VELVA, ND - Federal health inspectors cited Souris Valley Care Center for three deficiencies during a complaint investigation in November 2025, including a failure to provide appropriate treatment and care according to physician orders and resident preferences. The facility has not submitted a required plan of correction.
Treatment and Care Order Compliance Failures
The complaint investigation, conducted on November 20, 2025, found that Souris Valley Care Center was deficient under federal regulatory tag F0684, which requires nursing homes to provide treatment and care consistent with professional standards, physician orders, and the documented goals and preferences of each resident.
The deficiency was classified at Scope/Severity Level D, meaning inspectors identified an isolated incident where no actual harm occurred but where there was potential for more than minimal harm to residents. While Level D represents the lower end of the federal severity scale, the underlying issue — failure to follow treatment orders — carries significant clinical implications.
When a facility does not adhere to prescribed treatment plans, residents face elevated risks of medical complications. Deviations from physician-ordered care can lead to delayed recovery, worsening of chronic conditions, and preventable medical events. Treatment orders exist because a physician has evaluated a resident's specific medical needs and determined the appropriate course of action. Overriding, ignoring, or failing to carry out those orders introduces unnecessary clinical risk.
Three Deficiencies and No Correction Plan
The F0684 citation was one of three deficiencies identified during the inspection. While the full details of all three citations are documented in the official inspection report, the care and treatment compliance failure stands as a core concern because it directly affects the quality of care residents receive on a daily basis.
Perhaps more notable than the deficiency itself is the facility's response — or lack thereof. Federal records indicate that Souris Valley Care Center's correction status is listed as "Deficient, Provider has no plan of correction."
Under federal nursing home regulations, facilities cited for deficiencies during inspections are required to submit a plan of correction to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This plan must outline the specific steps the facility will take to address each deficiency, prevent recurrence, and establish a timeline for compliance. The absence of a submitted correction plan raises questions about the facility's commitment to resolving the identified issues.
What Federal Standards Require
Federal regulation F0684 falls under the broader category of Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies. The standard requires that each resident receive treatment and care in accordance with professional standards of practice, the comprehensive person-centered care plan, and the resident's own choices and goals.
In practice, this means nursing home staff must consistently follow physician orders for medications, therapies, wound care, dietary requirements, and other prescribed interventions. Staff must also account for resident preferences — a key component of person-centered care that federal regulators have increasingly emphasized in recent years.
Proper compliance involves several layers of accountability: physicians must document clear orders, nursing staff must execute those orders accurately and on schedule, and facility leadership must maintain systems to verify that care is delivered as prescribed. Breakdowns at any point in this chain can result in the type of deficiency identified at Souris Valley Care Center.
Industry Context and Accountability
North Dakota nursing homes, like facilities nationwide, operate under oversight from both state health departments and federal CMS inspectors. Complaint investigations — as distinguished from routine annual surveys — are triggered by specific concerns raised about a facility's care practices. The fact that this inspection originated from a complaint suggests that a resident, family member, or staff member identified a concern serious enough to warrant formal review.
The lack of a correction plan is an issue that regulators typically follow up on. Facilities that fail to submit acceptable plans of correction may face additional enforcement actions, including civil monetary penalties, denial of payment for new admissions, or other sanctions.
Families of current and prospective residents can review the full inspection findings for Souris Valley Care Center through the CMS Care Compare database or by requesting records directly from the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services.
The complete inspection report contains additional details about all three deficiencies cited during the November 2025 investigation.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Souris Valley Care Center from 2025-11-20 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
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