Appleton Area Health
APPLETON AREA HEALTH in APPLETON, MN — inspection on April 15, 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 an observation/interview on 4/13/26 at 4:53 p.m., trained medication aid (TMA) brought oral medications, cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05%, and Refresh Tears ophthalmic solution into R29's room. TMA gave R29's oral medications and then applied gloves. TMA asked R29 to relax her eyes and administered one drop of cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% to both eyes. TMA then took the Refresh Tears ophthalmic solution and gave one drop in each eye. TMA removed gloves and washed hands. TMA verified the cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% were given, and then the refresh eye drops. TMA went to the computer and signed off on the medications were given.
During an interview on 4/15/26 at 11:01 a.m., director of nursing (DON) indicated it was best practice to wait between eye drops to allow the first eye drop to disperse. DON verified her expectation would be to follow the medical provider order.
During an interview on 4/15/26 at 12:58 p.m., pharmacy consult indicated it was best practice to wait five minutes between eye drops and was unsure if there would be a clinical impact of cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% and Refresh Tears ophthalmic solution given without waiting five minutes between eye drops.
During an interview on 4/15/26 at 2:49 p.m., medical provider recommended staff to wait fifteen minutes between cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05%, one drop in both eyes twice a day for dry eyes, and Refresh Tears ophthalmic solution.
Policy requested, no policy was received regarding ophthalmic medications.
Any deficiency statement ending with an asterisk (*) denotes a deficiency which the institution may be excused from correcting providing it is determined that other safeguards provide sufficient protection to the patients. (See instructions.) Except for nursing homes, the findings stated above are disclosable 90 days following the date of survey whether or not a plan of correction is provided.
For nursing homes, the above findings and plans of correction are disclosable 14 days following the date these documents are made available to the facility. If deficiencies are cited, an approved plan of correction is requisite to continued program participation.
LABORATORY DIRECTOR'S OR PROVIDER/SUPPLIER TITLE (X6) DATE REPRESENTATIVE'S SIGNATURE
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Source: This inspection report was downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases nursing home inspection reports in bulk. The findings reflect what state surveyors documented in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies on the date of the inspection.
Plan of correction not included: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to their state survey agency and those responses may not appear in CMS public data at the time of release. The absence of a plan of correction in this report does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken by the facility are encouraged to contact the facility or their state survey agency directly.
Corrections may have been made: This report reflects conditions observed on the date of the survey. The facility may have implemented staffing changes, additional training, policy revisions, or other corrective actions since this report was issued. We publish what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.