Driftwood Healthcare Center - Santa Cruz
675 24th Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 · Santa Cruz County · 92 certified beds · avg 85 residents/day · certified since Jun 1, 1969
Part of chain: MARINER HEALTH CARE (17 facilities, chain avg rating 3.6★)
3/5
Health inspection rating (on-site)
3
Serious findings on record
$0
Fines, last 3 years
4.75
Nurse hours/resident/day (adjusted)
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★★★☆☆3/5 · CMS overall rating: 4/5
The health inspection star above is graded on a curve within each state — a set share of each state's facilities gets each star level — so a facility can have few citations and still rate 2–3 stars if others in its state did even better. The overall rating combines that inspection score with staffing and self-reported quality measures.
Most serious findings (actual harm or immediate jeopardy)
▲ Actual harm, one-off · Mar 19, 2024 · F-0689 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls.
Why it matters: This is one of the most common citations and directly relates to falls and injuries, which can be devastating for older adults.
Severity (G): One or a few residents were actually harmed — physically or emotionally — though not put in immediate danger of serious injury or death.
Corrected: Mar 27, 2024 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Actual harm, one-off · Mar 4, 2024 · F-0689 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls.
Why it matters: This is one of the most common citations and directly relates to falls and injuries, which can be devastating for older adults.
Severity (G): One or a few residents were actually harmed — physically or emotionally — though not put in immediate danger of serious injury or death.
Corrected: Mar 13, 2024 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Actual harm, one-off · Jan 18, 2024 · F-0755 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not provide pharmacy services that meet each resident's needs, or did not employ or contract with a licensed pharmacist.
Why it matters: Weak pharmacy services lead to medication mistakes, delays, and missed drug interactions that can seriously harm residents.
Severity (G): One or a few residents were actually harmed — physically or emotionally — though not put in immediate danger of serious injury or death.
Corrected: Jan 30, 2024 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
All citations in the current public record (51)
CMS publishes roughly the last three inspection cycles plus recent complaint investigations. Older surveys drop out of the record as new ones are completed.
| Date | Severity | What the facility was cited for |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 12, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility used bed rails without first trying safer alternatives, or without assessing the resident's safety risk, discussing the risks and benefits with the resident or family, getting consent, and installing the rails correctly. |
| Dec 12, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not label drugs according to professional standards or did not store them in locked compartments, with controlled drugs (medications with a high risk of misuse) kept under a separate lock. |
| Dec 12, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not prepare and serve food in a form that meets each resident's individual needs — for example, chopped, pureed, or softened food for residents with chewing or swallowing problems. |
| Dec 12, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards. |
| Dec 12, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. |
| Dec 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide pharmacy services that meet each resident's needs, or did not employ or contract with a licensed pharmacist. |
| Aug 22, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft to the proper authorities quickly enough, or did not report the results of its investigation. · from a complaint |
| Oct 2, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. · from a complaint |
| Jun 24, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not make sure residents were fully informed about their own health, care, and treatments in a way they could understand. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not develop a resident's complete plan of care within 7 days of the full assessment, or the plan wasn't prepared, reviewed, and updated by a team of health professionals as required. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility used bed rails without first trying safer alternatives, or without assessing the resident's safety risk, discussing the risks and benefits with the resident or family, getting consent, and installing the rails correctly. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not have enough staff with the right skills to meet the mental and behavioral health needs of its residents, such as those living with dementia or depression. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not provide the social services residents need — such as counseling, help with adjustment, or connecting to outside resources — to achieve the best possible quality of life. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not provide pharmacy services that meet each resident's needs, or did not employ or contract with a licensed pharmacist. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not try to gradually reduce doses of mood- and mind-altering medications or use non-drug approaches first, as required, or used 'as needed' psychiatric drugs without proper limits. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not serve food and drinks that were appetizing, attractive, and at a safe and pleasant temperature. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not dispose of garbage and refuse properly. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not have a working call system — the button or cord residents use to summon help — in each resident's bathroom and bathing area. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not keep its building and grounds safe, functional, clean, and comfortable for residents, staff, and visitors. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not honor residents' rights to request, refuse, or stop treatment, to decline participation in medical research, or to make an advance directive — a written statement of their wishes for future medical care. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep residents' personal and medical information private and confidential. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop or follow a complete care plan for each resident — the written roadmap covering all of a resident's needs, with measurable goals and timelines. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide treatment and care that follows the doctor's orders and matches the resident's own preferences and goals. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide appropriate care related to bladder and bowel needs — including care for residents who use catheters and steps to prevent urinary tract infections. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have a licensed pharmacist review each resident's complete medication regimen and medical chart every month, or did not follow its own rules for reporting medication problems. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep residents' medications free from unnecessary drugs. Residents should only take medicines they truly need, at the right dose, for a clear reason. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility's medication error rate was 5 percent or higher — meaning too many doses were given incorrectly, such as the wrong drug, dose, or time. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not label drugs according to professional standards or did not store them in locked compartments, with controlled drugs (medications with a high risk of misuse) kept under a separate lock. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide food that accounts for each resident's allergies, intolerances, and personal preferences, or did not offer appealing alternatives. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not serve meals and snacks at times that fit residents' needs, preferences, and requests, or did not offer nourishing alternatives for residents who want to eat outside scheduled meal times. |
| Jun 24, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not regularly inspect bed frames, mattresses, and bed rails for safety, or the rails and mattresses were not attached safely to the frames. |
| Mar 19, 2024 | ▲ G · Actual harm, one-off | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. · from a complaint |
| Mar 4, 2024 | ▲ G · Actual harm, one-off | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. · from a complaint |
| Jan 18, 2024 | ▲ G · Actual harm, one-off | The facility did not provide pharmacy services that meet each resident's needs, or did not employ or contract with a licensed pharmacist. · from a complaint |
| Oct 9, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop or follow a complete care plan for each resident — the written roadmap covering all of a resident's needs, with measurable goals and timelines. · from a complaint |
| Oct 6, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. · from a complaint |
| Aug 19, 2022 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not employ enough qualified food and nutrition staff, including a qualified dietician, to properly run its food service. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not have enough support staff to safely and effectively run its food and nutrition service. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not keep all essential equipment working safely — things like heating and cooling systems, kitchen equipment, and medical devices. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not honor residents' right to make their own choices about their daily lives, such as when to wake up, what to eat, or how to spend their time. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment, including safe support for residents' daily living needs. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility provided care that did not meet professional standards of quality — the accepted standards that nurses and other clinicians are expected to follow. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide pharmacy services that meet each resident's needs, or did not employ or contract with a licensed pharmacist. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have a licensed pharmacist review each resident's complete medication regimen and medical chart every month, or did not follow its own rules for reporting medication problems. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not try to gradually reduce doses of mood- and mind-altering medications or use non-drug approaches first, as required, or used 'as needed' psychiatric drugs without proper limits. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility's medication error rate was 5 percent or higher — meaning too many doses were given incorrectly, such as the wrong drug, dose, or time. |
| Aug 19, 2022 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide food that accounts for each resident's allergies, intolerances, and personal preferences, or did not offer appealing alternatives. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections decreased between the last two inspection cycles (25 → 6).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 13 | 0 | F |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | D |
| 2024 | 29 | 3 | G ▲ |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | E |
Counts reflect the current CMS public record (~3 inspection cycles plus complaint investigations); years with no surveys show no row. Inspection frequency varies, so compare severity as well as counts.
Fines and enforcement (last 3 years)
No fines or payment denials in the published 3-year window.
Nurse staffing (from payroll records, adjusted for how much care residents need)
| Measure | This facility | California avg | U.S. avg | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day) | 4.75 | 4.31 | 3.95 | top 20% in California; top 17% in the U.S. |
| Registered Nurse hours | 0.81 | 0.61 | 0.69 | top 17% in California; top 27% in the U.S. |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 4.46 | 3.90 | 3.50 | top 15% in California; top 13% in the U.S. |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.52 | 0.51 | 0.48 | top 29% in California; top 30% in the U.S. |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 46.2 | 36.7 | 45.8 | bottom 22% in California; bottom 47% in the U.S. |
| RN turnover (%) | 50.0 | 38.1 | 42.9 | bottom 29% in California; bottom 39% in the U.S. |
Hours are per resident per day, case-mix adjusted by CMS so facilities caring for sicker residents can be compared fairly (same basis as the CMS staffing star). "Top X%" means better than most facilities: more staffing hours, or lower turnover. Raw (unadjusted) reported hours: total 3.98, RN 0.68, weekend 3.73. Staffing rating: 4/5.
Self-reported quality measures
Note: these ratings are based on data the facility reports about itself to CMS. They are not independently verified by inspectors, and can look better than inspection findings. Give more weight to the inspection results above.
Quality measures rating: 5/5 · long-stay residents: 5/5 · short-stay residents: 4/5
Who owns this facility
For profit - Limited Liability company
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Funding LLC | Organization | 5% or Greater Direct Ownership Interest | — | 06/01/2015 |
| GC Operating Company LLC | Organization | 5% or Greater Direct Ownership Interest | 99% | 12/06/2011 |
| Grancare LLC | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 11/17/2010 |
| Grunstein, Emily | Individual | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 02/06/2019 |
| Mariner Health Care, INC. | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 11/17/2010 |
| MHC Holding Company | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 11/17/2010 |
| MHC West Holding Company | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 11/17/2010 |
| National Senior Care, INC. | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 11/17/2010 |
| Driftwood Santa Cruz Holding Company GP LLC | Organization | General Partnership Interest | NOT APPLICABLE | 08/27/2014 |
| GC Operating Company LLC | Organization | Limited Partnership Interest | NOT APPLICABLE | 08/27/2014 |
| Hadfield, Kevin | Individual | Managing Control - Governing Body | NOT APPLICABLE | 11/17/2025 |
| Hadfield, Kevin | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 11/17/2025 |
| Hadfield, Kevin | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 11/17/2025 |
| Kaur, Navdeep | Individual | Managing Control - Governing Body | NOT APPLICABLE | 09/08/2025 |
| Kaur, Navdeep | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 09/08/2025 |
| Kaur, Navdeep | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 09/08/2025 |
| Sabounchi, Saman | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/15/2021 |
| Sabounchi, Saman | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/15/2021 |
| Sarcauga, Dennis | Individual | Managing Control - Governing Body | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/06/2025 |
| Sarcauga, Dennis | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/06/2025 |
Questions to ask on your visit
Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.
- "What is your falls rate, and what specific steps do you take to prevent falls and supervise residents at risk?"
- "How does your pharmacist review residents' medications, and how quickly can you fill new or urgent prescriptions?"
- "What alternatives do you try before using bed rails, and how do you involve families in that decision?"
- "Can you show me how medications are stored and secured on the units, including controlled drugs?"
- "How do you handle residents who need modified food textures, and how do you make those meals appetizing?"
- "What did your most recent kitchen inspection find, and can I see how food is stored and prepared?"
- "Who leads your infection prevention program, and how do you make sure staff follow practices like hand hygiene every day?"
- "When abuse or theft is suspected, who do you notify, how fast, and how do you inform the family?"
- "What is your current ratio of nursing staff to residents on day, evening, and weekend shifts?"
- "Can I see the results and plan of correction from your most recent state inspection?"
Nearby facilities (within 20 miles)
| Facility | Distance | City | Overall | Inspection | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz Post Acute | 1.0 mi | Santa Cruz, CA | ★★☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Pacific Coast Manor | 1.4 mi | Capitola, CA | ★★★★★ | 5/5 | |
| Redwood Grove Post Acute | 1.5 mi | Santa Cruz, CA | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Watsonville Nursing Center | 12.0 mi | Watsonville, CA | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Watsonville Post Acute Center | 12.0 mi | Watsonville, CA | ★★★★★ | 4/5 | |
| Manresa Healthcare Center | 12.5 mi | Watsonville, CA | ★★★★☆ | 4/5 | |
| Vasona Creek Healthcare Center | 18.3 mi | Los Gatos, CA | ★★☆☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| The Terraces of Los Gatos | 18.7 mi | Los Gatos, CA | ★★★★★ | 5/5 | |
| Almaden Health and Rehabilitation Center | 19.5 mi | San Jose, CA | ★★★★☆ | 3/5 | |
| Stonebrook Health and Rehabilitation | 19.5 mi | Los Gatos, CA | ★★★★★ | 4/5 |
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Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 055109.