Westport Rehab: Skull Fracture Harm Violation - VA
The fracture was an occipital condylar fracture, a rare injury at the base of the skull. According to medical reference material cited in the inspection report, this type of fracture is considered a form of basilar skull fracture and typically results from high-energy blunt trauma, the kind associated with falls from significant heights or violent impacts. It is not the sort of injury that happens quietly, and it is not the sort of injury that goes unnoticed by staff trained to watch for sudden changes in a resident's condition.
Inspectors classified the violation under actual harm, affecting a small number of residents. The October 22, 2025 inspection was triggered by a complaint, meaning someone, whether a family member, a staff member, or the resident, had already raised concerns before surveyors ever walked through the door at 7300 Forest Ave.
The inspection report documents that the resident was treated with oxycodone, a narcotic pain reliever used for severe pain, and acetaminophen, used for mild to moderate pain. The combination points to a resident managing significant, layered pain in the aftermath of the injury. Oxycodone is not prescribed for a minor fall.
What the report does not say is almost as telling as what it does. It does not describe what protections were in place before the fracture occurred. It does not explain how a resident in a nursing facility sustained an injury of this magnitude. The inspection record, as filed, leaves those questions open.
Westport Rehabilitation and Nursing Center is a long-term care and rehabilitation facility operating in Richmond's west end. Complaint inspections are not routine calendar visits. They are launched when someone believes something has gone wrong badly enough to report it to regulators. In this case, whatever was reported led inspectors to a resident with a fractured skull base and a pain regimen built around narcotics.
Occipital condylar fractures are uncommon enough that many clinicians encounter them rarely. When they appear in a nursing home inspection record, rated at the level of actual harm, the question is not whether something serious happened. The question is what the facility knew, when they knew it, and what they did about it before and after.
The inspection report does not answer those questions directly. It cites the medical nature of the injury, documents the pain medications involved, and records the harm level. The plan of correction, if one exists, was directed to the facility and the state survey agency. Whether that plan addresses how a resident came to suffer this kind of trauma inside a care facility is not reflected in the public record as filed.
For the resident, the immediate reality was a fractured skull, oxycodone for the pain, and whatever came next.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Westport Rehabilitation and Nursing Center from 2025-10-22 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 8, 2026 · Our methodology
WESTPORT REHABILITATION AND NURSING CENTER in RICHMOND, VA was cited for violations during a health inspection on October 22, 2025.
The fracture was an occipital condylar fracture, a rare injury at the base of the skull.
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.