White Acres Wellness: Infection Control Failures - TX
Federal inspectors observed the violation during a complaint investigation at White Acres Wellness & Rehabilitation on August 18. The nursing assistant was conducting perineal care when she contaminated clean supplies and failed to follow basic infection control protocols that the facility's own policies require.
The hospice worker had removed her gloves and entered the bathroom to wash her hands when she discovered the soap dispenser was empty. Instead of finding soap or alerting staff to refill it, she walked out and used hand sanitizer while her gloves remained contaminated from the intimate care procedure.
During the same observation, inspectors documented that the nursing assistant placed dirty wipes on top of clean wipes, creating a direct contamination pathway that could spread infections between residents.
The facility's Assistant Director of Nursing acknowledged the severity of the violations during an interview the same day. She told inspectors that staff conducting perineal care must wash their hands and put on gloves, clean residents from front to back, then throw away soiled wipes before removing gloves, washing hands again, and applying new gloves.
"It would not be okay to be having dirty wipes on top of clean ones," the assistant director said. She confirmed that failing to wash hands and change gloves "could be a risk of infection."
The Director of Nursing, who serves as the facility's infection control preventionist, provided similar testimony about proper procedures. She explained that contaminated gloves should never touch clean supplies and that "anything contaminated should not be touching anything else."
"Gloves are to be replaced, thrown, and hand washing performed, and reapply new clean gloves," she told inspectors. "It would be a risk of contamination."
White Acres maintains detailed written policies for perineal care that the nursing assistant violated. The facility's June 2020 policy requires staff to wash hands, explain procedures to residents, gather equipment, and provide privacy before beginning intimate care.
The policy mandates specific techniques for cleaning female residents, including separating the labia and washing with clean wipes for each stroke, moving from front to back. It explicitly requires staff to use "a clean washcloth/cleansing wipe for each stroke" and warns against contaminating the perineal area.
Most critically, the policy includes a clear warning: "Do not touch anything with soiled gloves after procedure (i.e. curtain, side rails, clean linen, call bell, etc.)" The document requires staff to remove gloves, wash hands, put on clean gloves, and wash hands again after completing care.
The facility's infection prevention policy, updated in October 2022, establishes requirements for maintaining "a safe, sanitary, and comfortable environment" designed to "help prevent the development and transmission of disease and infection."
These written protocols exist specifically to protect vulnerable nursing home residents from healthcare-associated infections, which disproportionately affect elderly populations with compromised immune systems.
The violations occurred during intimate care when residents are most vulnerable to infection. Perineal care involves cleaning the genital and anal areas, where bacteria naturally present can cause urinary tract infections, skin breakdown, and other serious complications if proper hygiene protocols aren't followed.
Federal inspectors classified the violation as causing minimal harm or potential for actual harm, affecting few residents. However, the failure to follow basic infection control procedures during intimate care represents a fundamental breakdown in patient safety protocols.
The hospice nursing assistant's decision to place contaminated wipes on clean supplies created a direct pathway for spreading bacteria and other pathogens. Her failure to wash hands after discovering an empty soap dispenser compounded the infection risk by leaving her hands contaminated while she continued working.
White Acres Wellness & Rehabilitation operates at 7304 Good Samaritan Court in El Paso. The facility must submit a plan of correction addressing how it will prevent similar infection control failures and ensure staff follow established hygiene protocols during intimate resident care.
The August complaint investigation revealed systemic gaps between the facility's written policies and actual staff practices during procedures that directly impact resident health and safety.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for White Acres Wellness & Rehabilitation from 2025-08-18 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: June 20, 2026 · Our methodology
WHITE ACRES WELLNESS & REHABILITATION in EL PASO, TX was cited for violations during a health inspection on August 18, 2025.
Federal inspectors observed the violation during a complaint investigation at White Acres Wellness & Rehabilitation on August 18.
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.