Laurels of Walden Park: Infection Control Failure - OH
Two laminated notices hung on the wall to the right of the entrance to Resident #10's room at The Laurels of Walden Park, a 209-bed nursing facility on Karl Road in Columbus. The signs listed exactly what staff were required to do before entering: wash hands, put on gloves, put on a gown. They listed exactly when those precautions applied: dressing changes, bathing, transferring, changing briefs, toileting assistance, wound care.
At 2:40 p.m. on August 5, a federal inspector watched a certified nursing assistant walk into that room wearing gloves and no gown, assist Resident #10 with incontinence care, and walk back out.
Two minutes later, the CNA confirmed what the inspector had seen. He told the inspector he had performed the incontinence care with gloves only. He confirmed he had not worn a gown. He confirmed the signs on the wall required one.
Resident #10 had been a patient at the facility since July 2021. Her diagnoses included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. As of early August, she had an active physician order placing her on Enhanced Barrier Precautions because of a chronic wound. That order had been in place since at least August 1.
Enhanced Barrier Precautions exist for a specific reason. The CDC developed the protocol to reduce the spread of multidrug-resistant organisms in nursing homes, where resistant infections move easily between residents and contribute to serious illness, death, and rising healthcare costs. The precautions require gowns and gloves during high-contact care not as a formality, but because resistant organisms can transfer through clothing during exactly the kind of physical contact that incontinence care involves. The protocol applies to residents with chronic wounds regardless of whether they have already tested positive for a resistant organism.
The facility's own policy, updated as recently as March 2025, mirrored the CDC guidance word for word on this point. Gowns and gloves. High-contact care. Chronic wounds. No exceptions listed.
None of that stopped what inspectors documented on August 5.
The CNA who performed the care was not a new employee unfamiliar with the protocol. The signs outside the room were not hidden or ambiguous. The inspector who observed the violation noted the two EBP notices posted clearly to the right of the door, one for the room's Bed A occupant and one for Resident #10 in Bed B, each specifying the same requirements.
Federal inspectors classified the deficiency as causing minimal harm or potential for actual harm, the lower end of the harm scale used in CMS inspection findings. The inspection, conducted August 13, 2025, was triggered by a complaint.
One resident was identified as affected out of four reviewed for Enhanced Barrier Precautions compliance.
What the inspection record does not say is how long the practice had been occurring before an inspector happened to be present at 2:40 on a Tuesday afternoon. It does not say whether anyone had noticed before. It does not say whether Resident #10 was told about the lapse, or whether her physician was notified, or whether anyone checked on the status of her chronic wound in the days that followed.
The signs outside her door were still there when the inspector returned at 3:52 that afternoon, still listing the same requirements, still posted to the right of the same door.
Resident #10 remained in Bed B.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for The Laurels of Walden Park from 2025-08-13 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Download the official CMS inspection PDF from Medicare.gov
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: November 3, 2026 · Our methodology
THE LAURELS OF WALDEN PARK in COLUMBUS, OH was cited for violations during a health inspection on August 13, 2025.
The signs listed exactly what staff were required to do before entering: wash hands, put on gloves, put on a gown.
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.