Scenic Hills at the Monastery: Waste Violations - IN
They came back the next morning. The recliner was still there. The soiled gloves were still there. Another full trash bag was still hanging out of a dumpster.
Nothing had changed in 23 hours.
What had changed, slightly, was the facility's story about whose fault it was.
On May 22, at 8:45 in the morning, the Maintenance Director told inspectors that kitchen staff were responsible for the dumpsters. Thirty minutes later, the Administrator told inspectors that the Maintenance Director was responsible. Seven minutes after that, inspectors went back to the Maintenance Director, who offered a third version: the dumpsters were emptied before 9:00 a.m., and all staff members were responsible for picking up trash around them and making sure bags were secured inside.
All staff members. Which is another way of saying no particular staff member.
The Maintenance Director also acknowledged that the recliner needed to be hauled off by facility staff. It had been sitting behind the dumpsters, footrest open, on both mornings inspectors observed it. Whether it had been there for days or weeks, the inspection report does not say.
At 9:50 a.m., the Administrator produced a copy of the facility's own Garbage and Refuse policy, revised as recently as July 9, 2025. The policy stated that the dumpster area would be maintained in sanitary condition, clear of trash.
The dumpster area was not clear of trash. It had not been clear of trash on either morning inspectors checked.
The debris inspectors documented included cardboard, empty clear cups, and multiple soiled gloves, the kind used for medical and personal care tasks inside the facility. Soiled gloves in the grass outside a nursing home are not a minor housekeeping lapse. They are used personal protective equipment, the same gloves worn during wound care, toileting assistance, and other direct contact with residents. Left outside, they become a contamination risk for anyone who approaches the area.
Scenic Hills at the Monastery is a nursing facility in a small southwestern Indiana town, population under 2,500, built on grounds associated with the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception. The inspection was a standard health survey, conducted over two days in late May.
The violation was cited at the lowest level of harm, potential for minimal harm, with many residents affected. That classification reflects the finding that no resident was documented as having been harmed, not that the conditions were acceptable.
What the two-day observation actually showed was a facility where the same sanitation problem existed on consecutive mornings, where no one corrected it overnight, and where two senior staff members gave inspectors contradictory accounts of who held responsibility. The Administrator pointed to the Maintenance Director. The Maintenance Director pointed to the kitchen. Then the Maintenance Director pointed to everyone.
The recliner sat there with its footrest open both days, as if someone had just gotten up from it.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Scenic Hills At the Monastery from 2026-05-22 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: This article is based on inspection data downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases inspection reports in bulk; we publish the findings as documented by state surveyors in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies.
Plan of correction: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to state survey agencies and those responses may not be reflected in CMS data at the time of publication. The absence of a plan of correction in our data does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken are encouraged to contact the facility directly or their state survey agency.
Corrections may have occurred: Inspection reports reflect conditions observed on the date of the survey. Facilities may have implemented corrections, staffing changes, additional training, or other remediation since the report was issued. We report what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.
Editorial process: Inspection findings are extracted from CMS source documents and synthesized using AI, reviewed for factual accuracy against the original report by our editorial team.
Corrections: We strive for accuracy in everything we publish. If you believe any fact in this article is incorrect, please contact us with details, and we will review and correct it promptly.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: October 31, 2026 · Our methodology
SCENIC HILLS AT THE MONASTERY in FERDINAND, IN was cited for violations during a health inspection on May 22, 2026.
They came back the next morning.
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.