Southside Care Center: Dangerous Wood Hangs Over Patio - MN
State inspectors documented the hanging wood during an April inspection of the 13-bed facility on Aldrich Avenue South. The deteriorating trim dangles in front of a second-floor resident window, suspended over the patio that spans the entire front of the building.
Two residents were sitting beneath the hanging wood when inspectors arrived.
"That piece is going to drop on someone and looks like it needs to be replaced," resident R9 told inspectors from her bedroom window directly above the patio. Her roommate R4 said she had complained about both the hanging exterior wood and the rotting interior window frames but "nothing gets done."
"I gave up hope they will fix it," R4 said.
The director of nursing had not noticed the safety hazard until inspectors pointed it out during their visit. Looking at the hanging trim, she immediately said, "That is so dangerous."
She then discovered a 12-inch by 5-inch hole in the concrete patio that connects the smoking area to the facility's wheelchair-accessible entrance. The nursing director said she had not been informed about the hole by any residents, staff, or visitors.
Inside the facility, residents described a pattern of maintenance problems that administrators acknowledged they had no system to track or resolve. The administrator told inspectors he would "try to fix things himself or contract for services if he was unable to perform them" but admitted the facility had no maintenance staff to monitor environmental issues.
Resident R11 pointed to his closet door, where three inches of wood had broken away around the strike plate and latch. The damage had existed "as long as he could remember," he said, and "did not look well maintained."
His window air conditioning unit, propped on the window sill, had gaps around it where daylight showed through to the outdoors. R11 said he could not use the unit because it tripped the electrical breaker. A small fan in his room had never been cleaned despite weekly use, leaving the fins visibly soiled.
In the shared bedroom above the smoking patio, residents R4 and R9 lived with three street-facing windows in severe disrepair. All three had cracked, peeling, and missing paint along the entire interior window casings.
"One of the windows is so rotted it doesn't even stay open," R4 told inspectors.
When the director of nursing examined the windows during the inspection, she said the condition was "too far gone" and added, "I would hate that at my house. Looks bad and is bad."
The facility's own assessment, completed in July 2025, stated that "outside grounds and building is maintained/repaired using the on-line maintenance work-order system." However, the administrator told inspectors no such tracking system existed for resident concerns about environmental problems including water leaks, pest control, electrical issues, temperature control, torn carpet, or structural damage.
Southside Care Center serves only ambulatory residents who do not require wheelchairs, according to its facility assessment. Six of the 13 residents smoke and use the front patio regularly.
The facility's grounds policy, last revised in May 2008, requires that "areas around the buildings (i.e., sidewalks, patios, gardens, etc.) shall be maintained in a safe and orderly manner at all times."
Resident R9 said she worried about the safety of people using the patio below her window. The hanging wood piece "looks awful" and she feared someone could get hurt if it disconnected from the building frame.
The inspection revealed that basic maintenance requests from residents went unaddressed for extended periods. R4's complaints about both interior and exterior deterioration had produced no repairs, leading her to abandon hope that conditions would improve.
The administrator's approach of attempting repairs personally or hiring contractors as needed had failed to address the accumulating problems throughout the facility. Without maintenance staff or a tracking system, environmental hazards continued to develop and worsen.
The nursing director's surprise at discovering both the hanging wood and the concrete hole during the inspection suggested that facility leadership lacked awareness of safety conditions in areas where residents spend time daily.
State inspectors classified the maintenance failures as having potential for minimal harm but affecting all 13 residents, staff, and visitors to the facility. The violations centered on the facility's failure to maintain the building in good repair, as required by federal regulations.
The deteriorating conditions at Southside Care Center illustrate how maintenance problems compound when facilities lack systematic approaches to identifying and addressing environmental hazards. Residents like R4 and R9 continue living with rotting window frames and the daily sight of dangerous debris hanging over the area where their fellow residents gather to smoke.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Southside Care Center from 2026-04-06 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 14, 2026 · Our methodology
Southside Care Center in MINNEAPOLIS, MN was cited for violations during a health inspection on April 6, 2026.
State inspectors documented the hanging wood during an April inspection of the 13-bed facility on Aldrich Avenue South.
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 Southside Care Center?
- State inspectors documented the hanging wood during an April inspection of the 13-bed facility on Aldrich Avenue South.
- 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 MINNEAPOLIS, MN, (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 Southside Care 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 24E507.
- Has this facility had violations before?
- To check Southside Care 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.