Deep Creek Health & Rehab: Medicare Notice Failures - VA
Resident 46 had been at the facility since at least June 30, 2025, when a Medicare Part A skilled services episode began. The resident's care plan documented a communication problem: unclear speech, difficulty understanding others, difficulty making needs known. Staff were directed to use yes/no questions, simple words, and alternate communication tools. The last covered day of Medicare services was set for July 30, 2025.
Before that date arrived, a staff member signed a Medicare termination form on the resident's behalf. The form indicated a verbal authorization had been obtained from Resident 46. It did not specify what Medicare Part A services were ending. The Advance Beneficiary Notice, the form that explains why Medicare may stop paying and estimates what the resident would owe out of pocket, was never provided at all.
The Social Services Director, who acknowledged all of this during an interview on September 17, said she didn't issue those forms to residents who were staying in the facility rather than going home. She reviewed the notice given to Resident 46 and confirmed the services being terminated weren't listed. She confirmed the ABN was missing entirely. "Resident 46 should have been provided with an ABN document," she said.
She also reviewed what had been issued to a second resident, Resident 45. That form, too, was incomplete. The reason Medicare might not cover services wasn't included. The estimated cost to the resident wasn't included. The Social Services Director said therapy typically gave her a document explaining why a service was ending, but she hadn't transferred that information onto the forms she issued to Resident 45. As for the cost estimate, she said she didn't have that information and couldn't include it.
Then she said this: "All areas of each form should be fully completed for the resident or family to make informed choices."
She said it twice, once about Resident 45 and once about Resident 46. Both times, she was describing a standard her own office had not met.
The Business Office Manager, interviewed the day before, said the Social Services Director received notification from the insurance company when services were ending. The BOM's job was to maintain copies of notices in a binder once the last covered day was identified. Neither manager described a system that caught what was missing before the coverage ended.
The Director of Nursing said on September 19 that she was unaware there were any concerns with how ABN documents were being issued. Her expectation, she said, was that the facility met state and federal requirements and that forms were accurate and timely.
The administrator said the same. He was unaware of any concerns. He said he expected ABNs to be completed, issued, and reviewed with the resident or their representative at least 48 hours before discharge from Medicare Part A. He said all appropriate areas of the form should be completed.
Neither the Director of Nursing nor the administrator described taking any steps to verify that expectation was being met.
What the inspection found was a Social Services Director who had constructed her own rule, one that exempted residents staying in the facility from receiving the notices designed to protect them. Under that rule, a resident with documented difficulty understanding speech and making needs known lost Medicare coverage this July with a staff member's signature standing in for informed consent, and without a single form that explained what was happening or what it would cost.
Resident 46's Medicare episode had begun June 30. The last covered day was July 30. Thirty days of skilled care, and at the end of it, no explanation. No cost estimate. No advance notice. Just a form signed by someone else, missing the one piece of information it existed to provide.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Deep Creek Health & Rehabilitation from 2025-09-19 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 14, 2026 · Our methodology
Deep Creek Health & Rehabilitation in CHESAPEAKE, VA was cited for violations during a health inspection on September 19, 2025.
Resident 46 had been at the facility since at least June 30, 2025, when a Medicare Part A skilled services episode began.
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.