North Auburn Care: Transfer Notice Failures - WA]
![North Auburn Care: Transfer Notice Failures - WA]](/images/social/facility_225697_1760234474.jpg)
The resident, identified in inspection records only as Resident 7, was transferred on February 16, 2025. By the time state inspectors arrived two months later, nobody at the facility could produce a copy of the written transfer notice that was supposed to have gone to the resident's guardian.
The Business Office Manager, identified in the inspection report as Staff R, told inspectors that the resident "wouldn't do anything with paperwork if it was provided to them and they're on Medicaid." Staff R confirmed the Transfer or Discharge Notice had never been signed by the resident. Staff R also said that a corporate nurse, identified as Staff C, had completed the written transfer notice and sent it by email to the resident's guardian.
There was no copy of that email.
The Chief Nursing Officer, identified as Staff D, told inspectors on the afternoon of April 21 that she had spoken with Staff C directly. Staff C could not provide a copy of the emailed notification. The Chief Nursing Officer couldn't produce one either.
What the facility did send to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman was minimal: the resident's name, the date of transfer, and the destination. Staff told inspectors they had been instructed they did not need to include the reason for the transfer in those notifications. Inspectors found they couldn't provide documentation for even that limited notice for Resident 7's February transfer.
The result was a resident moved to a hospital with no verified record that the person legally responsible for that resident's welfare received the written notice they were owed.
The inspection, conducted April 21, 2025, cited the facility under Washington state regulation WAC 388-97-0120, which governs transfer and discharge notification requirements. The deficiency was classified at a level of minimal harm or potential for actual harm, affecting few residents.
That classification, though, sits alongside the specific facts: a guardian who may not have known the full circumstances of why their resident was hospitalized, a business office manager who explained away the missing paperwork with a comment about Medicaid status, a corporate nurse who completed a document but left no trail of it, and a Chief Nursing Officer who confirmed, under interview, that the trail didn't exist.
The comment about Medicaid is worth sitting with. Staff R's explanation for why the resident hadn't signed the transfer notice was not that the resident was incapacitated or that a guardian had already been contacted. It was that the resident was on Medicaid and wouldn't do anything with paperwork anyway. Inspectors recorded the statement without apparent challenge. It appears in the official record of the inspection as the facility's offered rationale.
Transfer notices exist because hospitalization is a significant event. A guardian who receives written notice of a transfer, including the reason for it, can ask questions, show up, push back, or simply be informed. A guardian who receives nothing, or who may have received an email that nobody can now confirm was sent, cannot do any of those things with confidence.
North Auburn Care is located at 2830 I Street Northeast in Auburn. The inspection was completed April 21, 2025.
Whether Resident 7's guardian ever learned why their resident was sent to the hospital on February 16 is not something the inspection report resolves. The facility said an email was sent. Nobody could find it.
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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Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: October 27, 2026 · Our methodology
North Auburn Care in AUBURN, WA was cited for violations during a health inspection on April 21, 2025.
The resident, identified in inspection records only as Resident 7, was transferred on February 16, 2025.
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.