Rivers Edge Nursing and Rehab: Food Safety Failures - WI
Nobody had written it down.
When a state surveyor walked through the kitchen at Rivers Edge on the morning of April 3, the problems were immediate and visible. Three gallon jugs of white milk sat open in the refrigerator with no date marking. Mandarin oranges had been transferred out of their original container with no open date and no expiration date written anywhere on the new packaging. A bottle of barbecue sauce was open and unlabeled. Five magic cups, the high-calorie nutritional supplements commonly given to residents who struggle to eat enough, had been pulled from the freezer to thaw, and not one of them had a thaw date on it.
The surveyor noted the findings at 8:30 in the morning. Thirty minutes later, Dietary Manager D acknowledged each item. The magic cups needed thaw dates, she said. Everything opened needed an open date. As for when any of the items in question had actually been opened or pulled from the freezer, she said she was unsure.
The administrator and the director of nursing said the same things when the surveyor spoke with them ten minutes after that. Food removed from manufacturer packaging needs a use-by date or an open date. Opened milk needs an open date. Magic cups need a thaw date. All of this, they acknowledged, was correct.
The facility's own written policy on the subject is direct. The individual who opens or prepares a food is responsible for date marking it at the time it is opened or prepared. The head cook or a designee is responsible for checking the refrigerator daily and discarding anything that is expiring. The policy exists. The practice, on the morning of April 3, did not.
Rivers Edge serves 41 residents. The inspection report classified the violation as having the potential to affect all of them.
The concern with unlabeled food in a care setting is straightforward. Without a date, there is no way to know whether something is still safe to eat. Milk that has been open for a day and milk that has been open for five days look the same in a jug. Thawed magic cups that have been sitting out for two hours and ones that have been sitting out for two days are indistinguishable without a record. The date marking system exists precisely because the alternative is guesswork, and the people eating the food are not in a position to make that judgment themselves.
The surveyor who documented the violations was conducting a health inspection that concluded April 21, 2025. The facility is located at 1000 N. Wisconsin Avenue in Muscoda.
What the dietary manager knew for certain, when she spoke with the surveyor that Thursday morning, was what the rules were. She could state them clearly. The milk needed a date. The oranges needed a date. The magic cups needed a thaw date. She knew all of that. She just couldn't say, for any of the items sitting in the refrigerator in front of her, how long they had actually been there.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Rivers Edge Nursing and Rehab 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.
Corrections: We strive for accuracy in everything we publish. If you believe any fact in this article is incorrect, please contact us with details, and we will review and correct it promptly.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: October 26, 2026 · Our methodology
Rivers Edge Nursing and Rehab in Muscoda, WI was cited for violations during a health inspection on April 21, 2025.
When a state surveyor walked through the kitchen at Rivers Edge on the morning of April 3, the problems were immediate and visible.
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.