Attn: All Regulated Health Care Providers
Celebrating National Health Facility Surveyor Week
National Health Facility Surveyor Week is August 9-15, 2026. Please join us in thanking our dedicated surveyors for their commitment to keeping Wisconsinites safe. When you or a loved one receives care, the evidence-based work of our surveyors is already operating in the background to protect a resident’s health, dignity, and safety.
Surveyors aren’t just regulatory inspectors; they are educators and partners in quality improvement. Our surveyors build positive relationships with providers before and after an inspection. Surveyors provide valuable knowledge and resources, which leads to higher quality person-centered care.
What is the survey process, and what does a surveyor do?
The survey process is a standardized inspection used to evaluate, monitor, and enforce health and safety regulations across health and residential providers in Wisconsin.
Our dedicated surveyors help license, certify, and inspect nearly 16,000 providers across our state. They ensure that all regulated providers/services meet state and/or federal regulations so that the places Wisconsin residents call home, or where they receive critical medical services, are safe and high-quality.
Inspecting facilities and providing education
Surveyors perform regular inspections, ensure a safe workforce, conduct plan reviews, and investigate complaints for a wide range of providers, including:
During an inspection, surveyors check for compliance with state and federal regulations that promote quality of care and life. This includes a comprehensive set of standards that include:
- Admission
- Medication administration
- Assessment and plans of care
- Resident/patient rights
- Physical environment standards
They do this by touring the home or service area, observing direct care and staff/consumer interactions, interviewing people to hear about their experience, reviewing personnel and consumer records to verify that documentation supports the care, treatment and services are performed.
If they find deficiencies, they document them and educate providers to help them understand, correct deficiencies and prevent future occurrences. Later, surveyors may visit the facility to ensure that the deficiencies are corrected. They provide critical preventive activities, such as 1:1 technical assistance, webinars/forums, and publications, to ensure providers remain prepared to meet the assessed needs of present and future consumers, respond to emergencies, and follow the current regulations.
Surveyors also ensure that providers applying to be licensed or certified are prepared to deliver safe care on day one.
What is training like for a surveyor?
Wisconsin surveyors bring diverse professional expertise and complete extensive training to ensure they can consistently apply state and federal requirements while protecting the health, safety, welfare, and rights of the people they serve. Surveyors are typically registered nurses, social workers, architects/engineers, or experienced in a related human-services field. Through classroom instruction, mentorship, and hands-on experience, new surveyors build the knowledge and skills needed to confidently perform this important public service role. Surveyors also participate in ongoing professional development to remain current with evolving regulations, guidance, and standards of practice.
Check out our inspection reports!
Public information and transparency empower individuals and families to make the best choices. You can read our inspection reports from our surveyors on our website. The public reports tell you the type of survey conducted, any state or federal laws that were not met, the issue that occurred, and the evidence the surveyor used during their inspection.
Our surveyors help keep Wisconsinites safe. Please join us this week in thanking our surveyors for their dedication to the well-being of all Wisconsinites.
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