Questions to ask on an assisted living tour, based on what Texas inspectors cite

Last updated Oct 30, 2026 · Texas data: HHSC roster as of 10/28/2026, TULIP records collected through Oct 30, 2026

A tour is designed to show you the best of a place. These questions steer it toward the areas where Texas inspectors actually find problems, based on the rules named in 354 administrative penalties in our data. Print this page, and look up the facility's record before you go.

Before you go

Find the facility on this site and note its license type, any memory care certification, the dates of its last cited visits, and any penalties.
Open its TULIP record (linked from every facility page) and skim what the inspectors wrote.
Write down one or two specific findings to ask about. "I saw a citation from your Health visit in March. What happened, and what changed?" gets a much better answer than "Have you had any problems?"

Abuse, neglect and residents' rights

188 of 354 Texas penalties cite the residents' rights rule (§553.267). 173 cite the right to be free from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

How do you screen and train staff on recognizing and reporting abuse and neglect? Who do staff report to, and how fast?
When was the last time you reported an incident to HHSC, and what did you change afterward? (Facilities must report certain abuse, neglect and exploitation to HHSC under §553.273.)
How do you handle a resident who falls, wanders or is found injured? Who calls the family, and when?
Can I see the residents' rights posting and your grievance procedure? Who's the local long-term care ombudsman?

Staffing

50 penalties cite staffing and training rules (§553.253), including 24 for not having enough staff to give each resident the supervision and care they need and 22 for not having enough staff to evacuate safely.

How many direct-care staff are on each shift, day, evening and overnight, for how many residents?
Are night staff awake and in the building? (Required for Type B.)
How many of your aides are agency or temporary staff? What's your turnover been this year?
If there's a fire at 3 a.m., how many people do you have to move residents who can't walk out alone? When was your last night drill?

Medications and health care

58 penalties cite the coordination-of-care rule (§553.261), which covers medications, infection control and restraints. 18 are about who's allowed to give medications.

Who gives medications here: a nurse, a medication aide with a state permit, or other staff? How are they trained and supervised?
How are medication errors caught and reported? Can I see your most recent medication audit?
Do you use any restraints, including bed rails or locked doors? Under what policy?
How do you handle infections and outbreaks, and how do you tell families?

The building and fire safety

73.9% of all Texas citations in our data come from Life Safety Code inspections. 17 penalties cite safety operations (§553.104), such as fire drills, fire safety plans and fire marshal inspections.

When was your last fire marshal inspection, and were there any findings?
Are the sprinkler and fire alarm systems inspected on schedule? Is there a generator, and what does it power?
What's your plan for a hurricane, a freeze or a long power outage? Where would residents go?

Admission, fit and discharge

Some penalties cite the admission rule (§553.259, 7 penalties) or the license-type rule (§553.5, 5), for example admitting someone whose needs the facility can't meet.

Is this a Type A or Type B license? Would my family member qualify, now and if their needs grow? See Type A vs. Type B.
What would make you ask a resident to move out? How much notice do you give?
What's included in the base rate, and what costs extra as care needs increase?

Memory care

7 penalties cite the physical plant rule for Alzheimer's units (§553.311), and the Alzheimer's admission and service-plan rule (§553.307) appears in 1.

Can I see your Alzheimer's certificate? How many certified beds do you have, and how many residents are in the unit now?
How are the unit's doors secured? Has a resident left the unit unnoticed in the past year?
What dementia-specific training do unit staff get, and how many staff are in the unit overnight?
What activities happen in the unit on a normal weekday afternoon? (Ask to see one.)

Ask to see the paperwork

"Can I see your most recent inspection report and your plan of correction?"
"Have you had any administrative penalties? What were they for?"
"Is there anything in your record you'd want to explain to me?"

A good facility can talk about its record without getting defensive. If an answer doesn't match what you saw in TULIP, that's worth noting too.

How we got these numbers

The counts in each section are the number of Texas administrative penalties in our data that name a rule in that section (each penalty counted once per section). They show which areas of the rules come up in enforcement. They don't predict what you'll find at any one facility. The questions themselves are our suggestions, not requirements from HHSC.

All counts on this page are computed from the same Texas data that powers the facility pages on Assisted Living Inspections: the HHSC licensed assisted living roster and the inspection citations and enforcement actions published in TULIP. They're recalculated every time the site is rebuilt. Full details are in our methodology.

Sources

Informational only, not medical or legal advice. This guide explains public records and Texas rules in plain language. It isn't a rating of any facility and isn't a substitute for advice from a doctor, lawyer or the state. Rules change. HHSC proposed a broad rewrite of Chapter 553 in September 2026, so check the current rule text before you rely on a specific section number. If something here doesn't match the official record, the official record wins.