GOLDSBORO, NC - Federal health inspectors found Goldsboro Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center deficient in implementing adequate infection prevention and control measures during a standard health inspection completed on December 17, 2025. The facility has not submitted a plan of correction, leaving questions about how and when the identified problems will be addressed.
Infection Prevention Program Found Lacking
The inspection cited Goldsboro Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center under regulatory tag F0880, which requires skilled nursing facilities to provide and implement a comprehensive infection prevention and control program. The deficiency was classified at Scope/Severity Level D, indicating an isolated incident where no actual harm occurred but the potential existed for more than minimal harm to residents.
The infection control citation was one of three total deficiencies identified during the December inspection. Under federal regulations, every Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home must maintain an active infection prevention and control program designed to protect residents, staff, and visitors from the spread of communicable diseases.
Infection prevention programs in long-term care settings are required to include surveillance protocols for identifying infections, procedures for isolating infectious residents when necessary, hand hygiene policies, proper use of personal protective equipment, and staff training on transmission-based precautions. When any component of this system breaks down, vulnerable nursing home residents face elevated risk.
Why Infection Control Matters in Nursing Homes
Nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable populations when it comes to infectious disease. Advanced age, chronic medical conditions, weakened immune systems, and close living quarters all contribute to heightened susceptibility. Common infections in long-term care settings include urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, skin infections, and gastrointestinal illnesses.
When infection control programs are not properly implemented, pathogens can spread rapidly through a facility. Respiratory infections alone account for a significant percentage of nursing home hospitalizations each year, and outbreaks of norovirus, influenza, and antibiotic-resistant organisms such as MRSA and C. difficile can move quickly through resident populations.
Proper infection control requires consistent execution across multiple areas: environmental cleaning and disinfection, hand hygiene compliance among all staff members, appropriate handling of linens and medical waste, wound care protocols, and catheter management. A breakdown in any single area can create conditions for transmission.
No Correction Plan on File
Perhaps the most concerning aspect of the citation is that Goldsboro Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center has not filed a plan of correction. Federal regulations require facilities cited for deficiencies to submit a written plan detailing how they will address each problem, the steps they will take to prevent recurrence, and the timeline for achieving compliance.
When a facility does not submit a correction plan, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may impose enforcement actions, which can range from directed plans of correction to civil monetary penalties to denial of payment for new admissions. In cases of continued noncompliance, more severe sanctions may follow.
The absence of a correction plan means there is currently no documented commitment from the facility outlining specific steps to strengthen its infection prevention program. For residents and their families, this creates uncertainty about whether the identified gaps in infection control are being actively addressed.
Industry Standards and Expectations
CMS requires all certified nursing facilities to designate an infection preventionist — a trained professional responsible for overseeing the facility's infection control program. This individual is expected to conduct regular surveillance, track infection rates, report notifiable diseases to public health authorities, and ensure that staff follow established protocols.
Best practices in long-term care infection prevention include regular auditing of hand hygiene compliance, ongoing staff education, antibiotic stewardship programs to reduce the development of resistant organisms, and vaccination programs for both residents and staff.
Families with loved ones at Goldsboro Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center may wish to review the complete inspection findings, which are available through the CMS Care Compare website. The full report provides additional detail about all three deficiencies identified during the December 2025 inspection.
Residents and family members who observe infection control concerns — such as staff not washing hands between resident interactions, unclean common areas, or improper wound care — are encouraged to report those observations to the facility's administration and, if necessary, to the North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation at 1-800-624-3004.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Goldsboro Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center from 2025-12-17 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
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