Altercare Thornville: Missing Wound Records - OH
Federal inspectors found missing wound physician documentation for residents at Altercare Thornville during a complaint investigation in September. The 47-bed facility failed to maintain complete medical records for the three residents reviewed, all of whom had skin alterations requiring specialist care.
Resident 100 developed an open wound on her right foot in early June, followed by sepsis eight days later. She had been admitted in February with a fractured left tibia, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease. Despite facility wound documentation showing the skin alteration occurred June 2, her closed medical record contained no wound physician visit notes.
The Director of Nursing told inspectors on August 4 that Resident 100 "saw the Wound Physician group a few times during her stay" and promised to get the visit notes from the facility wound nurse, acknowledging they were missing from the chart. The resident had been discharged home in early July.
Resident 300 arrived at the facility in May with a skin alteration already present. Her diagnoses included metabolic encephalopathy, altered mental status, muscle weakness, and cerebral infarction. Cognitive assessments showed she was mentally intact with a score of 14 out of 15 on standardized testing.
The facility wound nurse verified on August 6 that Resident 300 "did not have any of her Wound Physician visits in her current medical record and should be uploaded after each visit." The admission wound documented in facility records had no corresponding specialist consultation notes.
Similar gaps appeared in the record of Resident 800, who was admitted in April with weakness, stroke, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. Like the others, cognitive testing showed she was mentally intact. Her medical record showed a skin alteration on admission but no wound physician visits.
Regional Nurse 68 confirmed during an August 6 interview that Resident 800's wound physician consultant notes were missing from the chart. The nurse explained that staff had to access the notes on the consultant's server instead of finding them in the resident's medical record.
The regional nurse stated it was "the expectation that the Facility Wound Nurse 33 be uploaded after each visit to keep the residents' chart up to date and current for care." This system clearly wasn't working.
All three residents had intact mental capacity, scoring 14 or 15 out of 15 on cognitive assessments. Their conditions ranged from recent fractures and heart problems to strokes and diabetes complications. Each developed or arrived with skin alterations requiring specialized wound care.
The facility's wound grid documentation tracked the skin problems internally. But when outside wound specialists examined residents and developed treatment plans, those critical medical evaluations vanished into a parallel record system that nurses had to hunt down on external servers.
Federal regulations require nursing homes to maintain complete, up-to-date medical records using accepted professional standards. Missing physician visit notes create dangerous gaps in care coordination, especially for complex wound treatments that can lead to sepsis and other life-threatening complications.
The inspection team discovered this record-keeping failure while investigating an unrelated complaint. They reviewed medical records for residents receiving wound care from the outside consultant group and found the same pattern repeatedly.
Staff interviews revealed a broken system where wound physician visits occurred but documentation never made it into official medical records. The facility wound nurse was responsible for uploading visit notes after each consultation but failed to do so consistently.
This created a two-tier record system where internal wound tracking existed alongside missing external specialist documentation. Nurses caring for residents had incomplete information about wound treatment plans, medication changes, and specialist recommendations.
The Director of Nursing's promise to retrieve missing notes from the wound nurse suggested this was an ongoing administrative problem rather than an isolated incident. By the time of the August interviews, Resident 100 had already been discharged for over a month with her wound physician visits still undocumented.
For residents like these, with complex medical conditions and cognitive awareness of their care, complete medical records aren't administrative paperwork. They're the foundation for safe treatment decisions and continuity of care that can mean the difference between healing and complications like the sepsis that developed in Resident 100's case.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Altercare Thornville Inc. from 2025-09-02 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 17, 2026 · Our methodology
ALTERCARE THORNVILLE INC. in THORNVILLE, OH was cited for violations during a health inspection on September 2, 2025.
Federal inspectors found missing wound physician documentation for residents at Altercare Thornville during a complaint investigation in September.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happened at ALTERCARE THORNVILLE INC.?
- Federal inspectors found missing wound physician documentation for residents at Altercare Thornville during a complaint investigation in September.
- How serious are these violations?
- Violation severity varies from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the inspection report for specific deficiency codes and scope. All violations must be corrected within required timeframes and are subject to follow-up verification inspections.
- What should families do?
- Families should: (1) Ask facility administration about specific corrective actions taken, (2) Request to see the follow-up inspection report verifying corrections, (3) Check if this represents a pattern by reviewing prior inspection reports, (4) Compare this facility's ratings with other nursing homes in THORNVILLE, OH, (5) Report any new concerns directly to state authorities.
- Where can I see the full inspection report?
- The complete inspection report is available on Medicare.gov's Care Compare website (www.medicare.gov/care-compare). You can also request a copy directly from ALTERCARE THORNVILLE INC. or from the state Department of Health. The report includes specific deficiency codes, facility responses, and correction timelines. This facility's federal provider number is 366369.
- Has this facility had violations before?
- To check ALTERCARE THORNVILLE INC.'s history, visit Medicare.gov's Care Compare and review their inspection history, quality ratings, and staffing levels. Look for patterns of repeated violations, especially in critical areas like abuse prevention, medication management, infection control, and resident safety.