Nursing home · Top rated by CMS
Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing)
491 South 338Th Street, Federal Way, WA 98003 · Map
For profit - Limited Liability company · Part of Life Care Centers Of America (194 facilities) · 70 certified beds
Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing) is a Medicare-certified nursing home in Federal Way, Washington. CMS rates it 5 out of 5 stars overall (5/5 for staffing, 3/5 for health inspections). Nurse staffing is 5.41 hours per resident per day, above the Washington average of 4.39. Its most recent inspection on Jun 16, 2025 cited 16 deficiencies.
CMS quality ratings
Ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), updated monthly. 5 stars is the highest quality.
How Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing) compares
This facility vs. the Washington and national averages, from CMS data. For staffing, higher is generally better; for turnover and deficiencies, lower is better.
| Metric | This facility | Washington avg | National avg | Compared with the state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 5.41 | 4.39 | 3.89 | above avg |
| RN staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 1.51 | 0.88 | 0.68 | above avg |
| Aide staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 2.99 | 2.69 | 2.34 | above avg |
| Nursing staff turnover | 39.0% | 46.7% | 46.4% | below avg |
| Deficiencies cited, last inspection | 16.0 | 17.1 | 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.
- Every deficiency from the September 12, 2025 inspection was corrected by October 21, 2025
Penalties in CMS records: 1 total penalty, 1 Medicare payment denial.
What inspectors found at Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing)
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
Provide appropriate treatment and care according to orders, resident’s preferences and goals.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Sep 12, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
Infection Control Deficiencies · Jun 16, 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 · Jun 16, 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 · Jun 16, 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 · Jun 16, 2025 · Full report (PDF)
Show all 12 deficiencies
- Potential for harm
Ensure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Jun 16, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide or get specialized rehabilitative services as required for a resident.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Jun 16, 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 · Jun 16, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Ensure each resident must receive and the facility must provide necessary behavioral health care and services.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Jun 16, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide activities to meet all resident's needs.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Jun 16, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide care and assistance to perform activities of daily living for any resident who is unable.
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies · Jun 16, 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 · Jun 16, 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
- 491 South 338Th Street
Federal Way, WA 98003 - CMS certification #
- 505512
- Ownership
- For profit - Limited Liability company
- Certified beds
- 70
- Avg residents/day
- 60.7
- Provider type
- Medicare
- First certified
- 2003-06-12
- Chain
- Life Care Centers Of America (194 facilities)
- Setting
- Urban
Part of Life Care Centers Of America
Life Care Centers Of America operates 194 nursing facilities across the United States. View all Life Care Centers Of America facilities →
Not SLA enrolled. This facility hasn’t enrolled in resident survey verification. Learn about enrollment →
Location and nearby
Explore the area around Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing) using Google Maps.
Other public records
- Website says Respite stays, nurse 24 hours a day, 3 meals a day
- Staff pay 1 federal wage case with violations found, since 2003
Full public records, with dates and sources
Care and services
From the community’s website
What Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing) says about itself, quoted from its own site. We have not checked these claims against licensing records. Ask about each one on a tour.
- Offers respite or short-term stays.
Respite Care
(page, checked Oct 15, 2026) - Nurse on site: 24 hours a day.
Located in a quiet neighborhood in Federal Way, Washington, Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way is a Life Care Centers of America facility that focuses on inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation with 24-hour skilled nursing care.
(page, checked Oct 12, 2026) - 3 meals a day.
Three meals a day, plus nutritious snacks
(page, checked Oct 15, 2026) - Apartment types named: private room.
Featuring amenities such as courtyards, cable TV, fine dining and private rooms, our facility is certain to provide all the comforts of home to make patients and residents more comfortable as they walk the road to recovery.
(page, checked Oct 12, 2026)
Staff pay and workplace safety
Federal records about how the employer here treats its staff.
Federal wage and hour cases
The Department of Labor checks that staff are paid minimum wage and overtime as the law requires.
- Findings for Sep 20, 2003 to Sep 26, 2005. Violations found: Overtime. Back wages: $1,353 owed to 3 employees. Civil money penalties assessed: $660. DOL marked the employer as a repeat violator. Employer as DOL recorded it: Garden Terrace at Federal Way (Life Care Centers of America). Case 1419279.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division enforcement data, loaded Oct 15, 2026. Concluded cases only. The dates are the period in which DOL found violations, not when the case opened or closed. Back wages are what the employer agreed to pay; penalties are what DOL assessed. DOL does not publish a page for each case, so search the dataset by case number.
Location and nearby care
- Nearest hospital with an emergency room
- St Francis Community Hospital, Federal Way. 0.5 miles away, straight line. CMS overall hospital rating: 4 of 5 stars.
- Nearest Medicare nursing home
- Avalon Care Center Federal Way, L.L.C., Federal Way. 0.1 miles away, straight line.
- Nearest home health agency office
- Signature Healthcare At Home, Federal Way. 0.4 miles away, straight line. Agencies travel to clients, so ask which ones serve this address.
- Nearest pharmacy
- Key Compounding Pharmacy. 0.2 miles away, straight line. From OpenStreetMap, which does not list every pharmacy, so one may be closer.
- Area
- USDA classes ZIP code 98003 as metropolitan (metropolitan core).
- Dialysis within 15 miles
- Nkc Federal Way West Campus, Federal Way, 0.2 miles away, straight line (has a shift starting after 5 pm; CMS rating 4 of 5 stars)
Davita Federal Way Community Dialysis Center, Federal Way, 0.7 miles away, straight line (has a shift starting after 5 pm; CMS rating 4 of 5 stars)
Davita Redondo Heights Dialysis, Federal Way, 1.5 miles away, straight line (has a shift starting after 5 pm; CMS rating 3 of 5 stars) - Hospice
- 16 Medicare hospices tell CMS they serve ZIP code 98003.
Multicare Hospice, office in Tacoma, 6.1 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 3 of 5 stars)
Envision Hospice, office in Tacoma, 8.1 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 4 of 5 stars)
Puget Sound Hospice, office in Tacoma, 8.4 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 3 of 5 stars) - Nearest geriatric medicine practice
- South Sound Inpatient Physicians PLLC, Puyallup. 8.5 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 moderate. By hazard: inland flooding relatively low, wildfire very low, tornado very low, heat wave relatively low, earthquake relatively 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 | See above |
| OSHA workplace safety inspections since 2016 | Oct 15, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| Public Health - Seattle & King County kitchen inspections | Oct 15, 2026 | No kitchen matched |
| 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 Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing) a good nursing home?
CMS gives Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing) an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars, including 5/5 for staffing and 3/5 for health inspections. These ratings come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and are updated monthly.
How is Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing) staffed?
Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing) reports 5.41 total nurse hours per resident per day, compared with the Washington average of 4.39.
Has Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing) had inspection problems?
Its most recent CMS inspection cited 16 deficiencies.
How many beds does Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing) have?
Garden Terrace Healthcare Center of Federal Way (Skilled Nursing) is certified for 70 beds.