Heritage Healthcare of Hammond: Dumpster Violation - LA
The observation was made by a federal inspector at 8:45 a.m. on May 18, 2025. Five minutes later, the inspector spoke with the kitchen staff member, identified in records as S9CK. She said the lid should have been closed by the night shift kitchen staff before they left. She said it was open when she arrived. When she tried to close it herself, she couldn't manage it with the broomstick. She told the inspector she thought the lid might be broken.
It wasn't broken. That's what a supervisor said.
Nearly an hour later, at 9:47 a.m., a second staff member, identified as S8DM, was informed of the open dumpster. She told the inspector the lid was not broken. It was just hard for staff to close. She confirmed the lid was supposed to be kept shut at all times.
Federal inspectors cited Heritage Healthcare of Hammond for failing to ensure garbage and waste were properly contained. The deficiency, tagged F0814, was classified as having minimal harm or potential for actual harm, with few residents affected.
The violation is, on its face, the least dramatic finding an inspector can document at a nursing home. No resident was hurt. No medication was missed. No one wandered out a door. It is a dumpster with an open lid on a Sunday morning in Hammond, Louisiana, a problem that could have been resolved with a maintenance call or a second set of hands.
What the inspection record shows, though, is a small institutional failure playing out in real time. A night shift came and went without closing the lid. A morning worker arrived, saw the problem, reached for a broomstick because that was apparently the available solution, and failed. A supervisor, when told about it nearly an hour later, confirmed the lid had always been hard to close, as though that were a reasonable answer rather than a reason to have fixed it earlier.
Nobody had.
The facility is located at 1300 Derek Drive in Hammond, in Tangipahoa Parish. The inspection was completed on May 21, 2025.
The dumpster deficiency appeared on page 19 of a 25-page inspection report. What fills the other pages is not detailed in the materials provided here. What is documented is this: on a spring morning, with an inspector present, the trash was open to the air, a worker couldn't close it, and the explanation offered by management was that the lid had always been difficult.
That is the condition inspectors found and recorded. Whether the lid has been fixed since, whether the night shift was retrained, whether anyone ordered a repair or a replacement, the inspection report does not say.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Heritage Healthcare of Hammond from 2025-05-21 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: Official federal inspection data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Editorial process: AI-synthesized regulatory data, reviewed for accuracy by our editorial team.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: July 6, 2026 · Our methodology
Heritage Healthcare of Hammond in HAMMOND, LA was cited for violations during a health inspection on May 21, 2025.
The observation was made by a federal inspector at 8:45 a.m.
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.