Harmar Village: Dentist Never Examined Resident - PA
Resident R14's family had shown facility staff a photograph of a lump on the resident's gums and requested dental care. The social worker discussed the issue with the care team and called the dental vendor to schedule an appointment.
When inspectors interviewed Social Worker Employee E8 on March 31, she said the dentist had seen Resident R14 within the previous two weeks. She claimed that on March 16, the dental vendor examined the resident and determined the lump was "just like an extra piece of bone" that didn't require surgical intervention.
The social worker told inspectors the dentist said the lump wasn't interfering with anything.
But the family disagreed. They told staff that Resident R14 couldn't chew well because of the lump and was unable to wear dentures.
When inspectors requested the dental exam records from March 16, the facility provided a form that wasn't part of the electronic health record and hadn't been scanned in. The document revealed a starkly different story.
The resident was not seen. The resident was not on the team's final list.
Instead, the dentist had only talked to the family by phone about what he identified as a mandibular torus, described as slow-growing bony lumps on the inside of the lower jaw. The dentist noted that the resident would need to see an oral surgeon for surgical removal, but the family indicated the resident couldn't be sedated.
The family said there was nothing the dentist could do.
The assessment form was left blank and unsigned by the doctor.
Nursing Home Administrator confirmed during an April 1 interview that the dentist never saw or assessed Resident R14's mouth.
Resident R14 had been admitted to the facility earlier and carried diagnoses of heart failure, stroke, and diabetes according to a March 9 assessment. Heart failure means the heart doesn't pump blood as well as it should. Stroke involves damage to the brain from an interruption of blood supply. Diabetes is a long-term condition in which the body has trouble controlling blood sugar and using it for energy.
The facility's own dental services policy, dated August 15, 2025, states that staff will assist residents in obtaining routine and 24-hour emergency dental care to meet each resident's needs. The policy also requires that all dental services provided be recorded and scanned into the resident's medical record.
The March 16 dental vendor form was never entered into the electronic system, violating the facility's own documentation requirements.
The social worker's initial account to inspectors directly contradicted the dental vendor's written record. She claimed the dentist had physically examined the resident and made clinical determinations about the lump's significance. The actual documentation showed no examination occurred and no clinical assessment was performed.
The family's concern about the resident's ability to chew and wear dentures remained unaddressed. No actual dental professional had examined the lump to determine whether it was causing the functional problems the family described.
Federal inspectors classified this as a failure to ensure residents receive proper dental assessment, affecting few residents but creating potential for actual harm. The facility's inability to provide basic dental evaluation services left Resident R14 without professional assessment of a condition that family members believed was impacting daily function.
The discrepancy between staff claims and documentation revealed systematic problems with both care coordination and record-keeping at the 715 Freeport Road facility.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Harmar Village Health & Rehab Center from 2026-04-03 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
- View all inspection reports for Harmar Village Health & Rehab Center
- Browse all PA nursing home inspections
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 15, 2026 · Our methodology
HARMAR VILLAGE HEALTH & REHAB CENTER in CHESWICK, PA was cited for violations during a health inspection on April 3, 2026.
Resident R14's family had shown facility staff a photograph of a lump on the resident's gums and requested dental care.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happened at HARMAR VILLAGE HEALTH & REHAB CENTER?
- Resident R14's family had shown facility staff a photograph of a lump on the resident's gums and requested dental care.
- How serious are these violations?
- Violation severity varies from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the inspection report for specific deficiency codes and scope. All violations must be corrected within required timeframes and are subject to follow-up verification inspections.
- What should families do?
- Families should: (1) Ask facility administration about specific corrective actions taken, (2) Request to see the follow-up inspection report verifying corrections, (3) Check if this represents a pattern by reviewing prior inspection reports, (4) Compare this facility's ratings with other nursing homes in CHESWICK, PA, (5) Report any new concerns directly to state authorities.
- Where can I see the full inspection report?
- The complete inspection report is available on Medicare.gov's Care Compare website (www.medicare.gov/care-compare). You can also request a copy directly from HARMAR VILLAGE HEALTH & REHAB CENTER or from the state Department of Health. The report includes specific deficiency codes, facility responses, and correction timelines. This facility's federal provider number is 396048.
- Has this facility had violations before?
- To check HARMAR VILLAGE HEALTH & REHAB CENTER's history, visit Medicare.gov's Care Compare and review their inspection history, quality ratings, and staffing levels. Look for patterns of repeated violations, especially in critical areas like abuse prevention, medication management, infection control, and resident safety.