Cranberry Place: Advance Directive Failures - PA
The inspection reviewed four residents' records for advance directive documentation. Two of them had none.
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See the Derila PillowOne of those residents, identified in the report as Resident R70, was diagnosed with cancer, depression, and peripheral vascular disease, a circulatory condition in which narrowed blood vessels reduce blood flow to the limbs. The other, Resident R77, carried diagnoses of cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes. For both residents, inspectors found no living will, no durable power of attorney for health care, and no documentation that the facility had ever provided written information about their right to create such documents.
An advance directive is the legal mechanism through which a person specifies, in writing, what medical treatment they want or don't want if they become incapacitated and can no longer speak for themselves. For residents already managing serious illness, the absence of that documentation isn't a paperwork gap. It's a gap in the record of what they would want done.
A registered nurse at the facility, identified in the report as Employee E1, told inspectors at 12:05 p.m. on the day of the inspection: "I looked in both residents' charts and could not find Advanced Directives or documentation that the opportunity was given to formulate them."
The Director of Nursing confirmed the finding that afternoon.
Cranberry Place's own policy, last reviewed in August 2024, states that residents have the right to formulate an advance directive, including the right to accept or refuse medical or surgical treatment, and that the facility will provide written information about that right in a manner that is easily understood. The inspection found no evidence that policy was followed for either resident.
The facility's own policy said it would happen. The records showed it didn't.
What makes the finding harder to explain away is the narrow scope of the review. Inspectors looked at four residents. Half of them had this documentation missing. That's not a single oversight buried in a large chart audit. That's a pattern surfaced almost immediately.
For a resident with cancer and peripheral vascular disease, the question of what happens when they can no longer speak is not abstract. It is, at some point, the question. A living will or durable power of attorney gives family members and medical staff something to stand on when that moment arrives. Without it, decisions about resuscitation, hospitalization, and end-of-life intervention fall into a vacuum, where whoever is present at the time makes the call without written guidance from the person most affected.
CMS rated the level of harm as minimal, or potential for actual harm. That classification reflects the regulatory framework, not necessarily what it means in practice for a cancer patient whose wishes about their own medical care are nowhere in the file.
The deficiency was cited under Pennsylvania code governing resident rights.
Cranberry Place is located at 5 Saint Francis Way in Cranberry Township.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Cranberry Place from 2025-01-24 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: This article is based on inspection data downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases inspection reports in bulk; we publish the findings as documented by state surveyors in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies.
Plan of correction: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to state survey agencies and those responses may not be reflected in CMS data at the time of publication. The absence of a plan of correction in our data does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken are encouraged to contact the facility directly or their state survey agency.
Corrections may have occurred: Inspection reports reflect conditions observed on the date of the survey. Facilities may have implemented corrections, staffing changes, additional training, or other remediation since the report was issued. We report what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.
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Last verified: November 14, 2026 · Our methodology
Cranberry Place in CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, PA was cited for violations during a health inspection on January 24, 2025.
The inspection reviewed four residents' records for advance directive documentation.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.