Business phone system for nursing care facilities

Nursing care facilities in the United States

County Business Patterns counted 18,126 nursing care facilities in the U.S. in 2023 (NAICS 623110, Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)). They employed 1,426,754 people in mid-March and paid $63.5 billion in annual payroll. The average establishment has 78.7 employees. That is 5.3 establishments for every 100,000 residents.

California has the most (1,955), followed by Texas (1,546), Florida (1,052), and Ohio (961). Relative to population, South Dakota leads with 10.7 per 100,000 residents, and Alaska has the fewest at 2.0.

Why the phone matters for nursing care facilities

Skilled nursing facilities field admission inquiries, family calls and calls from hospitals and physicians, and each needs to reach a different department. Reliable routing keeps admission calls from waiting behind routine questions.

Calls nursing care facilities commonly handle:

• A hospital discharge planner calls about an admission.
• A family member calls for an update on a resident.
• A pharmacy calls to confirm medication orders.
• A family calls to schedule a care conference.
• A job applicant calls about open nursing shifts.

Texting and after-hours calls

Facilities text visiting updates and care-conference reminders to families.

Facilities run around the clock, so after-hours calls need to reach the nursing station or a supervisor rather than a voicemail box.

Practices that handle protected health information should review their own privacy obligations before recording calls, enabling AI summaries or texting appointment details, and keep clinical conversations out of text messages unless their policies allow it.

How big nursing care facilities are

12.9% of U.S. nursing care facilities with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023. 16.9% had fewer than ten. Most phone decisions in this industry are made for small teams, where one shared number and sensible routing matter more than a desk phone per person.

Nursing care facilities by state

Establishment counts for the 51 states (and DC) where Census published a figure, with the rate per 100,000 residents.

Largest metro areas for nursing care facilities

Census published nursing care facility counts for 732 metro and micropolitan areas. The 25 largest:

Callata vs. per-seat pricing for nursing care facilities in the U.S.

The average U.S. nursing care facility has 78.7 employees, so the comparison uses a 79-person team. Per-seat business phone plans bill every one of those people. At month-to-month list prices checked September 28, 2026, 79 users on RingCentral RingEX Core cost $2,370.00 a month and 79 on Ooma Office Pro cost $1,971.05. Callata comes to $1,579.00 a month for 79 users ($99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user), below both.

Over a year, that is $9,492 less than RingCentral for a nursing care facility in the U.S. of that size. Annual contracts lower some competitors' prices, so compare the plan you would actually sign.

How Callata works for nursing care facilities

Callata Office costs $99 per month for up to 5 people, and each additional user is $20 a month. That covers up to 3 local numbers, calling from a browser or your cell, transcribed voicemail, recorded calls with AI summaries, after-hours routing and E911 on each number.

Texting from a local number requires carrier registration (10DLC), a one-time $49 fee. Porting an existing number is free.

AI agents are optional: an AI receptionist or scheduler can pick up when the team is busy or closed, take a message, send a text or email, or transfer the call. They draw on prepaid AI minutes ($0.25/minute), disclose that they are AI, and outbound AI calls require prior consent and are limited to 8am–9pm.