Wellsprings Care Center: Ventilation Fans Clogged - CO
Inspectors found both fans non-functional during a complaint inspection on September 7, 2025. They came back two days later. Nothing had changed.
The facility's own regional maintenance director, interviewed while walking through the shower rooms on September 11, explained exactly what a broken ventilation fan in a humid space can produce. He said if a ventilation system was not operational in a humid environment, it could contribute to the growth of mold. He said the fans should be cleaned every six months. Then he stood in front of the first-floor tub and shower room vent, the one nearest the business office, and acknowledged that there was not any air flow and that the cover had not been cleaned within the last six months.
He said the same about the second fan.
The regional maintenance director described a simple test for checking whether a fan is working: hold a piece of paper up to the vent. If there is airflow, the paper gets pulled toward it. The implication was clear. Nobody had been doing that.
Inspectors documented that the ventilation fan wall cover in the shower room nearest the business office was covered with a thick layer of what resembled gray dust. The fan in the second shower room also showed no air flow, though inspectors did not describe the same visible dust accumulation there in the same terms. Both rooms were on the first floor.
The violation was cited under federal nursing home standards requiring adequate outside ventilation, either through windows or mechanical ventilation. Wellsprings uses a mechanical system. Inspectors noted that two out of four shower rooms examined had non-functional fans. CMS classified the harm level as minimal harm or potential for actual harm.
The regional maintenance director said the ventilation system was designed to prevent condensation risks by pulling moisture-laden air out of the room. That is the function it was not performing, on at least two documented occasions, across at least two days of observation.
The U.S. Department of Energy guidance cited in the inspection report notes that proper ventilation reduces the concentration of bioaerosols in nursing home environments, including toxins and fragments of microorganisms, and can reduce infection risks and prevent respiratory issues for vulnerable adults. The fans that were supposed to be doing that work were packed with dust and sitting still.
What makes this finding land harder than a paperwork violation is the maintenance director's own account. He knew the standard. He knew the test. He knew the cleaning interval. He walked through the rooms with inspectors and confirmed, out loud, that his facility had not met any of it. The fans had not been cleaned in more than six months. There was no airflow. He said so himself.
Residents using those shower rooms during that period were bathing in spaces where the air was not being moved, moisture was not being pulled out, and the conditions the facility's own maintenance director described as conducive to mold growth were present. How long the fans had been in that condition before inspectors arrived, the report does not say. The six-month cleaning interval the maintenance director cited as the standard suggests the answer is at least that long.
The inspection was a complaint survey. Someone prompted it.
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: 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 29, 2026 · Our methodology
WELLSPRINGS CARE CENTER in ENGLEWOOD, CO was cited for violations during a health inspection on September 11, 2025.
Inspectors found both fans non-functional during a complaint inspection on September 7, 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.