Life Care Center of Banner Elk: Staffing, Turnover, and Inspection Record
Life Care Center of Banner Elk is a 118-bed for-profit nursing home in Banner Elk, North Carolina, part of Life Care Centers of America. In the CMS August 2026 release it reported 1.67 nurse aide hours per resident per day, 29% below the North Carolina average of 2.34, and 17.6% nursing staff turnover (North Carolina average 49.0%).
Life Care Center of Banner Elk
185 Norwood Hollow RoadBanner Elk, NC 28604
Avery County
CMS Care Compare, August 2026 release
How many staff hours residents get
CMS reports staffing as hours per resident per day, from the payroll records each home submits. At Life Care Center of Banner Elk, nurse aides logged 1.67 hours per resident per day, 29% below the North Carolina average. With about 66 residents a day, that works out to roughly 110 aide hours a day, or about 14 eight-hour aide shifts across day, evening, and night. On weekends, total nursing hours per resident ran 7% below the all-days figure.
| Hours per resident per day | This home | North Carolina avg | US avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nurse aides (CNAs) | 1.67 | 2.34 | 2.32 |
| Licensed practical nurses | 1.10 | 0.89 | 0.86 |
| Registered nurses | 0.41 | 0.61 | 0.69 |
| All nursing staff | 3.18 | 3.83 | 3.86 |
| All nursing staff, weekends | 2.96 | 3.40 | 3.42 |
CMS Care Compare, August 2026 release: reported staffing hours from Payroll-Based Journal data, and CMS state and US averages.
Staff turnover
17.6% of nursing staff at Life Care Center of Banner Elk left over the year CMS measured, against a North Carolina average of 49.0% and a US average of 45.8%. Registered nurse turnover was 28.6%. No administrators left over the same period.
Inspections and penalties
State inspectors last completed a standard health inspection on Aug 6, 2025. The most recent inspection cycle, which also counts complaint and infection-control inspections from the past 12 months, found 3 health deficiencies (North Carolina average 4.8). CMS lists no fines or payment denials for this home in the last three years.
CMS star ratings
CMS rates every nursing home from one to five stars overall and on health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. Life Care Center of Banner Elk holds 4 of 5 overall; the North Carolina average is 2.9.
About Life Care Center of Banner Elk
- Ownership: For profit - Corporation
- Chain: Life Care Centers of America, 194 homes
- Legal name: Banner Elk Operations LLC
- Medicare and Medicaid certified since: Oct 1, 1981
- Councils: resident council
- Area: rural
Nursing homes near Life Care Center of Banner Elk
The closest homes by distance, with the same CMS figures. Select a column to sort.
| The Foley Center at Chestnut Ridge Blowing Rock | 10.7 | 92 | 2.18 | 3.45 | 64.5% | 2 | $17,114 |
| The Waters of Roan Highlands,llc Roan Mountain | 10.8 | 80 | 1.93 | 3.32 | 29.2% | 5 | None |
| Glenbridge Health And Rehabilitation Boone | 12.7 | 134 | 2.22 | 3.53 | 60.6% | 1 | $32,349 |
| The Greens at Spruce Pines Spruce Pine | 20.6 | 127 | 2.09 | 3.47 | 62.8% | 3 | $153,439 |
| Lenoir Health and Rehabilitation Center Lenoir | 21.9 | 120 | 2.65 | 3.57 | 68.7% | 1 | $150,174 |
| Hibriten Mountain Nursing and Rehabilitation Lenoir · abuse citation | 22.8 | 100 | 2.01 | 3.15 | 50.7% | 1 | $53,110 |
| Mountain City Care & Rehabilitation Center Mountain City | 24.4 | 120 | 1.76 | 3.43 | 35.4% | 5 | None |
| Signature Healthcare of Elizabethton Rehab & Welln Elizabethton | 24.5 | 94 | 2.17 | 3.89 | 36.8% | 5 | None |
Aide hrs and all nurse hrs are staff hours per resident per day. Fines are the CMS total for the last three years. Turnover is the share of nursing staff who left over a year. All figures from CMS Care Compare.
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Source: CMS Care Compare Provider Information, State and US Averages, and Penalties files, August 2026 release. Figures are as CMS publishes them; check Medicare Care Compare for the latest. Methodology.