MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Federal health inspectors identified 12 deficiencies at Catholic Eldercare On Main during a standard health inspection completed on December 18, 2025, including a citation for failing to uphold fundamental resident rights regarding treatment decisions and advance directives. The facility has not submitted a plan of correction.
Advance Directive and Treatment Rights Failures
Among the deficiencies documented at the Minneapolis facility, inspectors flagged a violation under federal regulatory tag F0578, which addresses a resident's right to request, refuse, or discontinue treatment. This same regulation covers participation in experimental research and the ability to formulate advance directives — legal documents that outline a person's wishes for medical care if they become unable to communicate those decisions themselves.
The citation falls under the broader category of Resident Rights Deficiencies, a classification that reflects failures to protect some of the most basic protections afforded to individuals in long-term care facilities.
Inspectors assigned the violation a Scope/Severity Level D, meaning it was isolated in nature and did not result in documented actual harm. However, the designation confirms there was potential for more than minimal harm to residents — a distinction that carries significant weight in federal oversight.
Why Treatment Rights Matter in Long-Term Care
The right to accept or refuse medical treatment is not simply a regulatory formality. It is a federally protected right under the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, which established that every nursing home resident retains the same civil and legal rights they held before admission.
Advance directives — including living wills and durable powers of attorney for healthcare — serve as a resident's voice when they can no longer speak for themselves. When a facility fails to properly honor these documents or adequately support residents in creating them, the consequences can be serious. Residents may receive unwanted medical interventions, undergo procedures they explicitly declined, or be denied treatments they requested.
For elderly individuals with cognitive decline or communication difficulties, these protections become even more critical. Without proper systems in place to document and follow treatment preferences, residents are at risk of receiving care that contradicts their stated wishes — a violation of both federal law and basic medical ethics.
Twelve Deficiencies and No Correction Plan
The advance directive citation was one component of a broader pattern identified during the inspection. Catholic Eldercare On Main received a total of 12 deficiencies across the December 2025 survey, suggesting inspectors found problems in multiple areas of facility operations.
Perhaps most notably, the facility's correction status is listed as "Deficient, Provider has no plan of correction" — meaning that as of the inspection date, Catholic Eldercare On Main had not submitted a formal plan outlining how it intends to address the identified problems.
Under federal regulations, facilities cited for deficiencies are typically required to submit a plan of correction detailing specific steps they will take to fix violations and prevent recurrence. The absence of such a plan can trigger additional regulatory scrutiny and, in some cases, escalating enforcement actions from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Federal Standards for Resident Rights Compliance
Nursing homes that participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs are required to meet specific federal standards for protecting resident rights. These standards mandate that facilities must inform residents of their rights upon admission, document treatment preferences clearly in medical records, and ensure all staff members are trained to recognize and follow advance directives.
Proper compliance requires facilities to have written policies and procedures, conduct regular staff training, and maintain accessible documentation. When a resident or their legal representative expresses a treatment preference, that information must be communicated across all care teams and reflected in the resident's individualized care plan.
The standard of care also requires that facilities revisit these conversations periodically, particularly when a resident's condition changes, to ensure documented preferences remain current and accurate.
What Comes Next
Catholic Eldercare On Main will be subject to follow-up review by federal and state regulators. Facilities that fail to submit adequate correction plans may face additional surveys, civil monetary penalties, or other enforcement measures.
Families with loved ones at the facility may wish to review the full inspection report, which details all 12 deficiencies identified during the December 2025 survey. Complete inspection results are available through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Care Compare tool at medicare.gov.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Catholic Eldercare On Main from 2025-12-18 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
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