Senior living · Nursing homes

Nursing home answering service for admissions, referrals and families

A nursing home answering service has three jobs: answer admissions calls, keep resident information private and get reports of harm to the right person. Your AI receptionist takes hospital referrals field by field, answers families from your rules and puts urgent calls through to the person you name.

Hear it answer — call our AI receptionist(450) 367-9990

Skilled nursing facility answering service: what changes on a nursing home line

HIPAA usually applies, admissions depend on hospital referrals, and families call at all hours.

HHS names nursing homes among the providers that are HIPAA covered entities when they submit transactions, such as claims, electronically (HHS). A service that stores your callers’ recordings and messages is a business associate, not a mere conduit (HHS). In 365vox, you answer Yes to the health question when you create the agent, and accept the health-information agreement before it handles health information.

Occupancy in freestanding nursing care communities reached 86.7% in the first quarter of 2026, and the average private-pay daily rate was $420 (NIC). Referrals fill beds, and a planner with a patient to place calls more than one facility.

Your AI virtual receptionist answers when admissions is on the floor, at night and on weekends. It takes the referral, keeps resident information to itself and puts urgent calls through to one number.

One number, one person

Each agent puts calls through to one number. At night, give it to the person who can act on a referral, a worried family and a report of harm. That’s often the nursing supervisor on duty.

A separate admissions line in the daytime is a second agent, with its own number, in the same account.

Who calls a nursing home, and how each call ends

Short-term rehab and long-term care bring different callers with different clocks. Your rules set every ending.

Callers to a nursing home or skilled nursing facility, what they need, and how the AI receptionist ends each call
Caller	What they need	How the call ends
Hospital discharge planner or case manager	A bed for a patient ready for discharge. Medicare covers SNF care after at least 3 consecutive inpatient days. The care generally starts within 30 days of discharge (42 CFR 409.30).	The referral taken field by field, then put through. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, the agent takes it as a message: your team is emailed, and it goes into your EHR or referral software if it has an open API.
Family of a short-term rehab patient	Therapy times, visiting, what to bring, coverage. Medicare Part A covers up to 100 days of post-hospital SNF care in a benefit period (42 CFR 409.61).	Answered from your rules, or a message for the unit or the social worker. Coverage for a person goes to your business office.
Family looking for long-term care	Admission, Medicaid and the private-pay rate. Medicaid must cover nursing facility services for people 21 and older who need them, when other payment options are unavailable (Medicaid.gov).	Answered from your rules, and a tour booked in your calendar if they’d like one. Never says whether a person qualifies.
Family checking on a resident	“How is Mom today?” HIPAA lets a provider share what’s relevant with family involved in care, unless the patient objects (FAQ 2087). It doesn’t require proof of identity from family (FAQ 534).	Never discusses the resident. Puts the call through by your rules, or takes a message for the nurse.
Someone reporting harm	Abuse, neglect, an unexplained injury, missing money or belongings.	The caller’s words written down, and the call flagged urgent and put through to the person you name. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, the agent takes a message and the urgent email goes out.
Pharmacy, lab or physician’s office	A question about a resident’s order, delivery or result.	Put through to the nurse on duty, or a message for the unit.
Someone asking whether a person is there	“Is my uncle a resident?” A covered facility’s directory may give a location to people who ask by name. The resident can object (45 CFR 164.510(a)).	Says only what your policy allows for that caller. By default, neither confirms nor denies, and offers a message.
Job applicant or agency staff	Open shifts and how to apply.	Answered from your rules, or details taken for staffing.

General information, not legal or clinical advice. Rules differ by state and province and change over time, so check yours.

Nursing home admissions calls: the record of a hospital referral

A discharge planner can give the referral to the agent while admissions is busy. It asks your referral questions in order and reads key answers back. The record is in your portal, and goes into your EHR or referral software if it has an open API; the email to your team only says a call came in.

One referral-management guide lists what SNF intake should capture (SNF Metrics). It names demographics, the diagnosis, the hospital stay, medications and therapy needs. It adds isolation status, payer and authorization, the referring provider and the expected discharge date. Ask for the few your privacy officer approves on a call, and tell planners where to send the packet. The agent doesn’t receive files or faxes.

Call record · 365vox portalExample

Referral: short-term rehab after hip surgery

Caller: Lisa Moreno, discharge planner, Riverside General (example) · (414) 555-0172
Patient: R.T., 81 (initials, as your rules ask)
Needs, as stated: Short-term rehab after hip surgery; physical and occupational therapy
Hospital stay: Admitted Sunday; expected discharge Thursday morning
Isolation: None, per the planner
Payer, as stated: Medicare Part A, with a supplement plan
Packet: Told to send it through your referral portal
What happened: Put through to the admissions coordinator on call at 7:42 p.m., by your rule for discharges within 48 hours
Flag: Urgent, by your rule: discharge within 48 hours

Example with made-up names. This record is in your 365vox portal; the urgent email only says an urgent call came in.

SNF after-hours calls: the order your rules decide

Asked in order. The first yes decides how the call ends. Your administrator and director of nursing should set the order.

A call comes in after hours. The greeting says it’s an AI and that the call is recorded.

1Is someone in danger right now?

YesCall 911 Set up to tell the caller right away to hang up and call 911. The agent can’t call 911 or send help itself.
2Does the caller describe abuse, neglect, an unexplained injury or missing money?

YesReport of harm Writes down the caller’s words without judging or reassuring, flags the call urgent and puts it through to the person you name. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, it takes a message.
3Is a hospital calling with a referral?

YesReferral Takes your referral fields and puts the call through. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, it takes the referral as a message. Hospital referral intake
4Is a family worried about a resident tonight?

YesOn call Never discusses the resident. Puts the call through by your rules, or takes a message for the unit. After-hours family calls
5Is a family asking about admission, rehab or long-term care?

YesAdmissions Answers from your rules and books a tour in your connected calendar at a time that suits the family.

Everything elsePharmacies, vendors, applicants and everyone else: answered from your rules, or a message with who called and why.

Calls your rules mark urgent are flagged urgent in the portal and get their own email. For a health agent, that email only says an urgent call came in; the details stay in the portal.

Why a report of abuse on the phone goes straight to a person

Federal rules give nursing homes reporting deadlines counted in hours. A message read in the morning can miss them.

Section 1150B of the Social Security Act came from the Elder Justice Act. It covers long-term care facilities that receive at least $10,000 a year in federal funds. Owners, operators, employees, managers, agents and contractors must report a suspected crime against a resident to HHS and local law enforcement. The deadline is 2 hours if there’s serious bodily injury, otherwise 24 hours (law firm summary). Penalties reach $200,000, or $300,000 if the failure makes the harm worse, and retaliating against an employee who reports is prohibited.

Separately, the federal requirements for nursing homes say alleged abuse, neglect, exploitation or mistreatment must be reported to the administrator and other officials. Those include the State Survey Agency and adult protective services where state law gives them jurisdiction. The deadline is 2 hours if the events involve abuse or serious bodily injury, otherwise 24 hours (42 CFR 483.12(c)(1)). Every state but New York also names mandated reporters (NCEA and NAPSA).

The agent isn’t a reporter and decides nothing. Your rules tell it to write down the caller’s words, mark the call urgent and put it through to the person you name. The urgent call gets its own email, and if nobody answers within 20 seconds, the agent takes a message. Still, make sure the person you name answers at night. Your staff decide whether and how to report.

Who should the person you name be?

Someone who can act within the hour at night, as your abuse policy says: the administrator on call or the nursing supervisor. Name the same person in your policy and in step 4.

General information, not legal or clinical advice. Rules differ by state and province and change over time, so check yours. The §1150B summary is a 2010 law-firm advisory; check current CMS guidance.

What it never does on a nursing home line

Never discusses a resident

Not their condition, their room or their day. Your facility directory policy decides whether it can even confirm someone is there.

Never questions or reassures

With a report of harm it doesn’t ask leading questions, doubt the caller or promise an outcome. It writes down their words and gets the call to a person.

Never answers clinical questions

Nothing about medications, wounds, results or a change in condition. It puts the call through, or takes a message for the nurse.

Never accepts a referral

It takes the referral and passes it on. Clinical review, bed offers and admission stay with your admissions team.

Never says what Medicare or Medicaid will pay

It can explain which payers you accept. Coverage for a person goes to your business office.

Never receives packets

It answers calls. Referral packets go to the channel your rules name. With an EHR that has an open API connected, the caller’s details and call notes go into it; the packet doesn’t.

Build it yourself

Build your nursing home answering service yourself

Answer Yes to the health question when you create the agent, and accept the health-information agreement: referral and family calls carry health information. Then set these on the Customize screen.

Build yours free for 7 days

You set all of this yourself in the 365vox portal, on the Customize screen. Everything saves as you type; then you submit, test the agent with a real call and activate it.

Customize · your agent

Step 1, IndustryOther. Your business rules describe your facility, units and services.
Step 3, Questions to askName, phone and email are there. Add Which organization are you calling from?, Who are you calling about?, What is the expected discharge date? and Which payer did the hospital list? Keep patient details to what your privacy officer approves.
Step 4, Forward to a personAt night, the nursing supervisor or administrator on call named in your abuse policy. One number per agent. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, the agent takes a message.
Step 5, IntegrationsConnect your admissions calendar, so the agent books tours during the call. If your EHR, CRM or referral software has an open API, connect it too: referrals, callers’ details and call notes go straight into it.
Step 7, When your agent answers24/7 for a main line families call at night, or Overflow by day so admissions picks up first.
Step 8, Call notificationsAdmissions, the administrator and the director of nursing. Each email says only that a call came in. Calls your rules mark urgent, like a report of harm, get their own email.
Step 9, Business rulesYour referral questions and packet channel, visiting hours, payers you accept, your directory policy and your list of what counts as a report of harm.
Step 10, Things your agent will never doThe five built-in rules stay on. Add Never discuss a resident and Never question or doubt a report of harm.
Step 13, Test your agentCall it once as a discharge planner and once as a daughter who saw bruises on her mother’s arm.

Nursing home answering service cost, worked out

$0.75 a conversation minute, billed by the second. No monthly plan, no setup fee and no long-term contract. Taxes where applicable. For scale: the example month costs about what 1 days of private-pay care cost on average in Q1 2026 ($420 a day, NIC).

See AI receptionist pricing Estimate your cost

Example: a 100-bed skilled nursing facility

Nights, weekends and daytime overflow.

Hospital referrals and planners: 35 calls × 3.5 min
Admissions inquiries from families: 30 calls × 4 min
Families checking on residents: 110 calls × 2 min
Pharmacies, labs and physician offices: 25 calls × 1.5 min
Applicants, vendors and others: 40 calls × 1.5 min
Total: 240 calls · 560 min

Monthly cost$420

560 minutes × $0.75 = $420 a month. Illustrative assumptions chosen by 365vox, not a customer result. Your own calls decide your cost. Taxes where applicable.

Comparing virtual receptionist services?

Live answering services usually sell monthly plans of minutes or calls. 365vox is an AI virtual receptionist that answers forwarded calls on the first ring, day and night, follows your approved answers and costs $0.75 a minute, billed by the second, with no plan.

The virtual receptionist, minus the call center

Nursing home answering service FAQs

What does a nursing home answering service do with a hospital referral at night?

It answers, asks your referral questions in order and reads key answers back. Those cover who is calling and from which hospital, the patient as your rules allow, needs, discharge date and payer. It tells the planner where to send the packet, then puts the call through. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, it takes the referral as a message: your team is emailed, and the details go into your EHR or referral software if it has an open API, as well as your portal. See hospital referral intake.

How is a short-term rehab caller different from a long-term care caller?

The clock and the payer. Rehab callers usually follow a hospital stay. Medicare covers SNF care after at least 3 consecutive inpatient days (42 CFR 409.30). It covers up to 100 days in a benefit period (409.61). Long-term care families ask about Medicaid and private pay. Your rules give each its own answers. The agent never says what a stay will cost or who qualifies.

Can the agent tell a son which room his father is in?

Only if your facility directory policy allows it. HIPAA lets a covered facility’s directory give a resident’s location and general condition to people who ask by name. The resident can object (45 CFR 164.510). Your policy decides whether that happens by phone. By default the agent neither confirms nor denies, and offers to take a message or put the call through.

Why does an abuse report on a nursing home line go to a person instead of a message?

Because the deadlines are counted in hours. Federal rules give nursing homes 2 hours to report alleged abuse or events causing serious bodily injury. Other allegations get 24 hours (42 CFR 483.12). Section 1150B adds a duty for staff to report suspected crimes (summary). Your rules mark the call urgent, and the agent puts it through to the person you name. If nobody answers within 20 seconds, it takes a message and the urgent email goes out. Still, someone must answer that phone at night.

Do SNF after-hours calls need a business associate agreement?

If your facility is a HIPAA covered entity, yes. HHS names nursing homes among providers that are covered when they submit transactions like claims electronically (HHS). A service that stores call recordings and messages for you is a business associate (HHS). In 365vox you answer Yes to the health question and accept the agreement before the agent handles health information.

Can families leave a message for the nurse about their mother?

Yes. The agent takes the caller’s name, relationship, number and message in their words. Your nurse reads it in the portal, or in your EHR if it has an open API and is connected. HIPAA doesn’t require proof of identity from family calling about a patient. A provider may set its own verification rules (HHS FAQ 534). The agent can’t verify anyone, so it gives no information back. The call back is your nurse’s judgment.

How does the agent handle nursing home admissions calls during the day?

Set it to Overflow: your admissions phone rings first, and the agent answers if nobody picks up within 20 seconds. It answers from your rules about services, payers and tours. It books tours in your connected calendar at a time that suits the family, and puts urgent referrals through. Your coordinator follows up from the record in the portal.

What would night and overflow coverage cost a 100-bed skilled nursing facility?

In the worked example above, 240 calls a month add up to 560 minutes. At $0.75 a minute, billed by the second, that’s $420 a month. There’s no monthly plan, no setup fee and no long-term contract. Taxes where applicable. Your own calls decide your cost. See pricing.

Referrals come at 7 p.m. Families call at midnight.

No credit card required. Cancel anytime.Just forward your phone line — we'll handle the rest.

Or hear it first — call our AI receptionist(450) 367-9990

Not ready to start your free trial? Book a no-obligation discovery call.