Harris Health Center: Resident Elopement, Key Left in Place - RI
Surveillance video reviewed on September 17 showed the resident approaching the staff desk near the front entrance at 8:12 AM, walking away with the key in hand, and exiting through a rear first-floor door two minutes later. Staff did not know the resident had left until they were contacted by the police department. The resident had walked approximately a block from the facility before being found and returned by police.
The Director of Nursing Services told the surveyor that the evening before, on September 13, staff had told the resident he or she was no longer permitted to leave unaccompanied due to prior violations of the facility's leave of absence policy. It made no difference. The resident left anyway, and nobody noticed.
The resident told the surveyor the outing lasted less than two hours and that, since the incident, he or she has not been allowed to leave without a family member or staff escort.
The registered nurse on duty acknowledged that the leave of absence log had not been completed as required, and that a nurse should have signed off before any resident departure and again upon return. Neither happened.
What the Director of Nursing acknowledged most plainly was this: after a resident had used the key to walk out of a locked exit undetected, the facility left the key in the same place. It was still there when inspectors came to look.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Harris Health Center LLC from 2025-09-17 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 23, 2026 · Our methodology
Harris Health Center LLC in East Providence, RI was cited for violations during a health inspection on September 17, 2025.
Staff did not know the resident had left until they were contacted by the police department.
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.