Rennes Health and Rehab: Family Not Notified After Emergency - WI
The incident happened on September 29, 2025, at Rennes Health and Rehab Center-Rhinelander, a facility on Navajo Street in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Federal inspectors arrived October 13 and documented what followed, and what didn't.
The registered nurse who found the resident, identified in inspection records as RN J, told the surveyor she made a deliberate choice not to call his emergency contact. She called the emergency department physician at the hospital to report the incident. She did not call the family member identified as FM T.
Asked why, RN J explained her reasoning plainly: in a situation like this, the resident is his own person, and staff usually just ask the resident. Since he was unresponsive, she said, she made that nursing judgment on her own.
She made that call. Nobody else made a different one.
FM T, the resident's emergency contact, eventually reached the facility with questions. The inspection record does not say how FM T found out, only that FM T had questions and wanted answers, including why the family wasn't told sooner and why more information wasn't provided about the incident.
The surveyor, during that conversation, suggested FM T contact the hospital directly to check on the resident.
The Nursing Home Administrator, identified as NHA A, told the surveyor that she had spoken with FM T and answered all of FM T's questions. The surveyor pressed: when exactly did that conversation happen? NHA A said October 3rd.
The incident was September 29th.
The surveyor asked whether NHA A had notified FM T on the day of the incident, September 29th, when the resident was transferred to the hospital. NHA A said she had contacted the resident's power of attorney on October 2nd, which was when the POA was activated at the hospital.
Then the surveyor asked directly: was FM T, the emergency contact on record, contacted the same day as the incident?
NHA A said she does not know if anyone else contacted FM T.
Four days passed between the moment staff found the resident unresponsive on the spa room floor and the moment the administrator spoke with his emergency contact. The nursing home's own records could not confirm that anyone called FM T on September 29th, or September 30th, or October 1st.
The deficiency was cited under the federal tag governing notification of changes in a resident's condition, rated at a level of minimal harm or potential for actual harm, affecting a small number of residents. That rating reflects the regulatory framework's assessment, not necessarily FM T's experience of learning, days after the fact, that someone they were designated to speak for had been found unresponsive and rushed to an emergency room.
The inspection record does not say what condition the resident was in when FM T finally got answers. It does not say what FM T said when they understood the timeline. It records only that FM T asked why the family wasn't given more information, and that a surveyor had to suggest FM T call the hospital to find out how the resident was doing.
The nurse who found him thought the decision was hers to make alone. The administrator didn't know if anyone had made a different one. And FM T spent at least four days without knowing what had happened in that spa room.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Rennes Health and Rehab Center-rhinelander from 2025-10-13 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 25, 2026 · Our methodology
RENNES HEALTH AND REHAB CENTER-RHINELANDER in RHINELANDER, WI was cited for violations during a health inspection on October 13, 2025.
The incident happened on September 29, 2025, at Rennes Health and Rehab Center-Rhinelander, a facility on Navajo Street in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.
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.