North Auburn Care: Falsified Records, Medication Gaps - WA
Resident 64 had a stroke that left her with a swallowing disorder severe enough that she receives all nutrition through a tube surgically placed in her stomach. Since March 4, a physician order had directed staff that she was to have nothing by mouth. A separate order on her medication administration record told staff to offer her a bedtime snack and document how much she ate.
The two orders cannot both be followed. Staff chose to document compliance anyway.
From April 1 through April 17, the records show Resident 64 ate 100 percent of her snack on 11 of 17 nights. On one occasion staff wrote "not applicable." On four others they recorded a dash or zero. On April 18, Resident 64 told inspectors that staff did not bring snacks because she was unable to swallow.
The facility's Assistant Director of Nursing, identified in the report as Staff E, confirmed on April 21 that the nothing-by-mouth order was active. Staff E said staff should not be documenting tasks that were not done.
That was not the only documentation problem inspectors found.
Resident 54 is a cancer patient who leaves the facility periodically to receive chemotherapy at an outside clinic. Inspectors found that staff had no record of an IV catheter on the resident's right chest or the medication pump attached to it — equipment that came back with the resident from oncology appointments and remained in use.
The Assistant Director of Nursing said on April 17 that she was not aware Resident 54 had an IV catheter or pump. She reviewed the resident's chart and confirmed there was no order for either. She acknowledged staff should have checked with the resident after each appointment for any new orders from the oncologist and documented them. They had not.
The inspection report does not describe how long the IV catheter and pump went unrecorded, or whether any complications resulted. Chemotherapy medications are among the most toxic drugs administered in any care setting, and the effects of those drugs were not reflected anywhere in Resident 54's record at the facility.
A third resident, identified as Resident 7, had been living with frequent pain rated at 6 out of 10 since at least November 2024. A physician order written in February 2025 prescribed an as-needed pain medication, but the order contained no parameters — no pain threshold that would trigger its use, and no maximum dose allowed in a 24-hour period.
The facility's Resident Care Manager, identified as Staff O, told inspectors on April 17 that the medication should not exceed 3,000 milligrams in 24 hours and that the order should have included that limit. It did not.
Without a documented ceiling, there is no mechanism in the record to prevent a staff member from administering the medication repeatedly, or to alert anyone if it had not been given at all. For a resident already rating her pain at 6 out of 10 on a routine basis, the absence of parameters is not a paperwork gap. It is a gap in the structure meant to keep her safe.
The inspection covered three residents across three distinct failures: a cancer patient whose treatment went undocumented, a stroke patient whose records were fabricated, and a pain patient whose medication order lacked the basic limits that make it safe to use.
In each case, staff either did not know what was happening with the resident in their care, did not document it, or documented something that wasn't true. Resident 64 knows the difference. She told inspectors herself.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for North Auburn Care from 2025-04-21 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.
Editorial process: Inspection findings are extracted from CMS source documents and synthesized using AI, reviewed for factual accuracy against the original report by our editorial team.
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Last verified: October 28, 2026 · Our methodology
North Auburn Care in AUBURN, WA was cited for violations during a health inspection on April 21, 2025.
Since March 4, a physician order had directed staff that she was to have nothing by mouth.
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.