A proposed nursing home in Southwest Roanoke County has received final approval from state health regulators.

In a written decision released Tuesday, Virginia Health Commissioner Cynthia Romero determined there is a public need for a 120-bed nursing home on Starkey Road to be built and operated by Friendship Retirement Community.

Friendship plans to move 120 beds from its 373-bed rehabilitation facility on Hershberger Road to the new location, placing residents closer to their homes and families in Southwest Roanoke County while allowing more room and privacy for those who will remain at Hershberger.

“The proposed relocation would improve the distribution of nursing home beds and their accessibility in the Roanoke area,” Romero wrote in her decision.

Read the rest of the story, and see an artist’s rendering of  what the home will look like, here.

If you’ve ever wondered about the nursing home that cares for a loved one, there’s a new and easy way to check its regulatory record.

ProPublica, a national nonprofit news organization that specializes in investigative journalism, has created this online tool to view federal sanctions against nursing homes across the country.

The reports, which cover the past three years, are taken from the U.S. Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that conducts the inspections. Deficiencies are ranked on a scale of A to L, with A being the most minor violation and L the most serious.

A quick search of Roanoke nursing homes shows a number with violations, but none of them in the J to L range, which would indicate an immediate and serious threat to resident health or safety.