Heartwood Extended Healthcare: Transfer Notice Failures - WA
The same was true for three other residents transferred to the hospital between December 2025 and January 2026. None of them received a bed-hold notice. None received a completed transfer and discharge notice. All four were sent to the hospital without knowing, in writing, that their bed could be held for them while they were gone.
Federal inspectors documented the failures across all four residents reviewed for hospitalization during a March 30 inspection.
The residents carried serious diagnoses. One had Alzheimer's and depression and was transferred after a head injury. One had dementia and diabetes and was sent out for vomiting. One had heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and dementia and went to the hospital for hip pain. One had a traumatic subdural hemorrhage, a brain bleed, and was transferred in late January after critical blood test results came back.
None of them got the notice.
When inspectors interviewed the Social Service Director, identified in the report as Staff D, she said the nurses sent the transfer and discharge notice and bed-hold paperwork at the time of transfer, and the business office manager followed up the next day. Then she handed over the copies for two of the residents.
The forms she produced had "n/a" written in the field for the date the notice was given. "N/a" written in the field for who it was provided to.
Not applicable.
A licensed practical nurse, identified as Staff S, told inspectors that when a resident transferred to the hospital, nurses assembled a packet that included medical records and the transfer and discharge notice and bed-hold form. Staff S called it mandatory. Said copies were kept right at the nurses' station. When inspectors looked through the folder of copies stored there, they found transfer and discharge notice forms. No bed-hold forms. None.
The administrator, identified as Staff A, confirmed what inspectors had already documented. The nurses were supposed to present both the transfer notice and the bed-hold form at the time of transfer, with the business office manager handling follow-up. Staff A said the missing documentation and missing bed-hold notices for all four residents "did not meet expectations."
The bed-hold notice is not a bureaucratic formality. For a resident with dementia or Alzheimer's, for someone in the middle of a medical crisis, the question of whether their room will be there when they get back is not abstract. Nursing home stays are often the last stable housing a person has. A hospitalization, without that notice, can become a permanent displacement. The resident, or their family, may not know to ask. May not know there was ever a right to protect.
Heartwood's own staff described a system that was supposed to work. The nurses made the packet. The business office followed up. The forms were right there at the station.
But when inspectors checked the records for every resident they reviewed who had been hospitalized, the paperwork wasn't there. Four out of four. And the copies that were produced had "not applicable" written where a date and a name should have been.
The inspection covered the facility at 1649 East 72nd Street in Tacoma. The violation was cited at the minimal harm level, meaning inspectors found the residents were at risk for not knowing their rights, not that harm had been confirmed. For the resident transferred with a brain bleed, for the one sent out after a head injury, what happened at the hospital and whether they came back to their bed at Heartwood, the inspection report does not say.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Heartwood Extended Healthcare 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: June 18, 2026 · Our methodology
HEARTWOOD EXTENDED HEALTHCARE in TACOMA, WA was cited for violations during a health inspection on March 30, 2026.
The same was true for three other residents transferred to the hospital between December 2025 and January 2026.
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.