Altercare of Hartville: Fall Not Documented for Hours - OH
The resident, identified in inspection records as Resident #70, had been admitted to Altercare of Hartville Center just three days before his fall. He fell on February 19, 2026, at 8:00 in the evening. The next entry anyone made about it was a "late entry" progress note, timestamped 8:21 A.M. on February 20 — more than twelve hours after he hit the floor.
That gap is the entirety of the violation inspectors cited following a complaint investigation completed March 30, 2026.
The facility is disputing the citation.
Two registered nurses, identified in the report as RN #115 and RN #117, sat down with inspectors on the afternoon of March 30 and confirmed what the medical record already showed. The fall happened. Nobody documented it that night. The note that eventually appeared was entered the next morning and labeled a late entry. When inspectors asked about the standard, the nurses said fall incidents should be entered in the medical record as soon as possible following the event.
They said it themselves.
Resident #70's medical history made the documentation lapse more than a paperwork problem. Metabolic encephalopathy affects brain function, sometimes causing confusion, altered consciousness, and difficulty communicating. A cerebrovascular accident, meaning a stroke, can leave a person with weakness on one side of the body, impaired balance, or trouble expressing what they're feeling. Muscle weakness compounds both. A man with that combination of diagnoses, three days into a nursing home stay, falling in his room at night, is exactly the kind of patient whose condition after a fall needs to be captured immediately.
What was his mental status at 8:01 P.M.? Was he in pain? Did he lose consciousness? Did he hit his head? The inspection report does not say whether anyone assessed him that night. It says only that no documentation of the fall incident existed in his medical record until the following morning.
The late entry note on February 20 confirmed the fall occurred. It did not, by its nature as a late entry, reflect what staff observed in the immediate minutes and hours after he went down.
Inspectors classified the violation as minimal harm or potential for actual harm, the lower end of the federal harm scale. The deficiency was investigated under Complaint Number 2785120, meaning someone filed a complaint that prompted the review. The facility census at the time of inspection was 71 residents.
Altercare of Hartville is contesting the finding. The inspection form notes the facility's dispute, though it does not detail the grounds for it.
What is not in dispute is what the medical record contains. A fall at 8:00 P.M. A late entry the next morning. Nothing in between.
For Resident #70, those hours passed without a written record of what happened to him.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Altercare of Hartville Ctr For from 2026-03-30 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: Official federal inspection data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Editorial process: AI-synthesized regulatory data, reviewed for accuracy by our editorial team.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: August 4, 2026 · Our methodology
ALTERCARE OF HARTVILLE CTR FOR in HARTVILLE, OH was cited for violations during a health inspection on March 30, 2026.
The resident, identified in inspection records as Resident #70, had been admitted to Altercare of Hartville Center just three days before his fall.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.