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Complaint Investigation

Birchwood Health Care Center

December 19, 2025 · Forest Lake, MN · 604 1st Street Ne
Citations 1
CMS Rating 2/5
Beds 100
Provider ID 245200
Healthcare Facility
Birchwood Health Care Center
Forest Lake, MN  ·  View full profile →
Source Document
Official CMS Inspection Report (Medicare.gov)
Downloaded from CMS/Medicare.gov. Reflects what state inspectors documented and does not include the facility's plan of correction, which is submitted separately. Facilities may have taken corrective actions since this report was released.
Inspection Summary

BIRCHWOOD HEALTH CARE CENTER in FOREST LAKE, MN — inspection on December 19, 2025.

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

FF0880
Infection Control Deficiencies

and applied clean gloves. LPN-A removed R3's dressing with no drainage on it and placed it in the

removed her gloves, dated a piece of tape, sanitized her hands, applied a clean pair of gloves, and put

should have changed her gloves and sanitized her hands after cleansing R3's feeding tube insertion site but she did not because she was nervous. On 12/19/25 at 11:55 a.m., the director of nursing (DON) stated staff were expected to perform hand hygiene per policy.

When residents are on EBPs staff were expected to wear a gown and gloves with cares and when completing dressing changes.

On 12/19/25 at 11:57 a.m., the administrator stated staff were expected to follow the hand hygiene policy.

Staff were expected to follow EBP guidelines when preforming dressing changes on a resident on EBPs.

The facility Hand Hygiene policy revised 8/2025, indicated staff would cleanse hands before putting on gloves, after removal of gloves, and before moving from a soiled body site to a clean body site.

The facility Personal Protective Equipment Selection and Use policy reviews 9/2023, indicated staff would apply a gown and gloves prior to high contact care, which may apply to indwelling medical devices regardless of MDRO colonization. EBPs would be used during high contact resident activities such as hygiene, incontinence cares, and devices or wound care.

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 FOREST LAKE, MN, (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 BIRCHWOOD HEALTH CARE CENTER or from the state Department of Health. Reports include deficiency codes, facility responses, and correction timelines.


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About This Inspection Report

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.