 deficiencies
- Potential for harm
Provide safe, appropriate pain management for a resident who requires such services.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · May 14, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Develop the complete care plan within 7 days of the comprehensive assessment; and prepared, reviewed, and revised by a team of health professionals.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · May 14, 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 · May 14, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide appropriate treatment and care according to orders, resident’s preferences and goals.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Nov 8, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation Deficiencies · Nov 8, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Ensure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · May 20, 2021 - Potential for harm
Create and put into place a plan for meeting the resident's most immediate needs within 48 hours of being admitted
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · May 20, 2021
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
- 17340 Quaker Lane
Sandy Spring, MD 20860 - CMS certification #
- 215211
- Ownership
- Non profit - Church related
- Certified beds
- 82
- Avg residents/day
- 65.3
- Provider type
- Medicare and Medicaid
- First certified
- 1990-01-01
- Setting
- Urban
Not SLA enrolled. This facility hasn’t enrolled in resident survey verification. Learn about enrollment →
Location and nearby
Explore the area around Friends Nursing Home using Google Maps.
Other public records
- Website says Nurse 24 hours a day
- Kitchen 5 inspections by Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Licensure and Regulatory Services since 2024; latest Pass (July 2026)
Full public records, with dates and sources
Kitchen inspections
The local health department inspects the kitchen that serves residents. Results are in the agency's own words.
Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Licensure and Regulatory Services: Friends House Retirement Community
- Sep 10, 2024 (annual): Pass. No violations listed.
Source: the agency's records, inspections since Oct 16, 2023, as of Oct 15, 2026. Out of Compliance: The inspector marked this item out of compliance. The listed items are the county's critical food safety items.
Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Licensure and Regulatory Services: Friends House Retirement Community
- Jan 30, 2025 (food service facility inspection high): Pass. No violations listed.
Source: the agency's records, inspections since Oct 16, 2023, as of Oct 15, 2026. Out of Compliance: The inspector marked this item out of compliance. The listed items are the county's critical food safety items.
Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Licensure and Regulatory Services: Friends House Retirement Community
- Sep 10, 2024 (food service facility inspection high): Pass. No violations listed.
Source: the agency's records, inspections since Oct 16, 2023, as of Oct 15, 2026. Out of Compliance: The inspector marked this item out of compliance. The listed items are the county's critical food safety items.
Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Licensure and Regulatory Services: Friends House Retirement Community
- Jul 7, 2026 (reinspection): Pass.
1 violation
- Cold holding temperature (Critical item). Corrected Onsite
- Jul 2, 2026 (monitoring): Pass.
1 violation
- Cold holding temperature (Critical item). Corrected Onsite
Source: the agency's records, inspections since Oct 16, 2023, as of Oct 15, 2026. Out of Compliance: The inspector marked this item out of compliance. The listed items are the county's critical food safety items.
Care and services
From the community’s website
What Friends Nursing Home 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.
depend on our 24-hour nursing care, full-time dietitian, medical and mental health consulting services, our supportive partnership with physicians from MedStar Medical Group, and physical, occupational and speech therapies.
(page, checked Oct 15, 2026) - Apartment types named: one-bedroom, two-bedroom, cottage or villa.
Our well-loved duplex Cottages come in two plans – our one-bedroom Magnolia Cottage or our two-bedroom Oak Cottage – and come with both a den and a private garage.
(page, checked Oct 15, 2026)
Location and nearby care
- Nearest hospital with an emergency room
- Medstar Montgomery Medical Center, Olney. 1.8 miles away, straight line. CMS overall hospital rating: 3 of 5 stars.
- Nearest Medicare nursing home
- Brooke Grove Rehab. & NSG CTR, Sandy Spring. 1.2 miles away, straight line.
- Nearest home health agency office
- Comprehensive Home Health Care Agency, Silver Spring. 6.5 miles away, straight line. Agencies travel to clients, so ask which ones serve this address.
- Nearest pharmacy
- CVS Pharmacy. 1.1 miles away, straight line. From OpenStreetMap, which does not list every pharmacy, so one may be closer.
- Area
- USDA classes ZIP code 20860 as metropolitan (metropolitan core).
- Dialysis within 15 miles
- Davita Rock Creek Dialysis, Rockville, 5.4 miles away, straight line (CMS rating 4 of 5 stars)
Davita Briggs Chaney Dialysis, Silver Spring, 5.9 miles away, straight line (CMS rating 2 of 5 stars)
Davita Wheaton Dialysis Center, Wheaton, 6.6 miles away, straight line (CMS rating 4 of 5 stars) - Hospice
- 5 Medicare hospices tell CMS they serve ZIP code 20860.
Holy Cross Home Care And Hospice, office in Silver Spring, 7.5 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 2 of 5 stars)
Jewish Social Service Agency Hospice, office in Rockville, 7.9 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 2 of 5 stars)
Montgomery Hospice & Prince Georges Hospice, office in Rockville, 8.2 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 3 of 5 stars) - Nearest geriatric medicine practice
- Medstar Medical Group Ii LLC, Olney. 1.8 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: relatively low. By hazard: hurricane relatively low, inland flooding relatively low, wildfire very low, tornado relatively low, heat wave relatively moderate, earthquake relatively low. 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 |
| Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Licensure and Regulatory Services kitchen inspections | Oct 15, 2026 | See above |
| Hurricane evacuation zone maps | Not in a mapped zone | |
| 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 Friends Nursing Home a good nursing home?
CMS gives Friends Nursing Home an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars, including 5/5 for staffing and 4/5 for health inspections. These ratings come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and are updated monthly.
How is Friends Nursing Home staffed?
Friends Nursing Home reports 4.03 total nurse hours per resident per day, compared with the Maryland average of 3.87.
Has Friends Nursing Home had inspection problems?
Its most recent CMS inspection cited 8 deficiencies.
How many beds does Friends Nursing Home have?
Friends Nursing Home is certified for 82 beds.