Quick answer: Nursing home neglect in Sonoma County is the failure to provide the care a resident needs to stay safe: repositioning, feeding, hydration, hygiene, supervision, and medical care. Under California's Elder Abuse Act (Welfare and Institutions Code 15610.57), serious neglect can carry attorney's fees and enhanced damages. Document what you see, request the chart, and call (888) 999-0169 or send us a message for a free review. Sonoma County's 18 nursing homes span a wide range, and the bottom of that range is concerning. Four of the county's homes display the CMS abuse icon, a flag for a facility cited for abuse or its potential, and ten carry federal fines totaling $445,128. Neglect is usually what those citations and fines describe.
If your loved one was neglected in a Santa Rosa, Petaluma, or Rohnert Park nursing home, you may have a claim under California's Elder Abuse Act. Call (888) 999-0169 for a free, confidential consultation. You work directly with former defense attorneys, and you owe nothing unless we win.
Nursing home records in Sonoma County
Sonoma County has 18 federally certified nursing facilities with 1,506 licensed beds. Since 1997, state inspectors have issued 302 citations against Sonoma County facilities, including 4 class AA citations and 61 class A citations. Facilities in the county have been assessed $1,570,958 in state penalties over that period.
A class AA citation is a class A violation that the Department of Public Health determined was a direct proximate cause of a resident's death. A class A citation is a violation the Department determined presented an imminent danger of death or serious harm to residents, or a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm would result.
18 of those enforcement actions were connected to a resident's death.
4 Sonoma County facilities currently carry the federal abuse warning icon.
The county's facilities average 3.5 of 5 stars on the federal rating system. 5 of 18 facilities hold a 1 or 2 star overall rating.
Sonoma County facilities have been assessed $445,128 in federal fines.
The most cited nursing homes in Sonoma County
- Ridgeway Post Acute (42 citations)
- Blue Oak Post-Acute (34 citations)
- Apple Valley Post-Acute Rehab (32 citations)
See every facility in the county, with its full record, in the nursing home directory.
Citation data covers July 1, 1997 through June 30, 2024. Ratings and fines are current as of the CMS processing date shown above.
What the record shows across Sonoma County
Neglect surfaces as the specific injuries we handle: bedsores, falls and fractures, dehydration and malnutrition, sepsis and infections, medication errors, and wandering and elopement.
In the CMS data, these are the county's nursing homes with the lowest overall CMS ratings. CMS gives North Bay Post Acute in Petaluma a 1 star overall rating and a 1 star health inspection rating, with a 3 star staffing rating. It also carries 4.02 nursing hours per resident per day, $179,613 in federal fines across 3 federal penalties and the federal abuse warning icon. Northvine Postacute Care in Santa Rosa holds a 1 star overall rating and a 1 star health inspection rating, with a 2 star staffing rating. It carries 3.59 nursing hours per resident per day and $36,288 in federal fines across 5 federal penalties as well. In Petaluma, Ridgeway Post Acute holds a 1 star overall rating and a 1 star health inspection rating, with a 3 star staffing rating. Its record also shows 4.10 nursing hours per resident per day and $32,280 in federal fines across 3 federal penalties. 5 of the county's 18 homes hold a 1 or 2 star overall rating.
A cluster of abuse-flagged homes in one county is worth extra scrutiny for any family with a loved one there.
Review any home's full record in our Sonoma County nursing home directory. For how California defines and proves neglect, see our California nursing home neglect page.
How Sonoma County families can respond
Write down what you see, with dates and photos, and request the complete chart in writing, including care plans, weight logs, intake records, and repositioning sheets. File a complaint with the California Department of Public Health through Cal Health Find, or contact the Sonoma County Long-Term Care Ombudsman (Senior Advocacy Services) at (707) 526-4108, or the state crisis line at (800) 231-4024 after hours. If your loved one is in immediate danger, contact Sonoma County Adult Protective Services or call 911. Our full guide is here: how to report nursing home abuse in California.
If you are weighing whether to look into this, talking it through costs nothing. Call (888) 999-0169.
Why work with us
Michael Young and Thomas Wallin spent years defending nursing homes before switching sides. Their record includes millions of dollars recovered on behalf of abused and neglected residents. We know how understaffing hides in a chart that says "care provided" on a shift with no one to provide it, and how a facility's abuse-icon and penalty history exposes a problem that predates any one family's harm. As Sonoma County nursing home abuse lawyers, we handle neglect cases across Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and the county and throughout California.
Talk to a Sonoma County nursing home neglect lawyer today
The records that prove neglect are easiest to obtain early. Call (888) 999-0169 or send us a message for a free case evaluation. We represent families across Sonoma County and all of California, we have recovered millions in elder abuse cases, and you pay nothing unless we win.
Sources and authoritative references
- CMS Care Compare, the federal nursing home rating and inspection database: https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/
- California Department of Public Health, Cal Health Find, to look up a facility or file a complaint: https://calhealthfind.cdph.ca.gov/
- California Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, Welfare and Institutions Code section 15600: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=WIC§ionNum=15600.
- Neglect defined under California law, Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610.57: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=WIC§ionNum=15610.57.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as nursing home neglect in California?
Neglect is the failure to provide the care a resident needs to stay safe and healthy: repositioning, feeding, hydration, hygiene, mobility, supervision, and medical care. Under California's Elder Abuse Act, serious neglect can carry attorney's fees and enhanced damages where it was reckless.
What does the CMS abuse icon mean?
It is a flag CMS places on a facility cited for abuse, or for conditions creating the potential for abuse, within a recent period. It is a signal for extra scrutiny, not proof of a specific harm, and four Sonoma County homes carry it.
How many nursing homes are in Sonoma County?
Sonoma County has 18 federally certified nursing facilities with 1,506 licensed beds. Every one of them is listed in our Sonoma County nursing home directory with its ratings, staffing, citations and fines.
Do Sonoma County nursing homes have citations for neglect?
State inspectors have issued 302 citations against Sonoma County nursing homes since 1997, across the full range of care failures rather than any single one. We do not publish a citation count by injury type, because the state does not categorize them that way. Check the specific home's own record instead. Every one of them is listed in our Sonoma County nursing home directory with its ratings, staffing, citations and fines.
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Disclaimer: facility ratings, fines, and the CMS abuse icon above are drawn from public CMS data (medicare.gov) as of the August 2026 processing date and are reported as published. They may not reflect the most current findings, and inclusion of any facility is not an allegation of wrongdoing. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any future case. This page is attorney advertising and not legal advice.