COLLINGSWOOD, NJ — Federal health inspectors have cited United Methodist Communities At Collingswood for failing to maintain a safe environment free from accident hazards following a complaint investigation completed on November 26, 2025. The facility has not submitted a plan of correction for the identified deficiency.
Accident Hazard and Supervision Failures
The citation, issued under federal regulatory tag F0689, addresses a fundamental requirement for nursing homes: ensuring that facility areas are free from accident hazards and that adequate supervision is provided to prevent accidents among residents.
Federal regulations under F0689 require nursing homes to take reasonable steps to identify and eliminate environmental hazards that could lead to resident injuries. This includes maintaining clear walkways, securing equipment, ensuring proper lighting, and providing sufficient staff supervision in areas where residents live, move, and receive care.
The deficiency was classified at Scope/Severity Level D, indicating an isolated incident where no actual harm occurred but there was potential for more than minimal harm to residents. While the classification suggests the issue was limited in scope, safety hazards in nursing homes can escalate quickly, particularly among elderly residents who may have mobility limitations, cognitive impairment, or other conditions that increase their vulnerability to accidents.
Why Environmental Safety Is Critical in Long-Term Care
Falls and accidents remain among the leading causes of injury and death in nursing home settings. According to federal data, approximately 50 to 75 percent of nursing home residents experience a fall each year — roughly twice the rate of older adults living in the community. For residents with conditions such as osteoporosis, even a minor fall can result in hip fractures, head injuries, or other serious complications that significantly affect quality of life and can accelerate health decline.
Environmental hazards in nursing facilities can take many forms: wet floors without warning signs, cluttered hallways, improperly stored equipment, broken handrails, inadequate lighting in corridors and bathrooms, or unsecured furniture. Each of these conditions presents a preventable risk when proper safety protocols are followed.
Adequate supervision is equally important. Residents with dementia or other cognitive conditions may wander into unsafe areas, attempt to use equipment without assistance, or fail to recognize environmental dangers. Staffing levels and supervision protocols must account for the specific needs and risk profiles of the resident population.
Standard Safety Protocols
Under established care standards, nursing homes are expected to conduct regular environmental safety rounds, identify potential hazards through systematic risk assessments, and address identified problems promptly. Staff members should be trained to recognize and report safety concerns, and facilities should maintain documentation of their hazard identification and correction processes.
When a hazard is identified, the standard of care calls for immediate action to mitigate the risk — whether that means cleaning a spill, repairing damaged equipment, or increasing supervision in a particular area — followed by a root cause analysis to prevent recurrence.
No Correction Plan Submitted
Perhaps the most notable aspect of this citation is that United Methodist Communities At Collingswood has not submitted a plan of correction as of the inspection date. Federal regulations typically require cited facilities to submit a detailed corrective action plan outlining the steps they will take to address deficiencies, the timeline for implementation, and the measures they will put in place to prevent future occurrences.
The absence of a correction plan means there is no documented commitment from the facility to resolve the identified safety hazard. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) monitors compliance with correction plans, and facilities that fail to address cited deficiencies may face additional enforcement actions, including fines or other penalties.
Facility Background
United Methodist Communities At Collingswood is a long-term care facility located in Collingswood, New Jersey. The citation resulted from a complaint investigation, meaning the inspection was triggered by a specific concern raised about conditions at the facility, rather than being part of a routine annual survey.
Complaint-driven investigations are initiated when CMS or the state survey agency receives reports — often from residents, family members, or staff — alleging potential violations of federal nursing home standards. The fact that this citation arose from a complaint suggests that someone connected to the facility identified a safety concern serious enough to warrant formal reporting.
Residents and families seeking the complete inspection findings can review the full report through the CMS Care Compare database at medicare.gov/care-compare, which provides detailed inspection histories for all Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes nationwide.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for United Methodist Communities At Collingswood from 2025-11-26 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
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