Aurora Valley Care: Catheter and Incontinence Failures - WA
One of those citations covered something basic: the care of residents who cannot control their bladder or bowel, and the management of urinary catheters. Inspectors found the facility was not meeting its obligations in that area, and they flagged it as a situation with potential for more than minimal harm, even though no actual harm had been documented at the time of the inspection.
The citation falls under a category that encompasses several connected concerns. Incontinence care done poorly creates the conditions for skin breakdown. Catheter care done poorly creates the conditions for infection. Urinary tract infections in elderly residents are not minor inconveniences. In older adults, particularly those with dementia or other cognitive impairment, a UTI can trigger sudden confusion, rapid deterioration, and hospitalization. They are one of the most common infections in nursing homes and one of the most preventable.
Inspectors classified the deficiency at scope and severity level D, meaning they identified it as isolated rather than widespread, and found potential for harm rather than harm that had already occurred. That distinction matters in how the federal government scores and rates facilities, but it does not mean the finding was minor. A level D citation in catheter and incontinence care means inspectors saw something that concerned them enough to write it up, and that the gap between what was happening and what should have been happening was real.
The inspection report does not detail which residents were affected, what specific practices were observed, or what staff did or failed to do. What it establishes is that the facility fell short, that the deficiency was one of 31 found during a single inspection, and that Aurora Valley Care reported a correction date of October 15, 2025, one month after inspectors walked out the door.
Thirty-one deficiencies in a single inspection is a significant number. A complaint inspection is not a routine survey. It is triggered by someone, a resident, a family member, a staff member, reaching out to regulators because something went wrong or seemed wrong. The fact that inspectors arrived in response to a complaint and departed having documented 31 problems across the facility suggests the concerns that prompted the complaint were not isolated.
The catheter and incontinence citation was not the only deficiency under the quality of life and care category. It was one piece of a larger picture that inspectors assembled over the course of a single day's visit.
Catheter care in a nursing home requires consistency. A catheter left unattended, positioned incorrectly, or managed without proper technique becomes a direct pathway for bacteria to travel into the bladder. Residents with catheters are already vulnerable. They often cannot feel when something is wrong, cannot communicate discomfort clearly, and depend entirely on staff to notice problems before those problems become infections. When that system fails, the resident has no backup.
Incontinence care carries its own demands. Residents who are wet and not changed promptly develop skin breakdown that can progress to pressure injuries. The indignity of being left in soiled bedding or clothing is its own harm, one that does not show up in infection rates but accumulates in the daily experience of people who have no choice but to rely on others for the most basic functions of their bodies.
Aurora Valley Care told regulators the deficiency was corrected by October 15. Whether the practices that produced the citation have genuinely changed, whether staff were retrained, whether the systems that allowed the lapse to occur were actually addressed, is not something the inspection report can answer. Correction dates are self-reported. The follow-through is something inspectors would need to verify on a return visit.
What the record shows is a facility that, on September 15, 2025, was not providing the catheter and incontinence care its residents needed, and that this was one of 31 things inspectors found worth writing down.
For the residents who depend on that care every day, the correction date on a form is not the end of the story.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Aurora Valley Care from 2025-09-15 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 20, 2026 · Our methodology
AURORA VALLEY CARE in SPOKANE, WA was cited for violations during a health inspection on September 15, 2025.
One of those citations covered something basic: the care of residents who cannot control their bladder or bowel, and the management of urinary catheters.
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.