Height Street Skilled Care: Foul Bathroom Odors - CA
Federal inspectors found the facility failed to provide basic sanitary conditions for residents on September 3, documenting foul bathroom smells and dirty shower rooms with dark stains covering the tiles.
The resident, confined to his bed, told inspectors during a morning interview that his bathroom had a "strong foul and unpleasant smell." When housekeeping staff entered the same bathroom at 10:55 a.m., they confirmed the odor was "not pleasant."
The housekeeping worker explained that another resident had previously "urinate[d] on the floor in that bathroom" and staff were struggling to eliminate the lingering smell despite their cleaning efforts.
Fifteen minutes later, inspectors interviewed a second resident who described the facility's shower rooms as "soiled" and said the conditions "had disgusted her."
The housekeeping supervisor acknowledged serious problems with three of the facility's four resident shower rooms. Dark stains covered tiles in multiple shower areas, which the supervisor attributed to "buildup from steam." The supervisor admitted that "staff should wash the tiles and remove them" but had failed to do so.
These sanitation failures violated the facility's own written policies. Height Street's housekeeping procedures, dated August 16, 2023, explicitly state that "All room of the Facility are kept clean and as free as possible of germs and other contaminating agents at all times, while maintaining a pleasant and homelike atmosphere for our residents."
The inspection revealed a stark disconnect between the facility's written commitments and daily reality. While policy promised a "homelike atmosphere," residents instead endured bathroom odors so strong that even staff acknowledged the unpleasant conditions.
The first resident's situation was particularly troubling. Positioned in his bed facing the malodorous bathroom, he had no escape from the persistent smell of urine mixed with cleaning chemicals. The combination suggested repeated attempts to mask rather than eliminate the underlying sanitation problem.
Housekeeping staff's admission that they were "having a difficult time" removing the urine odor raised questions about training, equipment, or supervision. The previous resident's floor accidents had apparently left lasting contamination that standard cleaning protocols couldn't address.
The shower room conditions affected multiple residents beyond just the woman who complained. With dark stains covering tiles in three of four available shower areas, residents had limited access to properly maintained bathing facilities.
The housekeeping supervisor's acknowledgment that staff "should" clean the stained tiles but hadn't done so suggested a pattern of deferred maintenance rather than isolated oversights.
Federal inspectors classified the violations as having "potential for actual harm" to residents, though they determined the immediate impact was minimal. The findings affected "some" residents rather than the entire facility population.
The timing of the inspection was significant. Conducted as a complaint investigation rather than a routine survey, the September 3 visit suggested that concerns about sanitation conditions had reached regulators through outside reports.
Height Street Skilled Care, located at 1611 Height Street in Bakersfield, now faces federal oversight to correct these sanitation deficiencies. The facility must submit an approved plan of correction to maintain its participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs.
The inspection findings paint a picture of basic housekeeping failures that directly impacted residents' daily living conditions. One resident's disgust with shower facilities and another's endurance of persistent bathroom odors represent more than regulatory violations.
For the bedridden resident facing his contaminated bathroom, the foul smell became an inescapable part of his confined existence. The facility's inability to eliminate odors from previous accidents left him breathing the results of their housekeeping failures throughout each day and night.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Height Street Skilled Care from 2025-09-03 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
HEIGHT STREET SKILLED CARE in BAKERSFIELD, CA was cited for violations during a health inspection on September 3, 2025.
These sanitation failures violated the facility's own written policies.
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.