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Complaint Investigation

Sterling Nursing And Rehab

September 11, 2025 · Sterling City, TX · 309 Fifth St
Citations 4
CMS Rating 5/5
Beds 44
Provider ID 675880
Healthcare Facility
Sterling Nursing And Rehab
Sterling City, TX  ·  View full profile →
Inspection Summary

Sterling Nursing and Rehab in STERLING CITY, TX — inspection on September 11, 2025.

Found 4 citations. 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.

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Inspection Findings

FF0695
Quality of Life and Care Deficiencies
Potential for More Than Minimal Harm

During an interview on 09/11/2025 at 2:02 PM, the DON said it was expected for oxygen signs be posted outside of resident rooms that were using oxygen.

The DON said she was not sure why there were no signs on the 2 rooms as they usually had them posted.

She said the signs might have fallen off.

The DON said the signs were supposed to be posted for safety of the residents or fires.

During an interview on 09/11/2025 at 2:22 PM, the Administrator was made aware of the observation of the resident rooms without oxygen signs posted outside of the doors.

The Administrator said it was expected for those resident rooms to have the signs and that they must have forgotten to post them.

Record review of the facility undated policy, titled Oxygen administration, indicated in part: Supplies/equipment - appropriate oxygen signs for door and room.

Place appropriate oxygen signs per facility policy.

Facility ID:

IDENTIFICATION NUMBER:

A.

Building

COMPLETED

09/11/2025

STREET ADDRESS, CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE

Sterling County Nursing Home

309 Fifth St Sterling City, TX 76951

SUMMARY STATEMENT OF DEFICIENCIES

Review of the Diet Guide for the cooks, undated revealed:Soft Chopped Diet is food cut by hand into even bite sized pieces or as prescribed by a doctor.

Food must be moist throughout and cannot include any food that is hard, sticky, or crunchy.

Ground Diet - is food that is moist, soft-textured and easily formed in a rounded ball in the mouth.

Meats are ground or minced into pieces no larger than a quarter inch; all pieces are moist and stick together slightly (cohesively).Pureed Diet is food with very smooth consistency or foods that have been well processed in a food processor or blender to a very smooth consistency or texture. No solid pieces or parts can be noticed in the food.

Pureed food has no lumps and feels very soft and smooth in the mouth.

Review of the Meal Service Report, dated 9/9/25, revealed there were 5 residents on a chopped meats diet, 2 residents on a mechanical soft diet, and 2 residents on a puree diet.

Facility ID:

IDENTIFICATION NUMBER:

A.

Building

COMPLETED

09/11/2025

STREET ADDRESS, CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE

Sterling County Nursing Home

309 Fifth St Sterling City, TX 76951

SUMMARY STATEMENT OF DEFICIENCIES

Federal health inspectors cited STERLING COUNTY NURSING HOME in STERLING CITY, TX for a deficiency under regulatory tag F-F0880 during a standard health inspection conducted on 2025-09-11.

Category: Infection Control Deficiencies

The facility was found deficient in the following area: Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.

Scope/Severity Level F: widespread, no actual harm with potential for more than minimal harm.

While no actual harm was documented, there was potential for more than minimal harm to residents.

This was one of 4 deficiencies cited during this inspection of STERLING COUNTY NURSING HOME.

Correction Status: Deficient, Provider has date of correction.

The facility reported correction as of 2025-10-10.

Based on observation and interview, the facility failed to maintain all mechanical, electrical, and patient care equipment in safe operating condition for 1 of 1 kitchen reviewed for physical environment.

The facility failed to ensure the dishwasher met manufacturer's recommendation of 120 degrees Fahrenheit for the wash and sanitize cycle.

This failure could place residents at risk of foodborne illnesses and residents and staff.

Findings included: Observation and interview on 9/10/25 at 1:38 p.m. revealed DA H said the dish machine was supposed to get up to 120 degrees. DA H ran the machine three times, and the wash temperature got to 100 degrees, the sanitizer level reached 114 degrees.

After reading the posted machine instructions DA H stated he needed to report the dish machine not reaching temperature to the Dietary Manager.

Observation on 9/10/25 at 1:51 p.m. revealed Dietary Manager verified the machine was not reaching the correct temperature, took a picture of the dial and sent it to the Maintenance Director.

Interview on 09/11/2025 at 2:41 PM, DA H stated the dish machine was brand new and he thought they turned down the water temperature because it had not worked correctly since the weekend. DA H said he did not tell anyone because he did not realize it needed to be reported.

Interview on 09/11/2025 at 2:51 PM, the Administrator said the dish machine was just changed out.

The Administrator said the thought maintenance lowered the temperature to raise the sanitization level. He said he did not know, he was not there.

Surveyor requested the policy on dish sanitization if there was one.

There was no policy provided.

Review of the Dish Machine Logbook for September 2025 (9/1/25 - 9/10/25) revealed: AM Wash Temp AM Final Rinse9/1/25 95 degrees 114 degrees9/2/25 110 degrees 122 degrees 9/3/25 110 degrees 120 degrees 9/4/25 112 degrees 123 degrees 9/5/25 114 degrees 123 degrees9/6/24 115 degrees 120 degrees9/7/25 116 degrees 120 degrees9/8/25 115 degrees 120 degrees9/9/25 116 degrees 120 degrees9/10/25 112 degrees 121 degrees Noon Wash Temp Noon Final Rinse Temp 9/1/25 100 degrees 123 degrees9/2/25 105 degrees 121 degrees9/3/25 110 degrees 120 degrees9/4/25 106 degrees 120 degrees9/5/25 110 degrees 120 degrees9/6/25 110 degrees 121 degrees9/7/25 111 degrees 120 degrees9/8/25 116 degrees 120 degrees9/9/25 115 degrees 120 degrees 9/10/25 114 degrees 119 degrees PM Wash Temp PM Final Rinse Temp9/1/25 105 degrees 125 degrees9/2/25 110 degrees 122 degrees9/3/25 110 degrees 120 degrees9/4/25 111 degrees 120 degrees9/5/25 115 degrees 122 degrees9/6/25 114 degrees 120 degrees9/7/25 115 degrees 122 degrees9/8/25 114 degrees 120 degrees9/9/25 116 degrees 120 degrees Review of the posted General Operating Instructions, undated, by the manufacturer revealed:It is recommended that 140 degrees water be used.

Report to your supervisor if it is lower than 120 degrees or higher than 160 degrees.

Facility ID:

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 STERLING CITY, TX, (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 Sterling Nursing and Rehab or from the state Department of Health. Reports include deficiency codes, facility responses, and correction timelines.


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