CRYSTAL, MN - Federal health inspectors identified pharmaceutical storage and labeling deficiencies at Woodlake Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center during a standard health inspection conducted on December 18, 2025. The facility was one of three deficiencies cited during the survey, and notably, the provider has not submitted a plan of correction.
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Controlled Substance Storage Requirements Not Met
Inspectors cited Woodlake Healthcare under federal regulatory tag F0761, which governs pharmacy services in skilled nursing facilities. The deficiency centered on the facility's failure to ensure that drugs and biologicals were labeled according to currently accepted professional principles and that all medications were stored in properly locked compartments.
Federal regulations specifically require that controlled substances must be kept in separately locked compartments — a standard designed to prevent diversion, theft, and accidental access to potentially dangerous medications. The citation indicates that Woodlake Healthcare fell short of these fundamental storage requirements.
The deficiency was classified at Scope/Severity Level D, meaning it was isolated in nature and did not result in documented actual harm. However, inspectors determined there was potential for more than minimal harm to residents — a designation that signals real risk even in the absence of an adverse event.
Why Proper Drug Storage Matters in Nursing Homes
Medication storage protocols in long-term care facilities exist for critical safety reasons. Controlled substances — which include opioid pain medications, certain sedatives, and other high-risk drugs — carry significant risks when not properly secured. Unsecured medications can lead to drug diversion, where medications intended for one resident are taken by or administered to another person. They can also result in accidental ingestion, dosing errors, or theft.
Proper labeling is equally essential. When drugs and biologicals are not labeled in accordance with accepted pharmaceutical principles, staff members may misidentify medications, administer incorrect doses, or confuse one drug for another. In a nursing home population — where residents often take multiple medications simultaneously and may have cognitive impairments — such errors can have serious consequences including adverse drug reactions, overdose, or dangerous drug interactions.
The average nursing home resident takes seven to eight medications daily, making accurate labeling and secure storage not just a regulatory formality but a frontline patient safety measure.
No Correction Plan on File
Perhaps the most concerning aspect of the citation is that Woodlake Healthcare has not submitted a plan of correction. When a facility is cited for a deficiency, federal regulations require the provider to develop and submit a detailed corrective action plan outlining specific steps to address the problem and prevent recurrence.
The absence of a correction plan means there is no documented commitment from the facility to resolve the identified storage and labeling issues. Under the federal survey process, facilities that fail to submit or implement adequate correction plans may face escalating enforcement actions, including civil monetary penalties, denial of payment for new admissions, or other sanctions.
Three Deficiencies Identified During Inspection
The drug storage citation was one of three total deficiencies identified during the December 2025 inspection. While a count of three deficiencies is relatively moderate compared to national averages — the typical skilled nursing facility receives approximately seven to eight deficiencies per annual survey — the nature of pharmaceutical safety violations carries particular weight given the direct risk to resident health.
Woodlake Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, located in Crystal, Minnesota, is subject to ongoing oversight by the Minnesota Department of Health and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The facility's inspection history and full deficiency details are available through the CMS Care Compare database.
What Residents and Families Should Know
Families with loved ones at Woodlake Healthcare may want to ask facility administrators directly about what steps have been taken to address the cited drug storage and labeling issues. Key questions include whether controlled substance storage has been secured, whether a pharmacy audit has been conducted, and when the facility intends to file its correction plan.
Residents in any nursing facility have the right to know that their medications are being stored safely and administered correctly. The full inspection report, including all three deficiencies cited during the December 2025 survey, is available for review on the facility's federal inspection record.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Woodlake Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center from 2025-12-18 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
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