Wellsprings Care Center: Untested Black Substance in Showers - CO
Nobody had tested it.
Inspectors visiting the facility on September 11, 2025 found the unidentified black substance in two separate shower rooms, one on the first floor near the business office and one on the second floor near a resident room. In both locations, the substance appeared in areas where caulking was missing. In both locations, it had gone unexamined.
The leaking showerhead had its own workaround. Staff placed a trash can beneath it to catch the dripping water. The housekeeper told inspectors the showerhead had leaked since she was hired and that the trash can was the standing solution. No work order had been written. No repair had been made.
The nursing home administrator and the regional maintenance director were interviewed together during a tour of the shower rooms that morning. Neither could identify what the black substance was. The regional maintenance director acknowledged, standing in front of it, that the substance in both shower rooms should have been inspected and tested for possible mold.
The administrator said it was her expectation that a work order would be written for a leaking showerhead to prevent water damage from prolonged dripping, and that any suspicious black substance in the shower rooms would be tested for identification and treatment.
It was her expectation. It had not happened.
Residents at Wellsprings use those shower rooms. The inspection classified the violation as carrying minimal harm or potential for actual harm, with some residents affected. What the black substance actually is, the inspection report does not say, because as of the date inspectors walked through, no one at the facility had found out.
A showerhead drips long enough, and someone puts a bucket under it and calls it handled. A substance appears on a wall where the caulking has failed, and six months pass, and the person cleaning around it every day assumes someone else has already looked into it. The regional maintenance director, brought in from outside the building, stood in front of it on September 11 and said it should have been tested.
Should have been. Past tense, present problem.
The administrator's stated expectations, repeated twice during the interview, describe a facility that responds to leaks and investigates suspicious substances. The trash can under the showerhead describes something else.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Wellsprings Care Center from 2025-09-11 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.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: September 21, 2026 · Our methodology
WELLSPRINGS CARE CENTER in ENGLEWOOD, CO was cited for violations during a health inspection on September 11, 2025.
In both locations, the substance appeared in areas where caulking was missing.
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.