Aroostook Health Center
15 Highland Ave, Mars Hill, ME 04758 · Aroostook County · 66 certified beds · avg 48 residents/day · certified since Jan 4, 1967
1/5
Health inspection rating (on-site)
0
Serious findings on record
$0
Fines, last 3 years
5.40
Nurse hours/resident/day (adjusted)
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★☆☆☆☆1/5 · CMS overall rating: 1/5
The health inspection star above is graded on a curve within each state — a set share of each state's facilities gets each star level — so a facility can have few citations and still rate 2–3 stars if others in its state did even better. The overall rating combines that inspection score with staffing and self-reported quality measures.
All citations in the current public record (31)
CMS publishes roughly the last three inspection cycles plus recent complaint investigations. Older surveys drop out of the record as new ones are completed.
| Date | Severity | What the facility was cited for |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 17, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not treat residents with dignity and respect, or did not honor their rights to make their own decisions and communicate freely. This is one of the most fundamental resident rights. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not honor residents' rights to request, refuse, or stop treatment, to decline participation in medical research, or to make an advance directive — a written statement of their wishes for future medical care. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not provide a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment, including safe support for residents' daily living needs. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not provide required paperwork or notices about a resident's needs, their right to appeal a transfer or discharge, or the facility's bed-hold policy (how long a bed is saved during a hospital stay). |
| Dec 17, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not provide treatment and care that follows the doctor's orders and matches the resident's own preferences and goals. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not observe each nurse aide's job performance or provide regular training as required. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not label drugs according to professional standards or did not store them in locked compartments, with controlled drugs (medications with a high risk of misuse) kept under a separate lock. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not have a working program to monitor how antibiotics are used. Tracking antibiotic use helps make sure these drugs are given only when needed and remain effective. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not designate a qualified infection preventionist — a trained person responsible for running the infection prevention and control program. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop or follow a complete care plan for each resident — the written roadmap covering all of a resident's needs, with measurable goals and timelines. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop a resident's complete plan of care within 7 days of the full assessment, or the plan wasn't prepared, reviewed, and updated by a team of health professionals as required. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have a licensed pharmacist review each resident's complete medication regimen and medical chart every month, or did not follow its own rules for reporting medication problems. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep residents' medications free from unnecessary drugs. Residents should only take medicines they truly need, at the right dose, for a clear reason. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards. |
| Oct 17, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. |
| Oct 17, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards. |
| Oct 17, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not develop and follow policies and procedures for offering residents flu and pneumonia vaccinations. |
| Oct 17, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not treat residents with dignity and respect, or did not honor their rights to make their own decisions and communicate freely. This is one of the most fundamental resident rights. |
| Oct 17, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not properly complete the required screening (called PASARR) that identifies whether a person entering a nursing home has a mental illness or intellectual disability and needs specialized services. |
| Oct 17, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop a resident's complete plan of care within 7 days of the full assessment, or the plan wasn't prepared, reviewed, and updated by a team of health professionals as required. |
| Oct 17, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide care that took into account residents' past trauma or their cultural backgrounds. Care is supposed to be sensitive to what residents have lived through and where they come from. |
| Oct 17, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not label drugs according to professional standards or did not store them in locked compartments, with controlled drugs (medications with a high risk of misuse) kept under a separate lock. |
| Oct 17, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not protect residents' personal information or did not keep complete, accurate medical records that meet professional standards. |
| Oct 3, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide the help residents need with basic daily activities — like bathing, dressing, eating, and using the bathroom — for residents who cannot do these things on their own. · from a complaint |
| Sep 21, 2023 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not have a licensed pharmacist review each resident's complete medication regimen and medical chart every month, or did not follow its own rules for reporting medication problems. |
| Sep 21, 2023 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not try to gradually reduce doses of mood- and mind-altering medications or use non-drug approaches first, as required, or used 'as needed' psychiatric drugs without proper limits. |
| Sep 21, 2023 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not properly run its feeding assistant program — assessing which residents are appropriate for it, following each resident's care plan, and making sure feeding assistants are trained and supervised. Feeding assistants are trained helpers who assist residents at mealtimes. |
| Sep 21, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide the help residents need with basic daily activities — like bathing, dressing, eating, and using the bathroom — for residents who cannot do these things on their own. |
| Sep 21, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide treatment and care that follows the doctor's orders and matches the resident's own preferences and goals. |
| Sep 21, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide the care needed to maintain or improve residents' movement and flexibility — such as range-of-motion exercises — leading to avoidable decline. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections increased between the last two inspection cycles (9 → 15).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | E |
| 2024 | 10 | 0 | F |
| 2025 | 15 | 0 | E |
Counts reflect the current CMS public record (~3 inspection cycles plus complaint investigations); years with no surveys show no row. Inspection frequency varies, so compare severity as well as counts.
Fines and enforcement (last 3 years)
No fines or payment denials in the published 3-year window.
Nurse staffing (from payroll records, adjusted for how much care residents need)
| Measure | This facility | Maine avg | U.S. avg | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day) | 5.40 | 4.60 | 3.95 | top 14% in Maine; top 8% in the U.S. |
| Registered Nurse hours | 1.03 | 1.11 | 0.69 | bottom 45% in Maine; top 15% in the U.S. |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 4.78 | 4.16 | 3.50 | top 17% in Maine; top 8% in the U.S. |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.52 | 0.73 | 0.48 | bottom 27% in Maine; top 30% in the U.S. |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 0.0 | 46.7 | 45.8 | — |
| RN turnover (%) | 0.0 | 40.2 | 42.9 | — |
Hours are per resident per day, case-mix adjusted by CMS so facilities caring for sicker residents can be compared fairly (same basis as the CMS staffing star). "Top X%" means better than most facilities: more staffing hours, or lower turnover. Raw (unadjusted) reported hours: total 4.95, RN 0.94, weekend 4.39. Staffing rating: 4/5.
Self-reported quality measures
Note: these ratings are based on data the facility reports about itself to CMS. They are not independently verified by inspectors, and can look better than inspection findings. Give more weight to the inspection results above.
Quality measures rating: 1/5 · long-stay residents: 1/5 · short-stay residents: —/5
Who owns this facility
For profit - Limited Liability company
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell, Carol | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/02/2012 |
| Dentry, Timothy | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/01/2019 |
| Dobson, Samuel | Individual | Contracted Managing Employee | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/30/2023 |
| Dobson, Samuel | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/30/2023 |
| Duncan, Richard | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/18/2016 |
| Eastern Maine Healthcare Services | Organization | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/01/1987 |
| Herweh, John | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/08/2018 |
| Johnson, Holly | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/07/2013 |
| Roark, Deborah | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/06/2020 |
| St Pierre, Steve | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/02/2012 |
| Thompson, Bryan | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/06/2020 |
| Towle, Jane | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/16/2017 |
| Wilcox, Mark | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/08/2018 |
Questions to ask on your visit
Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.
- "Can you give me examples of how your staff protect residents' dignity in everyday care, like bathing and dressing?"
- "How do you record and honor each resident's treatment wishes and advance directives, and how do staff know about them?"
- "Can we tour the resident rooms, bathrooms, and common areas today, including areas not on the usual tour route?"
- "What written notices do we get before any transfer or discharge, and what is your bed-hold policy?"
- "How do you make sure each resident's care follows the doctor's orders, and what changed after this citation?"
- "How often do you evaluate your nurse aides and what ongoing training do they receive?"
- "Can you show me how medications are stored and secured on the units, including controlled drugs?"
- "Who leads your infection prevention program, and how do you make sure staff follow practices like hand hygiene every day?"
- "What is your current ratio of nursing staff to residents on day, evening, and weekend shifts?"
- "Can I see the results and plan of correction from your most recent state inspection?"
Nearby facilities (within 20 miles)
| Facility | Distance | City | Overall | Inspection | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine Veterans Home - Caribou | 23.8 mi | Caribou, ME | ★★★★☆ | 4/5 | |
| Caribou Rehab and Nursing Center | 25.3 mi | Caribou, ME | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Madigan Estates | 27.2 mi | Houlton, ME | ★★★★☆ | 4/5 |
Compare this facility with the 3 closest →
Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 205018.