Rivers Edge Nursing and Rehab: Sanitation Failures - WI
When the surveyor walked into the room that morning, they found crumbs piled on the carpet near the door. A Kleenex box and plastic tubing sat on the floor beside the bed. Under the television: empty cardboard boxes, another Kleenex box, and an empty foam wound dressing box. A pink piece of paper lay on the floor. An opened plastic gallon water jug sat by the door.
The resident, identified in inspection records as R13, said out loud what the room made plain.
The surveyor brought the nursing home administrator, identified as NHA A, back to the room at 11:10 that morning and asked whether the floor and room were clean. The administrator said the items on the floor shouldn't be there. The room wasn't clean. It wasn't homelike.
Twenty-five minutes later, the surveyor walked a housekeeper through the same room. Housekeeper N said the items on the floor should have been picked up.
Both agreed the room was a problem. Neither had done anything about it before the surveyor arrived.
The cleanliness failures extended beyond one resident's floor. The family representative for another resident, R3, told inspectors that R3's wheelchair was often seen with food crumbs on it and dried dripping marks running down the sides. The representative said she didn't think staff had any system in place for keeping the wheelchairs clean.
R3 has Parkinson's Disease with Dyskinesia, fibromyalgia, spinal stenosis, bipolar disorder, abnormal posture, and age-related osteoporosis. She depends on staff for all of her daily care needs.
Inspectors began asking staff who was responsible for cleaning the wheelchairs. The answers were consistent only in their uncertainty.
Housekeeper L said she wasn't sure who was responsible, but she knew it wasn't housekeeping.
CNA/MT E, a certified nursing assistant and medication technician, said he didn't think there was a set schedule for wheelchair cleaning and wasn't sure who handled it.
CNA F said she wasn't sure how often wheelchairs got cleaned or who was responsible.
CNA G said she wasn't sure how often wheelchairs got cleaned. She mentioned that a long time ago there had been a book with a cleaning schedule, but she didn't know what happened to it.
Four staff members. Four versions of not knowing.
The Director of Nursing, identified as DON B, wasn't asked about the wheelchair cleaning question until April 7, four days after inspectors first documented the problem. Her answer: anyone can wash a wheelchair, and they should be washed on the same day as each resident's scheduled bath day.
That answer described what should be happening. It didn't explain why four staff members had no idea it was supposed to happen at all, or why R3's family representative had watched food and dried drips accumulate on the wheelchair without anyone addressing it.
The inspection classified the violations at the level of minimal harm or potential for actual harm. Some residents were affected.
R3 cannot clean her own wheelchair. She cannot pick up the items on a neighbor's floor. She depends on the people around her to maintain the basic conditions of her daily life, including the chair she sits in for hours at a time.
The book with the cleaning schedule, CNA G said, had been there once. She just didn't know what happened to it.
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 the surveyor walked into the room that morning, they found crumbs piled on the carpet near the door.
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.