Cura of Sandstone
109 Court Avenue South, Sandstone, MN 55072 · Pine County · 50 certified beds · avg 36 residents/day · certified since Apr 1, 1987
Part of chain: CURA (8 facilities, chain avg rating 2.5★)
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★★☆☆☆2/5 · 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.
Most serious findings (actual harm or immediate jeopardy)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, one-off · Dec 4, 2025 · F-0689 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls.
Why it matters: This is one of the most common citations and directly relates to falls and injuries, which can be devastating for older adults.
Severity (J): Inspectors found a situation that put a resident's life or safety in immediate danger, affecting one or a few residents. The facility must fix it immediately — these citations often come with large fines.
Corrected: Nov 30, 2025 (Past Non-Compliance)
All citations in the current public record (26)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 2026 | 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. |
| Apr 8, 2026 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. |
| Apr 8, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not immediately notify the resident, their doctor, and a family member when something significant happened — such as an injury, a decline in health, or a room change. Families and doctors are entitled to know right away. |
| Apr 8, 2026 | 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. · from a complaint |
| Apr 8, 2026 | 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. |
| Apr 8, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility used feeding tubes without a valid medical reason or the resident's agreement, or did not provide proper care to residents who have feeding tubes. |
| Apr 8, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | 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. |
| Mar 5, 2026 | 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. · from a complaint |
| Mar 5, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | 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. · from a complaint |
| Dec 4, 2025 | ▲ J · Immediate jeopardy, one-off | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. · from a complaint |
| Feb 13, 2025 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not give residents reasonable access to and privacy in using ways to communicate, such as phones, mail, and email. Residents have the right to stay in touch with the outside world privately. |
| Feb 13, 2025 | 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. |
| Feb 13, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not properly protect the personal money residents deposited with it for safekeeping. |
| Feb 13, 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. |
| Feb 13, 2025 | 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. |
| Feb 13, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. |
| Feb 13, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide safe and appropriate respiratory care — such as oxygen, breathing treatments, or care for residents on breathing equipment — for residents who needed it. |
| Feb 13, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | 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. |
| Feb 13, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have a working call system — the button or cord residents use to summon help — in each resident's bathroom and bathing area. |
| Jan 5, 2024 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft to the proper authorities quickly enough, or did not report the results of its investigation. · from a complaint |
| Nov 3, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep residents' personal and medical information private and confidential. |
| Nov 3, 2023 | 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. |
| Nov 3, 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. · from a complaint |
| Nov 3, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide proper care for pressure ulcers (bedsores) or did not do enough to prevent new ones from forming. Bedsores develop when residents stay in one position too long without help moving. |
| Nov 3, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide or arrange dental services for its residents. Nursing homes are responsible for making sure residents can get dental care. |
| Nov 3, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | 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. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections stayed about the same across the last two inspection cycles (9 → 7).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | D |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | E |
| 2025 | 10 | 1 | J ▲ |
| 2026 | 9 | 0 | F |
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)
1 fine totaling $17,345.
| Date | Type | Amount / length |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 4, 2025 | Fine | $17,345 |
Nurse staffing (from payroll records, adjusted for how much care residents need)
| Measure | This facility | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day) | 5.52 | 4.83 | 3.95 | top 17% in Minnesota; top 7% in the U.S. |
| Registered Nurse hours | 1.40 | 1.22 | 0.69 | top 25% in Minnesota; top 6% in the U.S. |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 4.82 | 4.27 | 3.50 | top 21% in Minnesota; top 8% in the U.S. |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.71 | 0.69 | 0.48 | top 35% in Minnesota; top 16% in the U.S. |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 0.0 | 42.2 | 45.8 | — |
| RN turnover (%) | 0.0 | 38.6 | 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 5.18, RN 1.32, weekend 4.52. 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: 2/5
Who owns this facility
Non profit - Corporation
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opatz, Tom | Individual | 5% or Greater Direct Ownership Interest | 50% | 05/12/2017 |
| Struzyk, Fred | Individual | 5% or Greater Direct Ownership Interest | 50% | 05/12/2017 |
| Colby, Jennifer | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 09/01/1996 |
| Ervin, Derek | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 11/28/2022 |
| Johnson, Jennifer | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/06/2024 |
| Lindberg, Kallie | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/03/2024 |
| Lindberg, Kallie | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/05/2024 |
| Ludwig, Cynthia | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/24/2023 |
| Meyer, Luna | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/10/2024 |
| Opatz, Tom | Individual | Managing Control - Governing Body | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/17/2017 |
| Opatz, Tom | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/17/2012 |
| Opatz, Tom | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/01/2017 |
| Sandstone Health Care Center LLC | Organization | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/01/2017 |
| Strate, Lawrence | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/01/2017 |
| Strate, Lawrence | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/01/2017 |
| Struzyk, Fred | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/17/2012 |
| Struzyk, Fred | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/01/2017 |
| TF Management LLC | Organization | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/01/2017 |
| TF Management LLC | Organization | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/15/2025 |
Questions to ask on your visit
Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.
- "What is your falls rate, and what specific steps do you take to prevent falls and supervise residents at risk?"
- "Who leads your infection prevention program, and how do you make sure staff follow practices like hand hygiene every day?"
- "If my family member falls or their condition changes, exactly when and how will I be notified?"
- "How do you make sure each resident's care follows the doctor's orders, and what changed after this citation?"
- "What do you do daily to keep residents moving, and how do you help residents at risk of losing mobility?"
- "How do you decide when a feeding tube is truly needed, and how do staff care for residents who have one?"
- "Who oversees antibiotic use here, and how do you decide when an antibiotic is really needed?"
- "Can you show me an example care plan, and how are families included when it's created and updated?"
- "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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moose Lake Village | 22.2 mi | Moose Lake, MN | ★★★★☆ | 3/5 | |
| Burnett Medical Center | 25.8 mi | Grantsburg, WI | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| St Clare Living Community of Mora | 26.7 mi | Mora, MN | ★★★☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| The Estates at Rush City LLC | 31.1 mi | Rush City, MN | ★★☆☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Cura of Onamia | 38.3 mi | Onamia, MN | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Frederic Nursing and Rehab Community | 38.6 mi | Frederic, WI | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 |
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Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 245454.