Huntington Healthcare Center: Mask Violation Cited - CA
The aide knew it was wrong. When a federal inspector pointed it out at 10:30 a.m. on August 18, the restorative nurse's assistant, identified in inspection records only as RNA 1, acknowledged immediately that the mask was applied incorrectly. She said so herself: wearing a surgical mask that way increased the potential to spread COVID-19 to the residents she was caring for.
That acknowledgment did not change what had already happened.
The resident in the room, identified in inspection records as Resident 2, had been admitted to Huntington Healthcare Center with a cerebral infarction, the medical term for a stroke, along with cellulitis, a bacterial skin infection, and high blood pressure. She could speak clearly and express her needs. She also needed staff to help her with the most basic parts of daily life, including oral hygiene, toileting, and personal hygiene. She was not someone who could simply leave the room or keep her distance from the people caring for her.
The facility's own infection preventionist nurse, interviewed by inspectors fifteen minutes after the observation, was direct about what the lapse meant. All staff should wear their surgical face masks correctly when inside the facility, the nurse said, covering both the nose and the mouth. Not wearing a mask correctly, the infection preventionist added, had the potential to increase the risk of spreading COVID-19 and other germs to residents, staff, and visitors throughout the building.
The facility's written policy on the subject dates to September 2010. It says staff should ensure a face mask covers the nose and mouth while performing treatment or services. That policy was in place. The aide was not following it. Both things were true at the same time.
Federal inspectors cited Huntington Healthcare Center for the violation, classifying the level of harm as minimal harm or potential for actual harm, with few residents affected. The deficiency falls under infection control standards that govern how nursing homes are required to protect residents from the spread of communicable disease.
The inspection, triggered by a complaint, covered one specific finding: a single staff member, in a single resident's room, wearing a mask incorrectly on a single observed morning. The report does not describe how long the aide had been in the room before the inspector arrived, or how many previous shifts she had entered that room, or any other resident room, the same way.
What the report does describe is a resident who could not protect herself. Resident 2 needed partial to moderate assistance with hygiene and toileting, meaning staff were in close physical contact with her regularly, multiple times a day. A surgical mask worn below the nose provides no barrier for the respiratory droplets and aerosols that carry COVID-19. The nose is not a secondary airway. It is where the virus enters.
The infection preventionist understood this. The aide understood this, and said so when asked. The facility had a written policy that said exactly what to do. And still, on the morning of August 18, 2025, a staff member was in a vulnerable resident's room with her mask pulled down.
Huntington Healthcare Center is a nursing facility in Los Angeles. The inspection was conducted on August 18, 2025. The report names no administrator, no director of nursing, and no corrective action beyond what is required as a condition of continued Medicare and Medicaid participation.
The inspection report notes that a plan of correction is required for the facility to remain in the program. It does not say whether anyone at Huntington spoke with the aide about the violation that morning, or whether the aide continued providing care to Resident 2 and others for the rest of her shift after the inspector left the building.
Resident 2, who had survived a stroke and was working through recovery at a facility she depended on entirely for her daily care, was not asked to comment. Her name does not appear in the report.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Huntington Healthcare Center from 2025-08-18 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Download the official CMS inspection PDF from Medicare.gov
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.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: September 22, 2026 · Our methodology
HUNTINGTON HEALTHCARE CENTER in LOS ANGELES, CA was cited for violations during a health inspection on August 18, 2025.
When a federal inspector pointed it out at 10:30 a.m.
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.