El Paso Senior AdvisorWhere can I look up an El Paso facility's license and inspections?
Use HHSC's TULIP Long-Term Care Provider Search at tulip.hhs.texas.gov: search by name, license number or city, open the facility record, and read its general information, inspection visits with cited findings, and enforcement actions.
Our facility pages reproduce the same record for every licensed assisted living facility in El Paso and Hudspeth counties, with a link back to TULIP, so you can compare buildings side by side. For nursing facilities, Medicare's Care Compare adds star ratings, staffing and fines, which we also reproduce.
What is the difference between a health inspection and a Life Safety Code inspection?
A health inspection reviews care, staffing, training, records, medications and residents' rights, while a Life Safety Code inspection reviews fire alarms, sprinklers, smoke compartments, exits, emergency plans and fire drills; TULIP lists findings from both.
In El Paso, Life Safety Code findings outnumber health findings on TULIP, and many concern testing and maintenance of fire alarms and sprinklers or missing fire drill records. Those matter: a Type B facility's residents may need staff to get them out. Health findings are the ones to read most closely for care quality, such as staff training, background checks, medication handling and supervision.
How current is the inspection information on TULIP?
TULIP shows each license's most recent visit date and the findings from recent inspections; Texas law requires HHSC to inspect each assisted living facility at least every two years, with complaint investigations in between.
Across the 31 licensed assisted living facilities in the metro, the median latest HHSC visit on TULIP was 11 months old when this site was built. A recent visit date with findings may simply mean HHSC was there recently, while an older date with none means less recent information. Either way, ask the facility for the exit documents from its latest inspection and its plan of correction.
What does an administrative penalty on TULIP mean?
An administrative penalty is a fine HHSC imposed for a violation, listed on TULIP with the date, amount, the rule cited and a short description of the finding; most El Paso penalties in the current records run from $2,250 to $3,400.
The cited rule tells you more than the amount. Penalties under 553.253 concern staffing, under 553.261 medications, under 553.267 residents' rights including freedom from abuse and neglect, and under 553.311 certified Alzheimer's units. Bring the rule number to your tour and ask what happened, what changed and whether HHSC has been back since.
What should we ask after reading a facility's record?
Ask the manager to walk you through the latest findings and the plan of correction, how each fix is monitored, whether any complaint investigations are open, and who the licensee and management company are.
Also ask about the questions no record answers: staff turnover, who is on duty overnight, how many caregivers speak Spanish, and how the facility communicates with families after a fall or hospital trip. A good facility answers these directly and lets you visit at an unannounced time.
Side by side
| A TULIP record shows | A TULIP record does not show | |
|---|---|---|
| License | Type, capacity, Alzheimer's certification and status | Prices or current openings |
| Inspections | Visit dates and each cited finding | The full inspector's report |
| Enforcement | Administrative penalties with rule and amount | Complaints that were not substantiated |
| Quality | Whether minimum standards were met | A rating or ranking |
Sources: Texas Health and Safety Code chapters 142, 242 and 247; 26 Texas Administrative Code chapters 553, 554, 558 and 559; HHSC program handbooks; CareScout, CMS and VA rate tables, as cited above. See our editorial standards.
