Chariton Specialty Care: Cold Food Complaint - IA
That's what a federal inspector found on a sample lunch tray at Chariton Specialty Care on September 18, 2025, during a complaint inspection at the 40-bed facility. The grilled cheeseburger, served on a bun, was room temperature. The cheese was cold. The macaroni salad and potato salad alongside it were cold too, though inspectors noted those sides had good flavor and were meant to be served cold.
The burger was not.
One resident at the facility, identified in inspection records as Resident 5, had spoken with inspectors that morning, about an hour and a half before the tray arrived. The resident, whose cognitive status was assessed as fully intact in an August 2025 evaluation, told the inspector that meals at the facility are often not very good. The facility, the resident said, does not always follow its own menus.
Inspectors cited the facility under a federal standard requiring that food and drink be palatable, attractive, and served at a safe and appetizing temperature. The violation was tagged at the lowest level of harm, meaning inspectors found minimal harm or potential for actual harm rather than documented injury. The citation noted that some residents were affected.
It was the only deficiency cited in the inspection.
A single cold cheeseburger and a resident's quiet complaint about menus not being followed. That's the record from Chariton Specialty Care on a Thursday afternoon in September. The facility has 40 residents. The inspection covered three meals. One failed on temperature.
What the inspection doesn't answer is how often the burger arrives cold, or how often the menu posted on the wall matches what ends up on the tray. Resident 5 said "often." The inspection captured one afternoon.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Chariton Specialty Care from 2025-09-18 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 19, 2026 · Our methodology
Chariton Specialty Care in Chariton, IA was cited for violations during a health inspection on September 18, 2025.
The grilled cheeseburger, served on a bun, was room temperature.
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.