In choosing a nursing home in the State of New Jersey it is advisable that you go to the State of New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services website. There you will find a New Jersey report card for nursing homes. Each year, the Department conducts approximately 400 complete on-site licensure and Medicare/Medicaid certification inspections called "surveys", of nursing homes. These surveys are unannounced and are done during one three to seven day period every nine to fifteen months for each facility. They serve to evaluate the quality of care and services provided, as well as the appropriateness of the facility’s building, equipment, staffing, policies, procedures and finances. They are a "snapshot" of the facilities performance at the point in time when the survey is conducted.