Amethyst Health of Wausau: Wander Guard Used Without Consent - WI
Federal inspectors cited Amethyst Health of Wausau, located at 1010 E Wausau Ave, following a complaint inspection completed August 19, 2025. The deficiency centered on a single resident, identified in inspection records as Resident 4, who had been fitted with a Wander Guard, a device typically used to alert staff if a resident at risk of wandering approaches an exit.
Nobody had checked whether the resident needed it.
The facility's Director of Nursing confirmed to inspectors that no elopement risk assessment had been completed to justify putting the device on Resident 4. She confirmed there was no physician order authorizing it. She confirmed there was no signed consent from the resident or their representative.
Then she confirmed all three of those things should have been in place before the device was ever applied.
A Wander Guard is not a passive piece of equipment. It tracks a person's movement and can trigger door alarms or locked exits. Applied to someone without an assessed need, without a doctor's authorization, and without that person's knowledge or agreement, it raises a straightforward question: on what basis was it there at all?
The inspection report does not answer that question. It records only what was missing.
The Director of Nursing told inspectors that Resident 4 should have had an updated elopement risk assessment. That word, "updated," suggests an assessment may have existed at some earlier point, one that had since lapsed or been superseded by a change in the resident's condition. Whether the original assessment ever justified a Wander Guard, and whether anyone noticed when it expired, the report does not say.
CMS classified the deficiency under F0604, which covers the right of residents to be free from physical restraints and monitoring devices imposed without clinical need or proper authorization. The level of harm was listed as minimal harm or potential for actual harm. Few residents were identified as affected.
That classification, minimal harm, describes the regulatory finding. It does not describe what it means to have a device attached to your body, one capable of restricting where you can go, without anyone asking whether you needed it or whether you agreed to it.
Amethyst Health of Wausau did not receive an Immediate Jeopardy designation from this inspection. The facility has been directed to submit a plan of correction. What changes, if any, have been made to how the facility tracks consent, orders, and assessments before applying monitoring devices to residents, the inspection report does not say.
Resident 4 is identified in the report only by number. Whether they were aware a Wander Guard had been placed on them, whether they or their family were ever told, is not recorded.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Amethyst Health of Wausau from 2025-08-19 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.
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Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: October 26, 2026 · Our methodology
AMETHYST HEALTH OF WAUSAU in WAUSAU, WI was cited for violations during a health inspection on August 19, 2025.
Federal inspectors cited Amethyst Health of Wausau, located at 1010 E Wausau Ave, following a complaint inspection completed August 19, 2025.
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.