Waters Of Lagrange Skilled Nursing Facility, The
WATERS OF LAGRANGE SKILLED NURSING FACILITY, THE in LAGRANGE, IN — inspection on March 30, 2026.
Found 1 citation. Severity: Standard violations.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct within required timeframes. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns and are subject to follow-up verification.
Inspection Findings
During observations, he always had an odor of cigarette smoke about him.
Leave of Absence sign in/out forms for Resident H were provided by a nurse on 3/30/26 at 2:25 P.M.
The forms indicated beginning 3/10/26, the resident signed himself out multiple times per day, for approximately 20 minutes each time, to go smoke. On 3/30/26 at 2:25 P.M., Certified Nurse Aid (CNA) 5 was interviewed.
When asked, she indicated on her hallway, there were 3 residents who smoked.
Residents weren't allowed to smoke on the property because it was a non-smoking facility.
Residents who smoked, would go across the facility parking lot, over to the next-door church parking lot to smoke. CNA 5 indicated the 3 residents were to sign themselves in/out on the LOA book and get their smoking materials from the nurse.
She indicated the residents were to give back their smoking materials upon return and they weren't allowed to be kept in their rooms.
When asked, she indicated sometimes residents hadn't returned their smoking materials and staff were to report it to the nurse. On 3/30/26 at 2:45 P.M., the Social Services Director (SSD) and Director of Nursing (DON) were interviewed.
The SSD indicated Resident F had not had a smoking evaluation completed following her fall until 3/29/26.
The smoking evaluation indicated the resident was safe to light up her own cigarette, hold it independently, and dispose of the ashes and cigarette safely.
The SSD indicated Smoking Contract Agreements were completed with Resident F and Resident H on 3/27/26.
The SSD and DON were asked how residents were assessed for safety when leaving to go off the property to smoke with no response. A current smoking policy was provided by the DON on 3/30/26 at 2:50 P.M., which indicated the following: Smoking was not permitted in every facility. If smoking was permitted, residents were to smoke only in designated outdoor smoking areas.
If smoking was permitted at a facility, staff were to be assigned a time to be responsible for monitoring the smoking area.
Staff were to ignite cigarettes for residents and to be present to monitor all residents for safety.
Any change in resident competency for smoking was to be reported to the nurse.
Smoking was not permitted during mealtimes.
The policy hadn't indicated resident safety for going off the property would be assessed or where resident's who signed themselves out to smoke off property were permitted to smoke such as a local business parking lot near the facility. 2. On 3/27/26 at 10:40 A.M., during observation on the northwest rehabilitation hallway, carpeting in the middle of the hallway was bunched up, causing ripples in the carpet and a hazard for tripping.
The bunched-up carpet was observed extending from room [ROOM NUMBER] to room [ROOM NUMBER]. 5 rooms were occupied with short-term stay residents.
Staff and visitors were observed walking in the hallway with no residents observed.
Confidential interviews conducted during the survey, indicated the following:1.
The carpet in the hallway had been bunched up for some time and administration staff were aware of the problem.2. A resident had fallen in the hallway, where the bunched-up carpeting was, last year causing severe injuries.3.
Mechanical lifts were difficult to get down the hallway because of bunched-up, uneven carpet.4.
The bunch-up carpeting caused several people to trip with near falls.5.
There was a plan to replace the carpet but the front entrance needed done first. On 3/27/26 at 3:15 P.M., the Administrator was interviewed. He indicated there were plans to replace the carpet but they couldn't do all the proposed changes at one time. He was not aware of any falls occurring in the area where the bunched-up carpet was located but would look into having the carpet stretched until it could be replaced.
This Citation relates to Intake 2965357. 410 IAC 16.2-3.1-45(a)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is an F-tag violation?
- F-tags are federal deficiency codes used by CMS to categorize nursing home violations. Each F-tag corresponds to a specific federal regulation (42 CFR Part 483). For example, F607 relates to abuse prevention policies, F880 relates to infection control.
- Were these violations corrected?
- Facilities must submit plans of correction and implement changes within required timeframes. CMS conducts follow-up inspections to verify corrections. Check the inspection report for specific correction dates and follow-up verification status.
- How often do nursing home inspections happen?
- CMS conducts unannounced inspections of all Medicare/Medicaid-certified nursing homes at least once per year. Additional inspections may occur based on complaints, facility-reported incidents, or follow-up to verify previous violations were corrected.
- What should families do about these violations?
- Families should: (1) Review the full inspection report for details, (2) Ask facility administration about specific corrective actions taken, (3) Check if this represents a pattern by reviewing prior inspections, (4) Compare with other facilities in LAGRANGE, IN, (5) Report new concerns to state authorities.
- Where can I see the full inspection report?
- Complete inspection reports are available on Medicare.gov's Care Compare website (www.medicare.gov/care-compare). You can also request copies directly from WATERS OF LAGRANGE SKILLED NURSING FACILITY, THE or from the state Department of Health. Reports include deficiency codes, facility responses, and correction timelines.