A spokeswoman at the Arizona Department of Health Services said it was also aware of the allegations and would conduct an inspection of the Hacienda Nursing Facility. Records posted to the Medicare website indicate that the care center received a “below average” rating from health inspectors in 2017. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rated its quality of resident care as “much below average.”

“I want to assure our patients, their loved ones, our community partners, the agencies we do business with, Governor Ducey and the residents of Arizona, we will continue to cooperate with Phoenix Police and the investigating agencies at all levels in every way possible,” Mr. Orman said in the statement. “And we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of every single one of our patients and our employees.”

[Detectives in Phoenix have opened an investigation into sexual assault allegations at the nursing home.]

The nursing home, which is about seven miles south of downtown Phoenix, specializes in the care of people with intellectual disabilities and has at least 74 patient beds, according to federal records. State records indicate that some patients have lived there for decades.

This is not the first time that investigators have expressed concern about the facility.

In 2013, the Arizona Department of Health Services found that a male employee mistreated some patients by making sexually explicit remarks about them. A state report issued at the time did not allege physical abuse at the center, and its operators said the employee in question had been fired. It said employees would be given new training on how to report the suspected abuse of patients.