Continuing Healthcare at Willow Haven: AC, Equipment Failures - OH
She had not tried to order one.
A complaint inspection conducted on August 21, 2025, found the facility out of compliance on multiple equipment failures that had been allowed to persist, in some cases, since before anyone currently working there could remember fixing them. The inspection was tied to four separate complaint numbers.
The air conditioning system, a resident told inspectors, had not functioned since he arrived two years earlier. The system was set up for central air, and the unit was too old to source a replacement part. When inspectors interviewed the administrator that afternoon, she confirmed she believed the air conditioner had not worked since she started at the facility, also a couple of years ago. She said she thought staff were working on getting parts, but her understanding was focused on the dryer, not the air conditioning. She had not placed an order for a new dryer.
The broken dryer was a second unit. It had been out of service for the same stretch of time.
The refrigerator problem was more immediate and more visible. On the morning of August 11, between 8:20 and 8:45, inspectors observed a reach-in refrigerator in the kitchen holding a gallon of whole milk, 13 glasses of chocolate milk, and three cafeteria-style trays loaded with glasses of apple juice, cranberry juice, and fruit punch. Water was leaking inside the unit. It had pooled in the cafeteria trays beneath the juice glasses. It sat on top of the plastic lids covering the chocolate milk.
A metal serving pan had been placed on the shelf above the chocolate milk. It was dry. It was not catching anything.
A dietary aide, identified in the report as Dietary Aide #111, was present during the observation and confirmed the refrigerator had not been working correctly for several weeks. While inspectors watched, the aide repositioned the metal pan toward the back of the shelf and said that should catch the water now.
There was no maintenance request on file for the leaking refrigerator. The facility used a system called TELLS to log repair needs. Inspectors reviewed those records and found nothing about the kitchen refrigerator.
The sole maintenance employee, identified as Maintenance Staff #173, told inspectors he had known about the refrigerator leak for a couple of weeks. He said the condensation drain needed to be cleaned or repaired and he had not gotten to it. He also explained that a significant portion of the work he handles never gets logged in TELLS at all. People tell him things in the hallway. He writes nothing down. He confirmed he was the only maintenance worker on staff for the entire facility, though a regional maintenance employee was available to assist when needed.
He had not called for that assistance on the refrigerator.
The deficiency was cited at a level of minimal harm or potential for actual harm, affecting some residents. That language, in federal inspection terminology, means inspectors did not document injury but found conditions that created real risk.
Two years without air conditioning in a nursing home is not a paperwork problem. Older adults, particularly those with heart or lung conditions, are acutely vulnerable to heat. The inspection report does not describe what summer temperatures inside the facility reached, or whether residents were moved to cooled areas during hot stretches. It does not say whether anyone complained of heat-related symptoms. What it says is that the system was broken, the part could not be found, and no one in charge had escalated the problem to the point of replacing the unit.
The administrator knew. She had known since she started.
The juice glasses sitting in pooled refrigerator water, the chocolate milk lids filmed with condensation leaking from above, the dietary aide sliding a dry pan to a new position and calling it fixed — these were not hidden from staff. They were the daily texture of how the kitchen operated. Maintenance knew. Dietary staff knew. The fix, for weeks, was a metal pan that wasn't working.
The inspection report closes on page 20 of 20. It does not say whether the refrigerator has since been repaired, whether the air conditioning has been addressed, or whether the dryer has been replaced. It says the facility was found out of compliance, and that the findings were connected to four complaints filed by people who had reasons to call.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Continuing Healthcare At Willow Haven from 2025-08-21 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 3, 2026 · Our methodology
CONTINUING HEALTHCARE AT WILLOW HAVEN in ZANESVILLE, OH was cited for violations during a health inspection on August 21, 2025.
She had not tried to order one.
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.